Rights holders have until September 10 to register catalogs at current USCO rates through Cosynd’s bulk filing service before fees rise.
Rights holders looking to register at the current rates should begin identifying unregistered works and organizing catalog data before the increase takes hold.”— CosyndNEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, August 30, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Throughout much of 2026, music organizations pushed back against the U.S. Copyright Office’s (USCO) suggested fee increases, contending that steeper registration expenses would disproportionately affect independent labels, artists, and songwriters. While this advocacy did not prevent the USCO from forwarding its finalized fee schedule to Congress in July, it did shine a spotlight on the affordability of the registration system and may have softened some of the proposed hikes for musical works.
If Congress does not step in during its 120-day review period, the updated fee schedule goes into effect in mid-November. Those wanting to register at existing rates ought to start pinpointing unregistered works and organizing catalog information before the hike takes effect.
Rights holders who submit their catalog information to Cosynd, a platform designed to streamline copyright registration, by September 10 can take advantage of current, lower filing rates via its bulk registration service and have their applications processed under the existing fee structure. With around two weeks left, this deadline carries particular weight for catalog owners holding unregistered masters, compositions, or incomplete chain-of-title records.
This new cutoff arrives as copyright registration becomes an increasingly prominent litigation concern. Generally, a copyright owner must secure registration before initiating a U.S. federal infringement lawsuit. Registration is also necessary to join most class actions and to submit a claim with the Copyright Claims Board (CCB), the USCO’s small claims tribunal. Furthermore, timely registration can influence whether a claimant qualifies for statutory damages—potentially up to $150,000 per infringed work in eligible cases—plus attorney’s fees.
The Warner Music Group settlement with cookie chain Crumbl highlights the exposure risks tied to unlicensed music use in social media campaigns. WMG sued Crumbl over 159 recordings and compositions featured in TikTok and Instagram promotions, initially seeking statutory damages of up to $150,000 for each infringed work.
Meanwhile, in Germany, collecting society GEMA secured a Munich Regional Court ruling against AI music generator Suno. The court mandated that Suno disclose revenue and pay damages, finding it liable for alleged unauthorized training and output activities involving GEMA-represented works. Suno is expected to appeal, but the decision underscores the mounting exposure confronting AI companies that train on protected music. This case further emphasizes why labels and publishers need clear, current copyright registration records before infringement disputes emerge. More than 1,800 artists are backing related class-action lawsuits against Suno and Udio in the United States.
Separately, Round Hill Music has lodged copyright infringement lawsuits against Suno and Anthropic in the U.S. District Court of California. This action adds to the expanding cohort of rights holders challenging artificial intelligence companies over the alleged use of protected music in training data and generated outputs. Round Hill Music states it initially identified 500 ‘bell-weather’ musical compositions, but may need to amend the case to encompass 10,000 or more compositions and sound recordings, with statutory damages potentially exceeding $1 billion.
Cosynd has collaborated with law firms involved in several of these ongoing AI-related lawsuits, supplying registration and ownership documentation that becomes foundational once litigation is underway.
Each of these cases underscores a fundamental point: ownership claims are more challenging to enforce when registrations are incomplete, delayed, or absent. A U.S. work must be registered before its owner can file a federal infringement action. This means that participation in high-stakes claims over unauthorized use, AI training data, or allegedly infringing outputs can hinge on having that copyright registration already in place.
The USCO’s examination process can take months, making reactive registration a weak strategy once a dispute has already surfaced. The strongest remedies also depend on timing. Registering before infringement begins, or within three months of a work’s first publication, generally preserves eligibility for statutory damages and attorney’s fees. Registration after infringement may still support a claim, but it can substantially narrow what a rights holder can recover.
This proposed fee schedule will be the USCO’s first major fee adjustment since 2020. The increases aim to recover more of the costs of providing registration and recordation services, which the office attributes to inflation, labor expenses, and modernization efforts. The USCO has moderated some of its steepest increases for musical works in response to public comments, but not for sound recordings.
The overall increase has been described as approximately 43% across all USCO fee categories. But 55% is closer to the increase for services crafted specifically for music IP owners. The Standard Application, which can be used to register a single work or a group of works sharing the same author, owner, and release date—such as the sound recordings or compositions on an album—sees its fees rise from $65 to $85. Several group registration and recordation fees relevant to music catalogs are also increasing.
Standard Application (electronic filing): $65 → $85
Group registration of musical works on an album, up to 20 works: $65 → $85
GRAM group registration of sound recordings on an album, up to 20 recordings: $65 → $130
Group registration of unpublished works, up to 10 works: $85 → $130
Expedited handling: $800 → $1,100
Electronic recordation of a document: $95 → $215
The GRAM increase is especially consequential. A single group application can cover up to 20 recordings from an album, along with related photographs, artwork, and liner notes. Under the proposed fee schedule, that filing cost moves from $65 to $130.
Recordation is also becoming materially more expensive. The electronic base fee for recording a document, including an assignment or transfer of ownership, rises from $95 to $215. That affects labels, publishers, funds, and buyers working through catalog acquisitions, where recording a transfer can be a central part of establishing a clean public ownership record. That’s the kind of due diligence Cosynd has supported in more than $500 million of catalog merger and acquisition activity to date.
Expedited handling will also rise to $1,100 from $800, in addition to the application fee, emphasizing the cost-savings benefits of timely registration. That creates a costly option for right holders that delay registration until a dispute, closing, licensing negotiation, or litigation deadline is already underway.
Rights holders seeking current, lower federal fees can register through Cosynd at a bulk registration discount. Cosynd must receive submissions by September 10. The earlier cutoff gives time to audit the catalog, determine which works have existing registrations, identify gaps, verify ownership and metadata, and prepare eligible applications before the higher fee schedule takes effect.
For labels and catalog owners, the decision is not necessarily whether to register everything immediately. Rather, it is to identify the masters, compositions, and rights transfers that carry the highest enforcement and commercial value before these costs increase.
Beyond music, Cosynd’s work with news and media publishers, including Forbes, USA Today, The Atlantic, Politico, and Condé Nast, has grown over two years. Across both music and media, Cosynd now protects content that reaches more than 3 billion people daily—a signal that copyright protection concerns are extending well beyond music as AI-driven content use accelerates across industries.
About Cosynd
Cosynd is a cloud-based platform that simplifies copyright registration and rights management for creators, labels, publishers, and media companies. Founded in 2016 and based in New York, Cosynd allows users to register works directly with the USCO, build and sign ownership agreements, and maintain clear chain-of-title documentation at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional legal services. The platform helps rights holders establish an enforceable public record of ownership, a critical step for pursing infringement claims, licensing deals, and catalog transactions. Cosynd currently protects millions of assets for copyright owners in more than 160 countries worldwide.
For more information and assistance, please contact business@cosynd.com
Ashley King
Digital Music News
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