Mandatory Deposit for Published Works

The U.S. Copyright Act establishes a mandatory deposit requirement for works published in the U.S.

• In general, the owner of copyright has a legal obligation to deposit two copies of a work published in the United States be sent to the Copyright Office within three months of publication.
• Mandatory deposit also applies to foreign works at the time they are published in the United States through the distribution of copies that are either imported or are part of a U.S. edition.

Copyright Registration Satisfies Both Requirements

The copyright law contains a provision under which a single deposit can be made to satisfy both the mandatory deposit requirements for the Library of Congress and for the registration of the copyright.

When you register a copyright for published works, you are complying with both deposit
requirements – with a single deposit of your work.

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