Gayle: I’m so glad you found this helpful. Yes, Kathryn is very close to you! Thank you for listening.

As well, the CCB can also address non-infringing uses (fair use) and misrepresentations of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) “Take-Down Notices” or “Counter-Notices” claims. See https://blogs.loc.gov/copyright/2022/07/the-copyright-claims-board-is-here-find-out-if-its-right-for-you/?loclr=eacop and https://ccb.gov/about/

In summary: The CCB permits creatives to pursue US-based copyright infringers (respondents) without having to hire an attorney or make a trip to Washington, DC (all communications and delivery of documents are done electronically). The process to get your day in this small-claims-type court is stream-lined and affordable ($40/$60) per case + the cost (~ $100???) to process-serve CCB documents to the infringer.

Attorney fees are not available if you prevail against the infringers. As well, the infringer can statutorily OPT-OUT of any CCB proceedings for any reason!

So, you’ll still likely need a “timely” registered copyright claim (the infringed work was registered either before the infringement began or registered within three-months of its first-date of publication) to have the necessary leverage to encourage (push) the infringer to accept CCB jurisdiction. If the infringer opts-out, you can pursue the matter in federal court where the infringer could be liable for MUCH higher statutory damages AND your attorney fees & legal cost.

To mitigate their financial exposure & legal liability (including receiving “bad press” and/or social media shaming), most all US-based, non-judgement-proof copyright infringers who are facing a timely registered copyright claim and whose use does not fall within the scope of Fair Use will want to confidentially settle out of CCB/court and put their infringing actions behind them.

It can pay lots of legal and financial dividends to get your creative works timely registered!

To be clear, creatives can register from 2 to 10 UN-published works from the same category, like visual arts (for example, three un-published paintings, two un-published drawings, five un-published sculptures) using the “Group Registration of Un-published Works” (GRUW) on-line copyright registration application” for a single filing fee of $85 total (it’s not $85 per work). See the GRUW info & tutorial at https://www.copyright.gov/gruw/ and https://youtu.be/eR14iSM4esQ

The attorney described the group application (GRUW) as a “coming out as a collection …is called a ‘Day of publication’ (copyright lingo) – all published on the same day.” I’ve never heard of that! Again, the GRUW application is for UN-published works ONLY. Once you’ve officially registered via the GRUW application, you can officially publish those works individually or together at any time. Also, the US Copyright Office does not identify the GRUW application as a “collection” of works, but rather as a GROUP of un-published individual works that have their own copyright registration claim.

It’s important NOT to mixed published and UN-published works in the GRUW application. If your works are published, use the “Single Application” or “Standard Application” (see below).

Do not register your ten un-published works using the GRUW application on say, a Monday, and on that very Monday “publish” them. If you can, wait at least two full days before making your work available to the public (published status).

To register ONE work ONLY, use the following on-line applications:

“Single Application”: The fee to register ONE un-/published work (like one book or one illustration or one photograph or one painting or one cartoon or one poem, etc.) with ONE author who’s the SAME copyright claimant, that’s NOT a-work-for-hire project, and that does NOT include any third-party creative media, is $45 — you MUST have created the ENTIRE work yourself! See https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ11.pdf and https://youtu.be/MkBiPQNDVBc

Otherwise, to register a single un-/published work with multiple authors, and/or as a derivative/collective work, and/or that includes Creative Commons, Public Domain, and/or licensed media, etc., the fee is $65. Use the “Standard Application” (on-line eCO application): https://youtu.be/6gNkssUfYas

If you’re unsure about which application to use to register your ONE work, select the Standard Application.

“Publication” Definition: Publication typically means the work has been released and made available to the public for licensing, selling, sharing, downloading, or for further distribution (either for free or for payment). The day you deliver your creative work to your client or to stock or to a selling platform (Etsy) is likely the official date of its first-publication. If you’re just “displaying” a work on-line (like on a website or printed portfolio) and NOT selling or sharing it, then the work is likely un-published. See Circular 1 (Copyright Basics, page 7) for the legal definition of “Publication”: https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf