For an author whose home address appears in a copyright registration, seeking privacy would involve more than asking for a web page edit. The U.S. Copyright Office's February 2 final rule requires an affidavit and a non-refundable fee for removing requested personal information from its online catalog. As of February 13, 2017, its March 6 effective date remains ahead. [2017-02238]

The initial charge is $130 per registration record. The September 2016 proposal explains what that price was intended to cover: staff review, processing, catalog changes and a replacement certificate. The final schedule retains it, alongside a flat $60 reconsideration fee, regardless of record count. That cost explanation does not establish whether individual authors can comfortably afford the service. [2017-02238][2016-22011]

A separate route matters for people who mistakenly supplied information the Office did not request, such as a Social Security number or banking details. The final rule provides free removal of this extraneous information from both online and offline public records, without a notation. A written request must identify the author or claimant, registration numbers and information concerned. Calling all privacy requests a paid service would miss this distinction. [2017-02238]

For requested information, relief remains narrower: the original record stays available for public inspection and copying offline. Removing a claimant's address requires a verifiable substitute address. The proposal also warns that third-party websites can retain previously posted details. These are two stages of one rulemaking, not separate evidence of reduced harm. The practical burden depends on which category of information an author needs changed. [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