Deposit of published electronic works available only online.
37 C.F.R. § 202.24
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01(a) Pursuant to authority under 17 U.S.C. 407(d), the Register of Copyrights may make written demand to deposit one complete copy or a phonorecord of an electronic work published in the United States and available only online upon the owner of copyright or of the exclusive right of publication in the work, under the following conditions:
(1) Demands may be made only for works in those categories identified in § 202.19(c)(5) as being subject to demand.
(2) Demands may be made only for electronic-only serials published on or after February 24, 2010.
(3) Demands may be made only for electronic-only books published on or after December 14, 2020.
(4) The owner of copyright or of the exclusive right of publication must deposit the demanded work within three months of the date the demand notice is received.
(5) Copies or phonorecords deposited in response to a demand must be able to be accessed and reviewed by the Copyright Office, Library of Congress, and the Library's authorized users on an ongoing basis.
(b) Technical standards. Technical standards for the transmission of copies of electronic-only works to the Copyright Office in response to a demand will be available on the Copyright Office website (www.copyright.gov).
(c) Definitions. (1) “Best edition” has the meaning set forth in § 202.19(b)(1).
(2) “Complete copy” has the meaning set forth in § 202.19(b)(2).
(3) “Electronic-only” works are electronic works that are published and available only online.
(d) Special relief. (1) In the case of any demand made under paragraph (a) of this section, the Register of Copyrights may, after consultation with other appropriate officials of the Library of Congress and upon such conditions as the Register may determine after such consultation,
(i) Extend the time period provided in 17 U.S.C. 407(d);
(ii) Permit the deposit of incomplete copies or phonorecords; or
(iii) Permit the deposit of copies or phonorecords other than those normally comprising the best edition.
(2) Any decision as to whether to grant such special relief, and the conditions under which special relief is to be granted, shall be made by the Register of Copyrights after consultation with other appropriate officials of the Library of Congress, and shall be based upon the acquisition policies of the Library of Congress then in force.
(3) Requests for special relief under this section shall be made in writing to Acquisitions and Deposits, shall be signed by or on behalf of the owner of copyright or of the exclusive right of publication in the work, and shall set forth specific reasons why the request should be granted.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-37.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026