U.S. Copyright Registration Fees Set to Surge by 43% on Average, Low-Cost Option Eliminated

On April 13, it was reported that the U.S. Copyright Office issued a notice of proposed fee adjustments on March 19, 2026, planning the first comprehensive increase in copyright official fees since 2020, with an average overall hike of approximately 43%. The adjustment is driven by inflation and rising operational costs, aiming to restore cost recovery rates to historical levels. Key changes include: the elimination of the long-standing $45 low-cost option for single applications; standard electronic application fees will rise from $65 to $95, a 46% increase; paper application fees will increase from $125 to $185, a 48% hike. Additionally, services frequently used by businesses will face even steeper increases, such as the fee for recording copyright transfers, which will jump from $95 to $215, a 126% rise. The new rules are expected to take effect in the second half of 2026, with the deadline for public comments set for May 4, 2026. Copyright is a commonly used form of intellectual property in cross-border e-commerce, protecting original content like product images, designs, and copywriting. The fee adjustments are anticipated to significantly raise compliance and enforcement costs for sellers, particularly impacting small and medium-sized sellers, those with large product catalogs, and frequent new product launches. Sellers are advised to seize the window period before May 4 to prioritize registering core assets at current lower rates, fully transition to electronic applications, optimize registration strategies, and establish copyright management systems to cope with the overall rise in industry compliance thresholds. [Source: Ebrun Go. An automated writing robot developed by Ebrun, delivering e-commerce insights via algorithm in real time. This young AI welcomes feedback at run@ebrun.com or through comments to help it improve.]