CFR Subpart B

CFR Subpart B
in effect

37 C.F.R. § 205.11 Scope and purpose.

(a) This subpart provides the procedures governing service of process on the Copyright Office and its employees in their official capacity. These regulations provide the identity of Copyright Office officials who are authorized to accept service of process. The purpose of this subpart is to provide a centralized location for receipt of service of process to the Office. Such centralization will provide timely notification of legal process and expedite the Office's response. Litigants also must comply with all requirements pertaining to service of process that are established by statute, court rule and rule of procedure including the applicable provisions of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governing service upon the United States. (b) This subpart does not apply to service of process made on an employee personally for matters not related to official business of the Office. Process served upon a Copyright Office employee in his or her individual capacity must be served in compliance with the applicable requirements for service of process established by statute, court rule, or rule of procedure.

37 C.F.R. § 205.12 Process served on the Register of Copyrights or an employee in his or her official capacity.

(a) Summonses, complaints and all other process directed to the Copyright Office, the Register of Copyrights or any other Copyright Office employee in his or her official capacity should be served on the General Counsel of the Copyright Office or his or her designee as indicated in § 205.2 of this part. To effect proper service, the requirements of Rule 4(i) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure must also be satisfied by effecting service on both the United States Attorney for the district in which the action is brought and the Attorney General, Attn: Director of Intellectual Property Staff, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20530. (b) If, notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this section, any employee of the Office is served with a summons or complaint in connection with the conduct of official business, that employee shall immediately notify and deliver the summons or complaint to the Office of the General Counsel of the Copyright Office. (c) Any employee receiving a summons or complaint shall note on the summons or complaint the date, hour, and place of service and mode of service. (d) The Office will accept service of process for an employee only when the legal proceeding is brought in connection with the conduct of official business carried out in the employee's official capacity. (e) When a legal proceeding is brought to hold an employee personally liable in connection with an action taken in the conduct of official business, rather than liable in an official capacity, the employee is to be served in accordance with any applicable statute, court rule, or rule of procedure. Service of process in this case is inadequate when made only on the General Counsel. An employee sued personally for an action taken in the conduct of official business shall immediately notify and deliver a copy of the summons or complaint to the General Counsel of the Copyright Office.

37 C.F.R. § 205.13 Complaints served on the Register of Copyrights pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 411(a).

When an action has been instituted pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 411(a) for infringement of the copyright of a work for which registration has been refused, notice of the institution of the action and a copy of the complaint must be served on the Register of Copyrights by sending such documents to the General Counsel of the Copyright Office to the General Counsel of the Copyright Office via email to 411filings@copyright.gov. The notice must be in the form of a letter, as an attached file, that is clearly identified as a 411(a) notice. Both the letter and the email's subject line should state: “Section 411(a) Notice to the Register of Copyrights.” Attachments must be submitted in Portable Document Format (PDF), assembled in an orderly form, and uploaded as individual electronic files (i.e., not .zip files). Attachments to a single email should be no greater than 20 MB in total. The files must be viewable, contain embedded fonts, and be free from any access restrictions (such as those implemented through digital rights management) that prevent the viewing and examination of the file. If submission of a notice via email is not feasible, please contact the Office of the General Counsel by telephone during normal business hours at 202-707-8380. In compliance with Fed. R. Civ. P. Sec. 4(i), a notice of the institution of the action and a copy of the complaint must also be served on both the United States Attorney for the district in which the action is brought and the United States Department of Justice, directed to the Attorney General, Attn: Director of Intellectual Property Staff, Civil Division, Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20530.

37 C.F.R. § 205.14 Court requests to the Register of Copyrights pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 411(b)(2).

Where there is an allegation that a copyright registration certificate includes inaccurate information with knowledge that it was inaccurate and the inaccuracy of the information, if known, would have caused the Register of Copyrights to refuse registration, pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 411(b)(2), the court shall request the opinion of the Register of Copyrights to advise the court whether the inaccurate information, if known, would have caused the Register of Copyrights to refuse registration. The request should be sent to the General Counsel of the Copyright Office via email to 411filings@copyright.gov. Attachments to a single email should be no greater than 20 MB in total. If submission of a request via email is not feasible, please contact the Office of the General Counsel by telephone during normal business hours at 202-707-8380.

37 C.F.R. § 205.15 Court notices to the Register of Copyrights pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 508.

Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 508, within one month after the filing of any action under title 17, notice of the names and addresses of the parties and the title, author, and registration number of each work involved in the action, including any other copyrighted work later included by subsequent amendment, answer, or other pleading, must be served by the clerk of the court on the Register of Copyrights. Further, the clerk of the court must notify the Register within one month after any final order or judgment is issued in the case, sending with the notification a copy of the order or judgment together with the written opinion, if any, of the court. These notices must be sent to the General Counsel of the Copyright Office via email to 508filings@copyright.gov. Notices must include a fully completed PDF version of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts' form AO-121, “Report on the Filing or Determination of an Action or Appeal Regarding a Copyright,” available at the U.S. Courts' website: https://www.uscourts.gov/forms/other-forms/report-filing-or-determination-action-or-appeal-regarding-copyright. If submission of a notice via email is not feasible, please contact the Office of the General Counsel by telephone during normal business hours at 202-707-8380.

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