1900-3
1902
Inspection of Copyright Office records and deposits in general. (cont'd)
1902.03
Official correspondence. Official correspondence, including preliminary applications between copyright claimants or their agents and the Copyright Office, that relate directly to a completed registration, a recorded document, a rejected application for registration, or a document for which recordation was refused, may be inspected by the public. NOTE: That portion of official correspondence that is directly related to rejected applications for registration or documents for which recordation was refused and which once represented a closed case is open for public inspection and copying. This is true even though the once-closed case may have been later re-opened by some subsequent action on the part of the copyright claimant, an authorized agent thereof, or by the Copyright Office.
1902.04
Time and place of inspection. All of the materials open for inspection may be inspected during the operating hours of the Copyright Office, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except legal holidays, in the Certifications and Documents Section of the Information and Reference Division. Some of these materials are not stored on the premises of the Copyright Office and access to them cannot be assured unless arrangements are made in advance with the Certifications and Documents Section. Where authorized, inspection of pending applications and documents will be permitted in the Certification and Documents Section.
1902.05
Records not open to public inspection. The general policy of the Copyright Office is to prohibit access to in-process files and to any areas where they are kept. Access to certain information contained in Copyright Office inprocess files may be allowed under conditions specified in section 1902.06(b) below. See 37 C.F.R. 201.2(b)(2). In-process files are those which the Copyright Office prepares for its own internal use in connection with pending applications for registration or for the recordation of documents and which are preliminary to the completion of the public record. These files include the Receipt-In-Process Records, Exception Tracking System Records, accounting files, open unfinished business files, and other files of a similar nature. Certain information contained in Copyright Office in-process files may
[1998]
