Copyright registration may be raised!

Effective July 1, 1999, the basic copyright registration fee will be raised from $20 to $30, instead of the $45 initially proposed. In her statement to the Congress, U.S. Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters noted that the Copyright Office's mandate was to seek a balance between the need to recover the costs of administering the copyright system, and the statutory requirement that copyright rates remain fair and equitable. In her rationale for this decision, Ms. Peters cited the testimony presented by the Graphic Artists Guild and 8 other creators'groups: the American Society of Journalists & Authors (ASJA), the National Writers Union (NWU), Authors Guild (AG), American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), Picture Agency Council of America (PACA), National Music Council (NMC), and UMI. Ms. Peters was persuaded by testimony from these groups that higher fees would impose economic hardships on creators which would inevitably result in decreased registrations. She also noted that "voluntary registration benefits not only the copyright owner but the public, Congress, the courts and the Library of Congress." Ms. Peters concluded that "the policy of cost recovery cannot withstand the devastating effect the institution of [the higher fees initially proposed] would have on the strong interests of the copyright community, users of the public record, and the copyright system." Ms. Peters rejected the proposal supported by the Guild and some other groups for a two-tiered system distinguishing between works by an individual author and works made for hire, claiming that such a system would be too burdensome to administer at this time. However, she reserved the right to reconsider such a system at a later date after the Copyright Office Electronic Registration, Recordation and Deposit System (CORDS) is in place. Ms. Peters also noted the dissatisfaction of the Guild and other creators groups with the requirement that a published work be registered within three months of publication in order to obtain statutory damages and attorneys fees. She stated that the Copyright Office would study the possibility of amending the Copyright Act to allow contributors to a collective work to obtain statutory damages and attorney's fees as long as 1) he or she registers the contribution before the commencement of the suit and 2) the collective work was registered by the publisher within three months of publication. If Congress approves the new copyright registration rates, they will go into effect on July 1, 1999.