A Copyright Office for the 21st Century

The U.S. Copyright Office should use the occasion of the appointment of a new Register of Copyrights to make fundamental changes in how the Office operates, Public Knowledge said. Current Register Marybeth Peters has served since 1994 and has announced she will retire at the end of this year. The report said: “There is no reason that a 22-month backlog should exist for paper registrations. There certainly is no reason that the ‘new’ eCO [electronic] registration process should have a 6-month backlog after only two years of operation. These delays are symptoms of a system that is not designed to handle the demands of modern copyright.”

PK recommended these objectives:

• Minimize Processing Delays
• Bring All Entries Online
• Make the Registry Searchable
• Create a Visual Registry
• Design for the Future