C. Issues Related to Registration of a Restored Work

1. Simultaneous Registration

Ms. Lorente asserted that registration is a second formality, and
asked for simultaneous filing of NIEs and registration of copyright
claims. She also argued both should be automatic and at no additional
cost. Comment 5, at 2. Ms. Theg asked that the application for
registration be modified to include the additional information
requested in the NIE so that the NIE filing requirements could be
satisfied at the time of making an application for registration.
Comment 9, at 1.

As discussed earlier, procedures permitting the copyright
registration of restored works are not formalities in violation of the
Berne Convention. Registration is entirely voluntary for Berne works
since copyright registration of restored works is not a prerequisite
for the filing of a copyright infringement action. Registration of a
claim in a work involves significant additional work and by law
requires a fee. The Office has, however, attempted to keep the
processing work and the fees to a minimum.

2. New URAA Related Registration Procedures

Mr. Pierce observed that registration, especially of motion
pictures, is often very burdensome for foreign works, because of the
difficulty in determining original publication dates and in submitting
a copy of the work as first released. He concluded that applications
will be filed for only a small percentage of the works unless the