republic-os/legal/us/code/title-17/chapter-7/section-701.md

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LegalText	17 U.S.C. § 701	The Copyright Office: General responsibilities and organization	us	united_states_code	code_section	17	COPYRIGHTS	7	COPYRIGHT OFFICE	701	17 U.S.C. § 701	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc17@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t17/s701	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-17/usc17.xml	7cc0f4404aeab5fa23e4be5e495bebe2593764a77885ba5df0049170b0a97f42	53c244d73050c7c92329dce6d1ccd78b9e2fece359d919b044b600b95258446c	e5b7692c06aab1dcf44c6f8d56799900981337a78ae6a25caf09c9716c2e9989	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

17 U.S.C. § 701 - The Copyright Office: General responsibilities and organization

Text

(a) All administrative functions and duties under this title, except as otherwise specified, are the responsibility of the Register of Copyrights as director of the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress. The Register of Copyrights, together with the subordinate officers and employees of the Copyright Office, shall be appointed by the Librarian of Congress, and shall act under the Librarian’s general direction and supervision.

(b) In addition to the functions and duties set out elsewhere in this chapter, the Register of Copyrights shall perform the following functions:

(1) Advise Congress on national and international issues relating to copyright, other matters arising under this title, and related matters.

(2) Provide information and assistance to Federal departments and agencies and the Judiciary on national and international issues relating to copyright, other matters arising under this title, and related matters.

(3) Participate in meetings of international intergovernmental organizations and meetings with foreign government officials relating to copyright, other matters arising under this title, and related matters, including as a member of United States delegations as authorized by the appropriate Executive branch authority.

(4) Conduct studies and programs regarding copyright, other matters arising under this title, and related matters, the administration of the Copyright Office, or any function vested in the Copyright Office by law, including educational programs conducted cooperatively with foreign intellectual property offices and international intergovernmental organizations.

(5) Perform such other functions as Congress may direct, or as may be appropriate in furtherance of the functions and duties specifically set forth in this title.

(c) The Register of Copyrights shall adopt a seal to be used on and after January 1, 1978, to authenticate all certified documents issued by the Copyright Office.

(d) The Register of Copyrights shall make an annual report to the Librarian of Congress of the work and accomplishments of the Copyright Office during the previous fiscal year. The annual report of the Register of Copyrights shall be published separately and as a part of the annual report of the Librarian of Congress.

(e) Except as provided by section 706(b) and the regulations issued thereunder, all actions taken by the Register of Copyrights under this title are subject to the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act of June 11, 1946, as amended (c. 324, 60 Stat. 237, title 5, United States Code, Chapter 5, Subchapter II and Chapter 7).

(f) The Register of Copyrights shall be compensated at the greater of the rate of pay in effect for level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5 or the maximum annual rate of basic pay payable under section 5376 of such title for positions at agencies with a performance appraisal system certified under section 5307(d) of such title. The Librarian of Congress shall establish not more than four positions for Associate Registers of Copyrights, in accordance with the recommendations of the Register of Copyrights. The Librarian shall make appointments to such positions after consultation with the Register of Copyrights. The rate of basic pay for each Associate Register of Copyrights shall be fixed in accordance with section 5376 of title 5.

(Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2591; Pub. L. 101–319, § 2(b), July 3, 1990, 104 Stat. 290; Pub. L. 105–304, title IV, § 401(a)(2), (b), Oct. 28, 1998, 112 Stat. 2887; Pub. L. 116–94, div. P, title XIV, § 1404(a)(3), (b)(2), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3208.)

Notes

Editorial Notes

References in TextThe Administrative Procedure Act of June 11, 1946, referred to in subsec. (e), was repealed and the provisions thereof were reenacted as subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, by Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 278.

Amendments2019—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 116–94 substituted “The Register of Copyrights shall be compensated at the greater of the rate of pay in effect for level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5 or the maximum annual rate of basic pay payable under section 5376 of such title for positions at agencies with a performance appraisal system certified under section 5307(d) of such title.” for “The Register of Copyrights shall be compensated at the rate of pay in effect for level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5.” and “The rate of basic pay for each Associate Register of Copyrights shall be fixed in accordance with section 5376 of title 5.” for “Each Associate Register of Copyrights shall be paid at a rate not to exceed the maximum annual rate of basic pay payable for GS–18 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5.” 1998—Subsecs. (b) to (e). Pub. L. 105–304, § 401(b)(1), added subsec. (b) and redesignated former subsecs. (b) to (d) as (c) to (e), respectively. Former subsec. (e) redesignated (f). Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 105–304 redesignated subsec. (e) as (f) and substituted “III” for “IV” and “5314” for “5315” in first sentence. 1990—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 101–319 added subsec. (e).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1990 AmendmentPub. L. 101–319, § 5, July 3, 1990, 104 Stat. 291, provided that: “(a) Effective Date.—The amendments made by this Act [amending this section and section 802 of this title and sections 5315 and 5316 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 101 of this title] shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [July 3, 1990]. “(b) Budget Act.—Any new spending authority (within the meaning of section 401 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 [2 U.S.C. 651]) which is provided under this Act shall be effective for any fiscal year only to the extent or in such amounts as are provided in appropriations Acts.”

National Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted WorksPub. L. 93–573, title II, §§ 201–208, Dec. 31, 1974, 88 Stat. 1873–1875, as amended by Pub. L. 94–314, June 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 692; Pub. L. 95–146, Oct. 28, 1977, 91 Stat. 1226, created in the Library of Congress a National Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works to study and compile data on (1) the reproduction and use of copyrighted works of authorship (A) in conjunction with automatic systems capable of storing, processing, retrieving, and transferring information, and (B) by various forms of machine reproduction, not including reproduction by or at the request of instructors for use in face-to-face teaching activities, and (2) the creation of new works by the application or intervention of such automatic systems or machine reproduction, required the Commission to submit a final report to the President and Congress on or before July 31, 1978, and provided that the Commission terminated the sixtieth day after submitting the final report.