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Another hit in the stomach (I think) from the US Copyright Office today via email.

I tried to register my latest batch 2 months ago and received a response from their office via email regarding an issue with my filing.

I filed all my images as published work. Here comes the kicker:

All the "professional" blogs and articles online advise photographers to register their images in regular intervals e.g. every 3 months.

But according to this response each filing/registration can only cover "one unit of publication". Since photographers are publishing their images on a daily basis (stock, editorial, event etc. shooters) they all would have to file registration every single day?

Do I get this right? I mentioned before that English isn't my native tongue but this sure sounds off.

Does any of you who register copyright ONLY register unpublished works because of this?

Or do you just register a few times a year to "cover" all images (which supposedly isn't allowed)?

This is interesting, I too didn't know about this.

The only reason to register your copyright, and pay $, is to give you the privilege of suing infringers for damages. If you ever did sue someone for infringement, and that person's lawyer could show that you filed for your copyrights in the wrong way, your case would probably be thrown out, and the time and money you spent would be for nothing, I'm guessing.

What about all of us that don't live in the US?  I really don't see the point in me registering images with US Copyright Office.  I think there should be an international copyright office that all the countries use.

Click,

Either you used the wrong form, or you were given incorrect information by the copyright office.

According to circular 40 - http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ40.pdf

"Group Registration of Published Photographs
A single registration can be made for a group of published
photographs if all the following conditions are met.
• The same photographer took all the photographs (if an
employer for hire is named as author, only one photographer’s
work can be included).
• All the photographs were first published in the same calendar
year.
• All the photographs have the same copyright claimant(s).

To register groups of published photographs, you can
use Form GR/PPh/CON, available on the Copyright Office
website under Forms. You can complete the form on your
personal computer and print it out or print out a blank copy
and complete it using black ink. Mail the completed form to
the Copyright Office with the appropriate fee and deposit."

Did you use Form GR/PPh/CON?  If not, then that may be your problem.  If so, you could reply to the email with the reference to circular 40 and ask for clarification. 

My understanding is that the 1 day restriction applies to a "collection" of images like those used to create a calendar not a "group" which is spelled out above.

I believe this only applies if you mail this form and images. It doesn't work this way for the Eco online system.

In all those years where I read "professional" photographers' blogs and articles on how to register copyright, never I have read that the bulk submission cannot be done through the current ECO system.

Always it has been emphasized that the ECO system is so great and easy to file hundreds or thousands of images.

It's all lies 

What the heck?

Waste of time!!  these cases are almost always thrown out of court,  unless, there is a clear case of logo, trademark or person infringement. As in the famous case of Pepsi, some 10 years back AND the photographer in question had filed for copy.