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Continuous Development of IT Systems

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Transforming the Copyright Office through Continuous Development of IT systems

The Copyright Office is transforming both external services and internal work processes. This includes building a new Enterprise Copyright System (ECS) to make all of the Office’s services digitized, interconnected, searchable, and easy to navigate. Additional work is underway to maximize the Office’s efficiency and productivity with improvements to the public information contact center, warehouse management, and certain financial systems.


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Overview

The Copyright Office is building a new Enterprise Copyright System (ECS) to make all of the Office’s services digitized, interconnected, searchable, and easy to navigate. Additional work is underway to maximize the Office’s efficiency and productivity with improvements to the public information contact center, warehouse management, and financial systems.

The ECS integrates and updates all of the Copyright Office’s technology-based services, including:

  • building a redesigned and easier to use registration system that will replace the current Electronic Copyright Office (eCO) system;
  • developing an online recordation system that is more efficient than the paper-based recordation process;
  • building a new Copyright Public Records System with improved functionality over the current system, which will be decommissioned in 2025; and
  • implementing new tools to streamline Office review of licensing statements of account.

These systems will share the same user-centered, flexible design, providing a consistent interface with easier public access and use.

The Copyright Office is committed to modernizing the Office’s information technology (IT) as a top priority as well as a strategic goal. Under the Library of Congress’ centralized IT structure, the Office collaborates with the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) using the process of continuous development, which is an industry-standard iterative approach to software development. Rather than replacing a complex IT system or delivering a new application at once, software is delivered continuously according to business priorities, enabling new functionality to be delivered to the system’s users as soon as it is completed.

The Office includes updates about our ongoing Continuous Development work and progress in our annual reports and in Congressional hearings.


Registration

The Office is replacing the existing Electronic Copyright Office (eCO) registration system with a system that has an improved public-facing application as well as an enhanced internal application for examiners. One of the many exciting features being developed will provide improved deposit submissions for large files, which will better the public and internal user experience. We initiated a limited pilot of two key components of the registration process: uploading of electronic deposits (eDeposits) and use of the most widely used application, the Standard Application, and obtained feedback from test participants.


Recordation

The Office replaced the paper-based, manual recordation process with a modern module that enables web-based submissions and includes an updated recordation workspace for Office staff to review and validate submissions. Launched for use by all members of the public in 2022, the Recordation System pilot allows users to electronically submit transfers of copyright ownership and other documents pertaining to a copyright for recordation. The next iteration focuses on removing another manual process. This is the submission of notices of termination, initially targeting those in section 203.


Copyright Public Records System (CPRS)

The Office is replacing the existing online public catalog with a significantly enhanced module called the Copyright Public Records System (CPRS). The CPRS, currently in pilot, provides access to registration and recordation data with advanced search capabilities, filters, and improved interfaces for public users and Office staff. The Office expects that the CPRS will become the sole source of authoritative online copyright information on registrations and recordations by summer 2025 upon retirement of the legacy system.


Licensing

The Office improved its administration of the section 111 statutory license, which relates to cable operators’ royalty payments to copyright owners for retransmission of over-the-air television and radio broadcast stations to subscribers. Goals for this system included prioritizing value-driven improvements that streamline internal processes; reducing manual entry; and leveraging existing data, systems, and services. Development included work on user experience design and initial automated workflows to replace and streamline outdated processes and eliminate duplication.


Contact Center

The Office provides support to the public, answering inquiries on copyright and Office services. The Office has worked with the GSA Centers of Excellence since FY 2023 to design and implement a best-in-class customer relationship management system (CRM) and omnichannel communications systems to enhance our communications with the public. This modernized contact center allows us to receive, track, and route calls and emails to improve communications quality and timeliness between the Office and the public.


Warehouse

The Copyright Office completed the consolidation of off-site records into a state-of-the-art environmentally controlled storage facility in 2023. This facility provides critical Copyright Office services, ensures prompt availability of new copyright records, and better tracks individual items.

As part of our commitment to the preservation of and access to all public records, the Office is digitizing and creating metadata for print and microfilm records to make them available to a broader audience. These historical public records include the physical copyright card catalog, record books, and the Catalogs of Copyright Entries (CCE). The long-term goal is to make these historical public records available in the Copyright Public Records System (CPRS).

The Library of Congress has reconvened a public committee to expand and enhance communication with external stakeholders and to provide a public forum for sharing information regarding the technology-related aspects of the Copyright Office’s modernization initiative. The committee is managed by the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), with support from the Copyright Office and other Library offices as necessary.

Copyright Public Modernization Committee Meeting Recordings

Copyright Public Modernization Committee Announcements

Prior to the Copyright Public Modernization Committee, the Copyright Office hosted a webinar series that focused on various aspects of our modernization process and progress.

Previous Webinar Recordings and Slides