As part of the Artists' Rights and Theft Prevention Act of 2005
(Title I of the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act), signed into
law this year by President Bush to combat rampant piracy of
unreleased projects in the entertainement industry, on Oct. 27th the
Copyright Office published an interim regulation governing the
preregistration of unpublished works that are being prepared for
commercial distribution in classes of works that have had a history
of pre-release infringement.
The interim regulation, effective as of November 15, 2005, covers
motion pictures, sound recordings, musical compositions, literary
works in book form, computer programs, and ad/marketing photos and
the work does not have to exist in physical format.
In order to qualify for preregistration protection, the work (1) must
be unpublished; (2) must be one of the types of works listed above;
and (3) must be in the process of being prepared for commercial distribution.
To preregister you must submit an application online
at eCO (the electronic Copyright Office) and pay a $100 fee.
