My reading is that, since the application was not immediately rejected, the copyright is active -- this is also mentioned in the original story I linked, which

My reading is that, since the application was not immediately rejected, the copyright is active -- this is also mentioned in the original story I linked, which said the author had 30 days to appeal, during which time the copyright would still be active. So that's why the current status shows as "under copyright". But I read this bit: > "The US Copyright Office is aware of public reporting regarding an open copyright registration application. The Office has not issued a decision in this matter, and it remains ongoing" as indicating that the status of the application is still open, that is, it's still being processed by the office, and will be closed (as accepted or rejected) once a decision is made.