800-39
Motion Picture Agreement. The Library of Congress may, at its sole discretion, enter into an agreement permitting the return of copies of published motion pictures to the depositor under certain conditions and establishing certain rights and obligations with respect to such copies on the part of both the depositor and the Library of Congress. The Deposits and Acquisitions Section of the Acquisitions and processing Division of the Copyright Office administers the Motion Picture Agreement. See 37 C.F.R. 202.20(c)(2)(ii).
The Motion Picture Agreement provides that after copyright registration has been completed the deposit copy will be returned to the depositor at the depositor's expense. However, a copy for addition to the Library's permanent collections is subject to recall by the Library of Congress at any time within a period of two years. In signing the Motion Picture Agreement, the depositor agrees, if the film is recalled, to provide the Library with a copy which meets the archival quality standards set forth in the Agreement.Who may enter into the Agreement. The Agreement is available upon request to owners of copyright in published motion pictures or owners of the exclusive right of publication (including the exclusive right of distribution in the United States) who are depositing a copy of the motion picture in the Copyright Office and to foreign depositors whose works, although initially published outside the United States, have been published in the United States before the date of deposit. NOTE: Foreign depositors whose motion pictures are published only outside the United States before the date of deposit may enter into the Motion Picture Agreement by executing the basic Agreement, together with a Standard Modification of the Agreement, provided that the depositor has an established business office in the United States, or has designated a United
States agent with express authority to receive service in the event the Agreement is breached.