Protecting Your Company's Intellectual Property: A Practical Guide to Trademarks, Copyrights, Patents & Trade Secrets

Examination of the Application and Registration

The Copyright Office does not send any notification that it has received an application. Thus, it is a good idea to send the application by registered or certified mail and request a return receipt from the Copyright Office. Once the application is filed, it is extremely difficult to obtain information on the status of the application. There is no tracking or monitoring system as is offered by the PTO for trademark and patent applications. If status information is critical, the Copyright Office will conduct an in-process search for $65 per hour.

Once the Copyright Office receives the application, an examination is conducted of the application and deposit material. The Copyright Office generally ...