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Group Registration of Updates to a News Website

The U.S. Copyright Office is proposing to amend its regulation governing the group registration option for news websites. This update revises the definition of a "news website" ...

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Library of Congress
Copyright Office
  1. 37 CFR Part 202
  2. [Docket No. 2026-5]
( printed page 31684)

AGENCY:

U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Copyright Office is proposing to amend its regulation governing the group registration option for news websites. This update revises the definition of a “news website” to clarify the works eligible for the option. The Office invites comment on this proposal.

DATES:

Written comments on the proposed rule must be received by the U.S. Copyright Office no later than June 29, 2026.

ADDRESSES:

For reasons of government efficiency, the Copyright Office is using the regulations.gov system for the submission and posting of public comments in this proceeding. All comments should be submitted electronically through regulations.gov. Specific instructions for submitting comments are available on the Copyright Office website at https://copyright.gov/​rulemaking/​newswebsite-amendment/​. If electronic submission of comments is not feasible due to lack of access to a computer or the internet, please contact the Office using the contact information below for special instructions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Rhea Efthimiadis, Assistant to the General Counsel, by email at or by telephone at (202) 707-8350.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In July 2024, the U.S. Copyright Office (“Office”) adopted a final rule establishing a group registration option for frequently updated news websites.[1] This registration option permits a news publisher to register a month of updates to a news website with one application and filing fee.[2] In that final rule, the Office explained that the definition of “news websites” was intended to “encompass news websites that cover current events and provide information on diverse topics,” but acknowledged that it would monitor the rule's implementation and consider revisions “if the definition proves too rigid or unworkable.” [3]

Since the rule's implementation, many aspects of the group registration option have functioned as intended. News publishers are taking advantage of this registration option, and the Office has gained experience examining these claims. That experience has shown that the current definition of “news websites” presents recurring questions in its application. In particular, the current requirement that the news website “contain[ ] a broad range of news on all subjects and activities,” [4] if strictly applied, could be understood to exclude otherwise eligible news websites that focus on a defined subject area or set of topics.[5]

Accordingly, the Office issues this notice of proposed rulemaking to amend the definition of “news website.” The proposed amendment is intended to clarify the works eligible for the group option, while preserving administrability and accommodating a range of modern news publishing practices. The updated definition reflects that: (1) a news website need only report on a variety of subjects, (2) the primary function of the website must be to report on current events, and (3) the news content must be updated frequently. All other aspects of the final rule published in July 2024 remain unchanged.[6]

The Office welcomes public comment on its proposal.

List of Subjects in 37 CFR Part 202

  • Copyright
  • Copyright claims, preregistration and registration

Proposed Regulations

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Copyright Office proposes amending 37 CFR part 202 as follows:

PART 202—PREREGISTRATION AND REGISTRATION OF CLAIMS TO COPYRIGHT

1. The authority citation for part 202 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 17 U.S.C. 408(f), 702.

2. Amend § 202.4 by revising paragraph (m)(1) to read as follows:

Group registration.
* * * * *

(m) * * *

(1) Definitions. For the purposes of paragraph (m) of this section:

(i) News website means a website that is primarily designed to be a source of written information on current events, either local, national, or international in scope.

* * * * *

Dated: May 26, 2026.

Emily L. Chapuis,

General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights.

Footnotes

1.  89 FR 58991 (July 22, 2024).

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3.   Id. at 58994.

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5.  For example, the Washington Post recently ceased coverage of sports, foreign news, and books. Mary Cunningham, Washington Post begins sweeping layoffs as it sharply scales back news coverage, CBS News (Feb. 5, 2026), https://www.cbsnews.com/​news/​washington-post-begins-sweeping-layoffs/​.

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6.   But see91 FR 13529, 13534-35 (Mar. 20, 2026) (discussing the proposed fee increase for the group registration of updates to news websites).

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[FR Doc. 2026-10604 Filed 5-27-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 1410-30-P

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91 FR 31684

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“Group Registration of Updates to a News Website,” thefederalregister.org (May 28, 2026), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2026-10604/group-registration-of-updates-to-a-news-website.