Group Registration for News Website Updates
Summary
The U.S. Copyright Office is creating a new group registration for frequently updated news websites. This option will enable online news publishers to register a group of updates to a news website as a collective work with a deposit composed of identifying material representing sufficient portions of the work, rather than the complete contents of the website. The final rule is nearly identical to the provisions set forth in the January 2024 notice of proposed rulemaking, with one modification in response to public comments and one to reflect a technical change in the process for submitting these claims.
Compliance Requirements
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Register a news website as a collective work (including any individual component works it fully owns, such as literary works, photographs, and/or graphics) with a deposit composed of identifying material, rather than the complete contents of the website; Each collective work must have been created as a work made for hire, with the same person or entity named as both the author and copyright claimant; Submit claims through the online copyright registration system, using the application currently in use for a group of newspaper issues; Each update to the website must be an original collective work; Each collective work in the group must be published under one particular domain name; The deposit must evidence a sufficiently creative selection, coordination, or arrangement within each collective work to constitute a copyrightable compilation; Registration will only cover new contributions owned by the copyright claimant - previously published, previously registered, owned by another party, or public domain materials are automatically excluded
Market Impacts
Creation of new group registration option for frequently updated news websites, enabling online news publishers to register updates as collective works with simplified deposit requirements using identifying material instead of complete website contents; Limitation to 'news websites' defined as containing 'broad range of news on all subjects and activities and not limited to any specific subject matter', excluding specialized news websites and mobile applications from this group registration option; Explicit exclusion of non-news websites from the group registration option, maintaining requirement for standard individual registration processes for all other types of online content
Validated Company Impacts
NEW YORK TIMES CO
The New York Times Co operates a major news website that publishes frequent updates across a broad range of news subjects, directly aligning with the rule's target of online news publishers. Their digital subscription and advertising revenues are generated through content that would qualify for group registration as collective works under this copyright rule. The federal rule specifically addresses copyright registration for news websites, which does not align with any of the company's disclosed risk factors. The company's risks focus on financial, operational, and market challenges (pension liabilities, subscription declines, advertising stagnation) rather than copyright compliance or intellectual property registration issues.