Register of Copyrights Karyn Temple sent letters to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees in response to inquiries regarding the Supreme Court’s Fourth Estate decision and the Copyright Office’s plans to modernize the registration system and reduce pendency times in light of that decision. In the letter, Temple states that “the seven-month average processing time cited in Fourth Estate for online claims that do not require correspondence has already been reduced to four months,” adding that the overall processing time has been reduced to five months. Temple also says that to prevent another significant backlog of registrations, it’s vital to “ensure that the Registration Program is fully staffed, stabilize IT resources, and ensure that the Copyright Office can continue to operate in the event of a government shutdown.” In addition to responses to specific questions from the committees, the letter includes an explanation of challenges the Office has faced in administering the registration system, and actions that have been taken to address those challenges, as well as a detailed pendency reduction plan.