900-4
905
Distribution as publication. (cont'd)
905.03
Deposit in a public library. Where a copy or phonorecord of a work is deposited in a public library for unrestricted access by the public, the Copyright Office will not refuse registration as a published work. In such a case, the Office will assume that access to the deposit was unrestricted unless it has information to the contrary.
905.04
Deposit for registration in the Copyright Office. Deposit for registration in the Copyright Office will not be considered to constitute publication.
905.05
By sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending. Publication occurs by the sale or other transfer of ownership of copies or phonorecords or by their rental, lease, or lending.
906
Offering to distribute as publication. The offering by the copyright owner, or under his or her authority, to distribute copies or phonorecords to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display, constitutes publication. See 17 U.S.C. 101. The statutory definition implies that the offering to distribute must be of existing multiple copies or phonorecords.
Examples:
1)
The offering by a film exchange to distribute prints of an existing motion picture for performance in theatres is publication.
2)
The offering of a new line of greeting cards that are in existence to retail outlets is publication.
3)
Offering a work, such as a cartoon or column, to a number of syndicators for purposes of further distribution would normally constitute publication.
[1984]
