Copyright Office Issues Response to Backlog Reports

The Copyright Office has issued a response to last week's reports of a backlog at the Copyright Office.

In an email sent out to Copyright Office subscribers, the Copyright Office stated as follows:

A recent Washington Post article focused on the lengthy processing times the Copyright Office is experiencing in wake of its transition from a paper-based to an electronic processing environment. The Copyright Office is working diligently to improve processing times and service to the public in general. To clarify, current processing times by filing method are as follows:
• E-Service with Electronic Deposit: 5 months for 90% to be completed; 33% completed in 2.5 months
• E-Service with Physical Deposit: 6.5 months for 90% to be completed; 33% completed in 3 months
• Paper Claims: 18 months for 90% to be completed; 33% completed in 12 months

As I indicated in my blogposting last week, I personally have experienced some of these recent delays: if the Copyright Office response is accurate, then I must be falling into the ten percent (10%) of electronic filings that are taking longer than five months to process. Having said this, it is helpful to have some understanding of the Copyright Office's current processing timetable, and I for one, appreciated the Copyright Office taking the time to issue a response to these reports.