USCO will limit the number of photos that can be registered at once

Next February 20, 2018, a new set of rules will be set in effect at the US Copyright Office. It will regulate the number of unpublished photos that users can register at one time, setting of 750. This limit could as a consequence increase the cost of registering unpublished photos at USCO, so we recommend photographers to register before that date.

The current system.

At the moment, photographers can register an unlimited number of photos via the Electronic Copyright Office, for a $55 fee. The fee will remain the same, the changes only affect the number of photos per registration request.

The new rules.

Source: US Copyright Office.

“After soliciting comments in late 2016, the U.S. Copyright Office adopted a final rule, effective February 20, 2018, governing group registration of photographs. The final rule modifies the procedure for registering groups of published photographs (GRPPH), and establishes a similar procedure for registering groups of unpublished photographs (GRUPH). The final rule adopts a new requirement that applicants seeking copyright registrations for groups of photographs—both published and unpublished—must generally submit applications through the Office’s electronic registration system, and can include up to 750 photographs in each claim. The final rule also modifies the deposit requirement by requiring applicants to submit their contributions in a digital format and to upload those files through the electronic system; clarifies the eligibility requirements; and confirms that a group registration issued under GRPHH or GRUPH covers each photograph in the group, each photograph is registered as a separate work, and the group as a whole is not considered a compilation or a collective work.”

Sync your USCO registrations with Safe Creative.

Sending registration claims to the US Copyright Office is easy using Safe Creative’s wizard. The service is available for all accounts.

To use it, go to “My Registrations” and select all the works you intend to send to USCO. Next, click on “Manage selected” > “Register at the US Copyright Office”.

Keep in mind that all the selected works in a claim have to be of the same kind: photos, songs from the same album, related texts… If there’s no connection between the works, USCO may reject the registration request.

If you need to register frequently at the US Copyright Office, you can also automate the procedure and activate periodic reminders.