100-7
109
Communications between the applicant and the Copyright Office. (cont'd)
109.01
In general. As a general policy the Copyright Office may register claims without communicating with the applicant whenever possible. The Copyright Office will communicate with the applicant before registration only when the claim as a whole is not in substantial compliance with the practices of the Copyright Office as reflected in this Compendium.
109.02
Office communications. All Copyright Office communications should be clear in meaning, concise in statement, and polite in tone.
109.03
Opinions and advice. Copyright Office communications that result from the examination of claims should be limited to questions concerning registration and related matters. They should conform to the general policy of the Copyright Office by avoiding the expression of opinions or the offer of advice on such matters as the rights of persons in connection with contracts or alleged infringements. Also, there should be no offer or undertaking to resolve disputes concerning conflicting claims to copyright or similar matters. See section 108.06 above, concerning adverse claims.
109.04
One letter concerning more than one application. When more than one application is submitted to the Copyright Office by an applicant in one package, the Office will ordinarily attempt to deal in a single letter with all of those applications which require correspondence, rather than produce a separate letter for each one. Also, the Office may deal in one letter with materials received separately from a single applicant.
109.05
Communications from applicants. The Copyright Office will generally consider all statements and materials submitted by applicants. However, any abusive or scurrilous written materials
[1984]
