Advocacy Briefs collects short CPI position statements on current copyright policy issues affecting creators, copyright owners, and the public interest. These briefs are designed to be practical, readable, and action-oriented.

Advocacy Brief No. 1: Freeze the Fees

Keep Copyright Registration Affordable for Creators

The U.S. Copyright Office’s proposed registration fee increases would make it harder for many creators and small rights holders to protect their work. CPI supports a simple principle: copyright registration fees should remain affordable, predictable, and accessible.

Registration is not a luxury. In practice, it is often the gateway to meaningful enforcement. Registration can determine whether a creator can pursue claims effectively, seek statutory damages and attorneys’ fees, and use other enforcement tools available under copyright law. When fees rise too far, the burden falls hardest on independent creators, photographers, visual artists, writers, and small businesses that already face tight budgets and uneven infringement risks.

CPI is especially concerned by two parts of the current proposal. First, higher basic registration costs would make routine protection more expensive for everyday creators and small entities. Second, eliminating lower-cost pathways would risk pricing out exactly the people the copyright system should encourage to participate.

CPI also believes that fee increases should be evaluated in light of real-world creator behavior. A registration system only works if creators actually use it. If higher fees cause creators to register fewer works, delay registration, or skip registration entirely, the result will be a weaker copyright record, fewer enforceable rights, and less practical protection for small creators.

Until a better and more creator-sensitive fee structure is in place, CPI believes the Copyright Office should not eliminate affordable entry points into the registration system.

CPI’s position is straightforward:

  1. Freeze basic registration fees at current levels unless and until the Office adopts a model that preserves meaningful affordability for individual creators and small entities.
  2. Keep lower-cost filing options available for eligible creators.
  3. Avoid fee changes that discourage registration by photographers, visual artists, writers, and other creators who must file repeatedly to protect ongoing output.
  4. Prioritize broad participation in the registration system over short-term cost recovery.

A copyright system that is too expensive to use is not working well enough for the people it is meant to protect. Copyright registration should remain practical for creators, not just for larger organizations that can absorb higher filing costs.

Copyright Policy Institute