CO Amends Deadline Rule for Copyright Reconsideration Requests

The Copyright Office said it's changed its deadline for parties to submit requests for reconsideration of previously denied copyright applications, so a party must have its reconsideration request postmarked by the deadline -- three months after the CO refused to grant the most recent copyright application. Refused applicants previously needed to ensure their reconsideration request made it to the CO before the three-month deadline. The rule took effect Friday and isn't subject to being initially noticed as a proposed rulemaking because the rule change doesn't affect how parties present themselves to the CO, said a notice in the Federal Register. The CO said it's adopting the deadline rule change because it “can be difficult to predict how long it will take for a reconsideration request to be received by the [CO], particularly given security screening related delays." A change to the “postal” deadline rule that covers “requests for reconsideration delivered by the United States Postal Service or dispatched by a commercial carrier, courier, or messenger” will “offer applicants greater certainty while continuing to ensure that appeals are considered in a timely fashion,” the CO said. The rule covers only reconsideration requests postmarked after Friday, the CO said.