The price unit matters in the Copyright Office's announced privacy process. The final rule charges $130 per registration record for an initial request, but a flat $60 for reconsideration of a denial. Both fees are non-refundable. Published February 2, 2017, the rule schedules March 6 effectiveness, still ahead in this February 13 account. The two charges do not scale the same way with record count. [2017-02238][2016-22011]

The September 2016 proposal explains that design. The initial fee accounts for staff review, processing, catalog changes and a new certificate. Reconsideration involves legal review, while the initial payment already covers record changes and certificate printing if the denial is reversed. The flat fee applies regardless of how many records the reconsideration request encompasses. This is the Office's cost-recovery rationale, not evidence that its prices perfectly match costs. [2016-22011]

There is also a non-price distinction. Providing verifiable non-personal substitute information favors a request unless the public-record need substantially outweighs the stated concern. Without a substitute, the concern must substantially outweigh the record need. A claimant's address requires a verifiable replacement in any case. That design gives substitution a procedural advantage, without proving how many people would choose it or how quickly applications would move. [2017-02238]

This paid process concerns requested registration information and preserves the original record offline. Extraneous sensitive details supplied by mistake follow a free removal route for online and offline public records. Reconsideration is limited to one written request per denial, within 30 days of the denial letter, addressing its grounds. Proposal and final rule explain an administrative pricing structure; they do not establish greater access or improved licensing activity. [2017-02238][2016-22011]

Source documents

  1. Removal of Personally Identifiable Information From Registration Recordshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2017-02-02/html/2017-02238.htm
  2. Removal of Personally Identifiable Information From Registration Recordshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-09-15/html/2016-22011.htm