What is the difference between the mandatory deposit obligation and the Cataloging in Publication (CIP) obligation?
Mandatory deposit is a legal obligation and applies to all U.S. and foreign publishers distributing their works in the United States. A CIP obligation is limited to those publishers who have entered a contractual agreement with the Library of Congress. In exchange for the Library providing preliminary cataloging information to the publisher for works submitted to the CIP program, the publisher agrees to provide a copy of the publication to the Library of Congress.
Mandatory deposit is a legal obligation (17 U.S.C. section 407) and applies to all U.S. and foreign publishers distributing their works in the United States. A CIP obligation is limited to those publishers who have entered a contractual agreement with the Library of Congress. In exchange for the Library providing preliminary cataloging information to the publisher for works submitted to the CIP program, the publisher agrees to provide a copy of the publication to the Library of Congress.
