Procedural Regulations for the Copyright Royalty Board Regarding Electronic Filing of Claims, 27016-27021 [2017-12114]
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 112 / Tuesday, June 13, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
will be from 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on
July 3, 2017. The regulations in 33 CFR
165.506, listed as event (b.) 28,
Susquehanna River, Havre de Grace,
MD; Safety Zone, in the table to 33 CFR
165.506 will be enforced from 8:30 p.m.
to 10:30 p.m. on July 2, 2017; and in the
case of inclement weather enforcement
will be from 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on
July 3, 2017.
If
you have questions about this notice of
enforcement, call or email Mr. Ron
Houck, U.S. Coast Guard Sector
Maryland-National Capital Region
(WWM Division); telephone 410–576–
2674, email Ronald.L.Houck@uscg.mil.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
The safety
zone for the Town of Chesapeake Beach
fireworks display will include all waters
within 200 yard radius of the fireworks
barge in approximate position latitude
38°41′36″ N., longitude 076°31′30″ W.,
and within a 200 yard radius of the
fireworks barge in approximate position
latitude 38°41′28″ N., longitude
076°31′29″ W. The safety zone for the
Havre de Grace 4th of July Celebration
fireworks display will include all waters
within a 150 yard radius of the
fireworks barge in approximate position
latitude 39°32′19″ N., longitude
076°04′58.3″ W.
This action is being taken to provide
for the safety of life on navigable
waterways during these events. As
specified in § 165.506 (d), during the
enforcement period, vessels may not
enter, remain in, or transit through the
safety zone unless authorized by the
Coast Guard Captain of the Port (COTP)
or designated Coast Guard patrol
personnel on scene. All persons and
vessels shall comply with the
instructions of the COTP, Coast Guard
Patrol Commander or the designated onscene-patrol personnel. Other Federal,
State and local agencies may assist these
personnel in the enforcement of the
safety zone. If the COTP or his
designated on-scene patrol personnel
determine the regulated area need not
be enforced for the full duration stated
in this notice, a Broadcast Notice to
Mariners may be used to grant general
permission to enter the regulated area.
This notice of enforcement is issued
under authority of 33 CFR 165.506(d)
and 5 U.S.C. 552(a). In addition to this
notice of enforcement in the Federal
Register, the Coast Guard will provide
notification of this enforcement period
via the Local Notice to Mariners and
marine information broadcasts.
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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Dated: June 8, 2017.
Lonnie P. Harrison, Jr.,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the
Port Maryland-National Capital Region.
[FR Doc. 2017–12164 Filed 6–12–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110–04–P
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Royalty Board
37 CFR Parts 350 and 360
[Docket No. 17–CRB–0012–RM]
Procedural Regulations for the
Copyright Royalty Board Regarding
Electronic Filing of Claims
Copyright Royalty Board,
Library of Congress.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
The Copyright Royalty Judges
are amending regulations governing
claims to royalty fees deposited with the
Copyright Office under compulsory
licenses to reflect implementation of a
new electronic filing system and to
consolidate cable and satellite rules.
DATES: Effective June 13, 2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kimberly Whittle, Attorney Advisor, by
telephone at (202) 707–7658 or email at
crb@loc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
I. Introduction
On March 17, 2017, the Copyright
Royalty Judges (Judges) published a
notice in the Federal Register seeking
comments on proposed amendments to
regulations relating to an automated
system, designated eCRB.1 The
proposed regulations addressed
electronic filing of claims to royalty fees
deposited with the Copyright Office for
compulsory licenses. The Judges
received comments from the following
interested parties: The Allocation Phase
Parties; 2 the Joint Sports Claimants
(JSC); 3 the MPAA-Represented Program
Suppliers (Program Suppliers); 4 the
1 See
82 FR 14167.
Allocation Phase Parties are Program
Suppliers, Joint Sports Claimants, Commercial
Television Claimants, Public Broadcasting Service,
American Society of Composers, Authors and
Publishers, Broadcast Music, Inc., SESAC, Inc.,
Settling Devotional Claimants, Canadian Claimants
Group, and National Public Radio.’’ Comments of
the Allocation Phase Parties at 1 n1.
3 The JSC is comprised of Office of the
Commissioner of Baseball, National Football
League, National Basketball Association, Women’s
National Basketball Association, National Hockey
League, and the National Collegiate Athletic
Association. JSC Comments at 1 n.1.
4 The Program Suppliers are comprised of The
Motion Picture Association of America, Inc., its
2 ‘‘The
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Performing Rights Organizations
(PROs); 5 and Screenrights International
(Screenrights).6
II. Comments on Proposed Rules and
Judges’ Findings
The Judges address the comments on
a section-by-section basis. The Judges
will adopt without change those
sections upon which no interested party
commented.7
Section 360.4—Form and Content of
Claims
Each of the comments the Judges
received addressed this section. All of
the commenters opposed proposed
language that would have required
parties filing joint claims to identify a
qualifying secondary transmission of a
work for each copyright owner listed in
a joint claim. See, e.g., Comments of the
Allocation Phase Parties at 1–4; JSC
Comments at 1; Program Suppliers
Comments at 3–4; PROs Comments at
4–6; Screenrights Comments at 1. Two
commenters sought clarification that
§ 360.4(b)(2)(ii) does not require the filer
of a joint claim to include a separate
statement from each copyright owner
confirming the filer’s authorization to
act on the copyright owner’s behalf. See
Comments of the Allocation Phase
Parties at 6–7; Program Suppliers
Comments at 2–3. In addition, the
Program Suppliers proposed that the
special relief granted to performing
rights organizations in § 360.4(b)(2)(i)
and (ii) be extended to ‘‘collective
management organizations’’ such as
AGICOA, EGEDA, and Screenrights. See
Program Suppliers Comments at 4–7.8
The Allocation Phase Parties
described the burden on claimants and
filers of requiring identification of a
qualifying transmission for a work of
each copyright owner listed in a joint
claim, both in terms of labor and
monetary expense. ‘‘For example, the
member companies and ‘‘other producers and/or
distributors of syndicated series, movies, specials,
and non-team sports broadcast by television
stations.’’ Program Suppliers Comments at 1.
5 The PROs consist of the American Society of
Composers, Authors and Publishers, Broadcast
Music, Inc., and SESAC, Inc.
6 ‘‘Screenrights International is a division of the
Audio-Visual Copyright Society Pty Ltd trading as
Screenrights the Australian based collecting
society.’’ Screenrights Comments at 1.
7 The Judges received no comments, apart from
technical corrections, on the following sections in
the NPRM: §§ 350.5(c)(3), 360.1, 360.2, 360.3, 360.5,
360.20, 360.21, 360.23, 360.24, 360.31, and 360.32.
The Judges have incorporated in the final rule all
technical corrections to these provisions identified
in the comments.
8 Several commenters also suggested
nonsubstantive, technical corrections to this
section. The Judges find all of those suggestions to
have merit and have included them in the final
rule.
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last time one of the Allocation Phase
Parties . . . undertook such a task, it
expended approximately 300 hours
annually to identify secondary
transmissions . . . . [F]or many
copyright owners’ claims it would
require merging commercially available
and expensive broadcast programming
databases with cable carriage data
. . . .’’ Comments of the Allocation
Phase Parties at 3. The Allocation Phase
Parties also noted that the Copyright
Office had considered and ultimately
rejected the same requirement in 1994.
Id. at 2–3. In the face of unanimous
opposition from interested parties, the
Copyright Office concluded that
‘‘requiring identification of a secondary
transmission for each joint claimant
would add in some cases a substantial
burden and cost to joint claimants
without yielding an appreciable return
in administrative efficiency.’’ Id. at 3
(quoting Final Regulations, Copyright
Arbitration Royalty Panels, 59 FR
63025–63028 (Dec. 7, 1994)).
Identifying only a single secondary
transmission on a joint claim has very
little utility for the Judges. The Judges
proposed requiring identification of
secondary transmissions for each joint
claimant at the claims-filing stage in
order to improve the efficiency of
distribution proceedings by screening
out invalid claims at the earliest
possible point in the claims distribution
process. The Judges must weigh the
potential improvement of administrative
efficiency against the cost of compliance
on some claimants, and the potential for
deterring the filing of meritorious
claims. On balance, the Judges find that
the burden outweighs the benefit and
will not include the proposed
requirement in the final rule. Moreover,
given the extremely limited value of
identifying a single secondary
transmission on a joint claim, the Judges
will eliminate that existing requirement
as well.9
Similar considerations apply to
§ 360.4(b)(2)(ii). The language the Judges
proposed was intended to elicit
information from joint claimants
regarding their authorization to file
claims on behalf of each of the copyright
owners listed in the claim. Again, the
Judges were seeking to improve the
efficiency of distribution proceedings by
screening out invalid claims at the
earliest possible point in the
distribution process. The Judges
recognize that the proposal would
impose additional cost on some
9 In order to maintain consistency for single and
joint claimants, the Judges will eliminate the
requirement to identify a secondary transmission
from both single and joint claims.
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claimants, potentially deterring them
from filing meritorious claims.
Consequently, the Judges will omit the
proposed the language concerning
authorization from the final rule. The
Judges will rely instead on the filer’s
declaration and certification regarding
the filer’s authority and the veracity of
the claim.
The Program Suppliers have proposed
that the Judges extend to collective
management organizations (CMOs) the
existing language that exempts
performing rights organizations from the
requirement to identify each of the
copyright owners covered by a joint
claim. The Program Suppliers argued
that ‘‘CMOs are distinct from other nonPRO claimants in that they are
government-authorized, non-profit
entities typically regulated by their
native national legislation, and are
specifically created to administer
audiovisual rights and/or collect
royalties on behalf of thousands of
rights owners based in their respective
countries or regions . . . . Within the
context of retransmission royalties,
CMOs therefore are similarly situated as
PROs.’’ Program Suppliers Comments at
5–6.
This is a new proposal that has not
been reviewed or commented upon by
any interested parties (other than the
Program Suppliers). The administrative
record is limited to a brief discussion in
the Program Suppliers Comments. The
Judges are not prepared to extend the
existing exemption to a potentially
broad group of entities on this basis.
The final rule will not include the
Program Suppliers’ proposal.
Section 360.22—Form and Content of
Claims
The PROs urged the Judges to revise
this provision to permit filers of joint
claims to submit a list of joint claimants
in electronic form. PROs Comments at 7.
The PROs ‘‘anticipate[d]’’—correctly—
that eCRB will accommodate lists of
claimants in electronic format, and seek
express acknowledgement in the
regulation. In addition, the PROs sought
language that would permit parties
filing joint claims by mail or hand
delivery to provide claimant lists on a
CD or other electronic format.
Claims filed through eCRB are
entirely electronic. eCRB will permit a
person filing a joint claim to list up to
ten claimants in the webform. For joint
claims with more than ten claimants,
the filer will be permitted to attach a
separate electronic file that lists the
claimants. Proposed § 360.4(b)(2)(i)
already reflects this eCRB innovation.
The Judges will modify proposed
§ 360.22 to reflect this as well.
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In addition, the Judges find the PROs’
proposal to permit parties filing joint
claims by mail or hand delivery to
provide claimant lists on a CD or other
electronic format to be reasonable and
likely to improve administrative
efficiency. The Judges will therefore
include this proposal in both the final
rule for cable and satellite claims
(§ 360.4) and the final rule for DART
claims (§ 360.22).
Section 360.30—Amendment of Claims
The Allocation Phase Parties and the
Program Suppliers urged the Judges to
permit amendment of claims after the
claims-filing deadline without requiring
the claimant to file a motion with the
Judges. See Comments of the Allocation
Phase Parties at 4–6; Program Suppliers
Comments at 7–8. As proposed, § 360.30
would permit claimants to amend
claims prior to the claims filing
deadline by filing a Notice of
Amendment. In the proposed rule, after
the statutory claims filing period
claimants would be required to file a
motion with the Judges demonstrating
good cause and lack of prejudice to
other claimants.
The Allocation Phase Parties noted
that ‘‘[t]he only elements of a claim
subject to being amended are those
relating to the ‘general statement of the
nature of the works’ being claimed and
to the example of a secondary
transmission of one of the copyright
owner’s works establishing the basis of
the claim.’’ Comments of the Allocation
Phase Parties at 5 (citations and footnote
omitted).10 They argued that
‘‘amendments of those portions of a
claim should be allowed as of right at
any time.’’ Id. The Program Suppliers
pointed out that, as drafted, the
regulation would require a claimant to
file a motion to fix typographical and
other nonsubstantive errors after the
claims deadline. Program Suppliers
Comments at 7. In addition, they noted
that ‘‘the Judges typically do not
establish docket numbers or official
service lists for cable or satellite royalty
distribution proceedings until months
(or even years) after royalty claims are
filed’’ making it difficult for claimants
to file motions with the Judges. Id. at 7–
8.
The Allocation Phase Parties’
assertion is mistaken: There are other
elements of a claim that may be
amended. For example, while the
proposed regulation would prohibit
10 The Allocation Phase Parties also note,
correctly, that under the proposal claimants are
required to update contact information for the filer
and copyright owner(s) and are prohibited from
adding additional claimants after the claims filing
deadline.
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 112 / Tuesday, June 13, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
filers from adding additional claimants
to a joint claim, it would allow a filer
to strike claimants that have been
included in error. Filers might also need
to amend a claim to correct an
erroneous corporate name or to reflect a
corporate acquisition or name change.
In addition, the Allocation Phase Parties
failed to note those elements of a claim
to DART royalties, such as the list and
category of interested copyright parties
and identification of the subfund in
which they claim, that are not addressed
by the final sentence of § 360.30.
Nevertheless, the Allocation Phase
Parties are correct in pointing out that
the regulations should allow certain
amendments as of right after the claims
filing deadline. In addition, the Program
suppliers are correct in pointing out
practical difficulties in filing a motion
to amend a claim prior to the initiation
of a distribution proceeding.11
The final regulation will permit
amendment to filed claims prior to the
claims filing deadline as of right. It will
also permit amendment to filed claims
after the claims filing deadline as of
right, provided that the amendment is
limited to correcting the general
description of the nature of the work,
fixing typographical or other
nonsubstantive errors in other portions
of the claim, or striking a claimant that
was erroneously included in a joint
claim. The Judges will address the
procedure for making any other
amendments to filed claims in a
separate rulemaking at a later date and
after further study.
Having considered all comments from
interested parties, the Judges adopt as
final rules the changes and additions to
37 CFR parts 350 and 360 detailed in
this Final Rule.
Final Regulations
List of Subjects
37 CFR Part 350
Administrative practice and
procedure, Claims, Copyright,
Electronic filing.
37 CFR Part 360
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Administrative practice and
procedure, Cable royalties, Claims,
Copyright, Electronic filing, Satellite
royalties.
For the reasons set forth in the
preamble, we amend parts 350 and 360
11 The eCRB system will establish a docket
number for distribution proceedings concurrently
with the filing of the first claim in each category.
Assignment of the docket number alone, however,
will not trigger filing Petitions to Participate, which
are the source documents for lists of participants
requiring notice of proceeding activities.
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of Title 37 of the Code of Federal
Regulations as follows:
PART 350—GENERAL
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
1. The authority citation for part 350
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 17 U.S.C. 803.
2. Amend § 350.5 by adding paragraph
(c)(3) to read as follows:
■
§ 350.5
Electronic filing system (eCRB).
*
*
*
*
*
(c) * * *
(3) Claimants. Any person desiring to
file a claim with the Copyright Royalty
Board for copyright royalties may obtain
an eCRB password for the limited
purpose of filing claims by completing
the application form available on the
CRB Web site.
*
*
*
*
*
■
3. Revise part 360 to read as follows:
PART 360—FILING OF CLAIMS TO
ROYALTY FEES COLLECTED UNDER
COMPULSORY LICENSE
Subpart A—Cable and Satellite Claims
Sec.
360.1 General.
360.2 Definitions.
360.3 Time of filing.
360.4 Form and content of claims.
360.5 Copies of claims.
Subpart B—Digital Audio Recording
Devices and Media (DART) Royalty Claims
360.20 General.
360.21 Time of filing.
360.22 Form and content of claims.
360.23 Copies of claims.
360.24 Content of notices regarding
independent administrators.
Subpart C—Rules of General Application
360.30 Amendment of claims.
360.31 Withdrawal of claims.
360.32 Reinstatement of previously
withdrawn claims.
Authority: 17 U.S.C. 801, 803, 805.
Subpart A also issued under 17 U.S.C.
111(d)(4) and 119(b)(4).
Subpart B also issued under 17 U.S.C.
1007(a)(1).
Subpart C also issued under 17 U.S.C.
111(d)(4), 119(b)(4) and 1007(a)(1).
Subpart A—Cable and Satellite Claims
§ 360.1
General.
This subpart prescribes procedures
under 17 U.S.C. 111(d)(4)(A) and 17
U.S.C. 119(b)(4) whereby parties
claiming entitlement to cable
compulsory license royalty fees or
satellite compulsory license royalty fees
must file claims with the Copyright
Royalty Board.
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§ 360.2
Definitions.
For purposes of this subpart, the
following definitions will apply:
Cable compulsory license royalty fees
means royalty fees deposited with the
Copyright Office pursuant to 17 U.S.C.
111.
Performing rights society has the
meaning set forth in 17 U.S.C. 101.
Satellite compulsory license royalty
fees means royalty fees deposited with
the Copyright Office pursuant to 17
U.S.C. 119.
§ 360.3
Time of filing.
(a) During the month of July each
year, any party claiming to be entitled
to cable compulsory license royalty fees
or satellite compulsory license royalty
fees for secondary transmissions during
the preceding calendar year must file a
claim or claims with the Copyright
Royalty Board. No party will receive
royalty fees for secondary transmissions
during the specified period unless the
party has filed a timely claim to the fees.
Claimants may file claims jointly or as
a single claim. Claimants must file
separate claims for cable compulsory
license royalty fees and satellite
compulsory license royalty fees. The
Copyright Royalty Board will reject any
claim that purports to be for both cable
and satellite royalty fees.
(b) Claims filed with the Copyright
Royalty Board will be considered timely
filed only if they are filed online
through eCRB or by mail or hand
delivery in accordance with § 301.2
during the month of July, as determined
in accordance with § 350.7.
(c) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a)
and (b) of this section, in any year in
which July 31 falls on a Saturday,
Sunday, holiday, or other nonbusiness
day within the District of Columbia or
the Federal Government, the due date
for claims to cable or satellite
compulsory license royalty fees will be
the first business day in August.
(d) In the event the Copyright Royalty
Board does not receive a claim that was
properly addressed and mailed, the filer
may prove proper filing of the claim if
it was sent by certified mail return
receipt requested, and the filer produces
a receipt bearing a July date stamp of the
United States Postal Service. The
Copyright Royalty Board will accept no
other offer of proof in lieu of the return
receipt.
(e) For claims filed electronically
through eCRB, the Copyright Royalty
Board will accept the confirmation
email generated by eCRB as proof of
filing. The Copyright Royalty Board will
accept no other offer of proof regarding
claims filed electronically through
eCRB.
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§ 360.4
Form and content of claims.
(a) Forms. (1) Each filer must use the
form prescribed by the Copyright
Royalty Board to claim cable
compulsory license royalty fees or
satellite compulsory license royalty fees
and must provide all information
required by that form and its
accompanying instructions.
(2) Copies of claim forms are
available:
(i) On the Copyright Royalty Board
Web site at https://www.crb.gov/claims/
during the month of July for claims filed
with the Copyright Royalty Board by
mail or by hand delivery;
(ii) On the Copyright Royalty Board
Web site at https://www.crb.gov/cable/
(for cable claims) or https://www.crb.gov/
satellite/ (for satellite claims) during the
month of July for claims filed online
through eCRB; and
(iii) Upon request to the Copyright
Royalty Board by mail at the address set
forth in § 301.2(a), by email at the
address set forth in § 301.2(d), or by
telephone at (202) 707–7658.
(b) Content—(1) Single claim. A claim
filed on behalf of a single copyright
owner of a work or works secondarily
transmitted by a cable system or satellite
carrier must include the following
information:
(i) The full legal name, address, and
email address of the copyright owner
entitled to claim the royalty fees.
(ii) A statement of the nature of the
copyright owner’s work(s) that has
(have) been secondarily transmitted by
a cable system or satellite carrier
establishing a basis for the claim.
(iii) The name, telephone number, full
mailing address, and email address of
the person or entity filing the single
claim. The information contained in a
filer’s eCRB profile shall fulfill this
requirement for claims submitted
through eCRB.
(iv) The name, telephone number, and
email address of the person whom the
Copyright Royalty Board can contact
regarding the claim.
(v) An original signature of the
copyright owner or of a duly authorized
representative of the copyright owner,
except for claims filed online through
eCRB.
(vi) A declaration of authority to file
the claim and a certification of the
veracity of the information contained in
the claim and the good faith of the
person signing in providing the
information. Penalties for fraud and
false statements are provided under 18
U.S.C. 1001 et seq.
(2) Joint claim. A claim filed on behalf
of more than one copyright owner
whose works have been secondarily
transmitted by a cable system or satellite
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carrier must include the following
information:
(i) With the exception of joint claims
filed by a performing rights society on
behalf of its members, a list including
the full legal name, address, and email
address of each copyright owner whose
claim(s) are included in the joint claim.
Claims filed online through eCRB must
include an Excel spreadsheet containing
the information if the number of joint
claimants is in excess of ten. For claims
filed by mail or hand delivery, the list
containing the name of each claimant to
the joint claim may be provided in a
single Excel spreadsheet on CD, DVD, or
other electronic storage medium.
(ii) A general statement of the nature
of the copyright owners’ works that
have been secondarily transmitted by a
cable system or satellite carrier
establishing a basis for the joint claim.
(iii) The name, telephone number, full
mailing address, and email address of
the person or entity filing the joint
claim. The information contained in a
filer’s eCRB profile shall fulfill this
requirement for claims submitted
through eCRB.
(iv) The name, telephone number, and
email address of a person whom the
Copyright Royalty Board can contact
regarding the claim.
(v) Original signatures of the
copyright owners identified on the joint
claim or of a duly authorized
representative or representatives of the
copyright owners, except for claims
filed online through eCRB.
(vi) A declaration of authority to file
the claim and a certification of the
veracity of the information contained in
the claim and the good faith of the
person signing in providing the
information. Penalties for fraud and
false statements are provided under 18
U.S.C. 1001 et seq.
(c) Changes. In the event the legal
name and/or address of the copyright
owner entitled to royalties or the person
or entity filing the claim changes after
the filing of the claim, the filer or the
copyright owner shall notify the
Copyright Royalty Board of the change.
Any other proposed changes or
amendments must be submitted in
accordance with 37 CFR 360.30. If the
good faith efforts of the Copyright
Royalty Board to contact the copyright
owner or filer are frustrated because of
outdated or otherwise inaccurate
contact information, the claim may be
subject to dismissal. A person or entity
that filed a claim online through eCRB
must notify the Copyright Royalty Board
of any change of name or address by
updating the eCRB profile for that
person or entity through eCRB as
required by 37 CFR 350.5(g).
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§ 360.5
27019
Copies of claims.
Following the instructions outlined in
37 CFR 301.2, a claimant must file an
original and one copy of the claim to
cable or satellite compulsory license
royalty fees at the address(es) listed for
each claim submitted to the Copyright
Royalty Board by hand delivery or by
U.S. mail.
Subpart B—Digital Audio Recording
Devices and Media (DART) Royalty
Claims
§ 360.20
General.
This subpart prescribes procedures
whereby an interested copyright party,
as defined in 17 U.S.C. 1001(7),
claiming to be entitled to royalty
payments made for the importation and
distribution in the United States, or the
manufacture and distribution in the
United States, of digital audio recording
devices and media (DART) pursuant to
17 U.S.C. 1006, shall file claims with
the Copyright Royalty Board.
§ 360.21
Time of filing.
(a) General. During January and
February of each year, every interested
copyright party claiming to be entitled
to DART royalty payments made for
quarterly periods ending during the
previous calendar year must file a claim
with the Copyright Royalty Board.
Claimants may file claims jointly or as
a single claim.
(b) Consequences of an untimely
filing. No royalty payments for the
previous calendar year will be
distributed to any interested copyright
party who has not filed a claim to those
royalty payments during January or
February of the following calendar year.
(c) Authorization. Any organization or
association acting as a common agent
for collection and distribution of DART
royalty fees must obtain from its
members or affiliates separate, specific,
and written authorization, signed by
members, affiliates, or their
representatives, apart from their
standard affiliation agreements, for
purposes of royalties claim filing and
fee distribution relating to the DART
Musical Works Fund or Sound
Recordings Fund. The written
authorization, however, will not be
required for claimants to the Musical
Works Fund when either:
(1) The agreement between the
organization or association and its
members or affiliates specifically
authorizes the entity to represent its
members or affiliates as a common agent
before the Copyright Royalty Board in
royalty claims filing and fee distribution
proceedings; or
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(2) The agreement between the
organization or association and its
members or affiliates, as specified in a
court order issued by a court with
authority to interpret the terms of the
contract, authorizes the entity to
represent its members or affiliates as a
common agent before the Copyright
Royalty Board in royalty claims filing
and fee distribution proceedings.
nlaroche on DSK30NT082PROD with RULES
§ 360.22
Form and content of claims.
(a) Forms. (1) Each claim to DART
royalty payments must be furnished on
a form prescribed by the Copyright
Royalty Board and must contain the
information required by that form and
its accompanying instructions.
(2) Copies of DART claim forms are
available:
(i) On the Copyright Royalty Board’s
Web site at https://www.crb.gov/claims
for claims filed with the Copyright
Royalty Board by mail or by hand
delivery;
(ii) On the Copyright Royalty Board’s
Web site at https://www.crb.gov/dart/
during the months of January and
February for claims filed online through
eCRB; and
(iii) Upon request to the Copyright
Royalty Board, by mail at the address set
forth in § 301.2(a), by email at the
address set forth in § 301.2(d), or by
telephone at (202) 707–7658.
(b) Content. Claims filed by interested
copyright parties for DART royalty
payments must include the following
information:
(1) The full legal name and address of
the person or entity claiming royalty
payments.
(2) The name, telephone number, full
mailing address, and email address of
the person or entity filing the claim. The
information contained in a filer’s eCRB
profile will fulfill this requirement for
claims submitted through eCRB.
(3) The name, telephone number, and
email address of a person whom the
Copyright Royalty Board can contact
regarding the claim.
(4) A statement as to how the claimant
fits within the definition of interested
copyright party.
(5) A statement as to whether the
claim is being made against the Sound
Recordings Fund or the Musical Works
Fund, as set forth in 17 U.S.C. 1006(b),
and as to which Subfund the claim is
made. The Subfunds for the Sound
Recordings Fund are the Copyright
Owners Subfund and the Featured
Recording Artists Subfund, The
Subfunds for the Musical Works Fund
are the Music Publishers Subfund and
the Writers Subfund, as described in 17
U.S.C. 1006(b)(1) through (2).
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14:51 Jun 12, 2017
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(6) Identification, establishing a basis
for the claim, of at least one musical
work or sound recording embodied in a
digital musical recording or an analog
musical recording lawfully made under
title 17 of the United States Code that
has been distributed (as that term is
defined in 17 U.S.C. 1001(6)), and that,
during the period to which the royalty
payments claimed pertain, has been:
(i) Distributed (as that term is defined
in 17 U.S.C. 1001(6)) in the form of
digital musical recordings or analog
musical recordings; or
(ii) Disseminated to the public in
transmissions.
(7) A declaration of the authority to
file the claim and of the veracity of the
information contained in the claim and
the good faith of the person signing in
providing the information. Penalties for
fraud and false statements are provided
under 18 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.
(c) Signature. Claims must bear the
original signature of the claimant or of
a duly authorized representative of the
claimant, except for claims filed online
through eCRB.
(d) Changes. In the event that the legal
name and/or address of the claimant
changes after the filing of the claim, the
claimant must notify the Copyright
Royalty Board of the change. Any other
proposed changes or amendments must
be submitted in accordance with 37 CFR
360.30. If the good faith efforts of the
Copyright Royalty Board to contact the
claimant are frustrated because of
failure to notify the Copyright Royalty
Board of a name and/or address change,
the claim may be subject to dismissal.
A person or entity that filed a claim
online through eCRB must notify the
Copyright Royalty Board of any change
of name or address by updating that
person or entity’s eCRB profile as
required by § 350.5(g).
(e) List of claimants. If the claim is a
joint claim, it must include the name of
each claimant participating in the joint
claim. Filers submitting joint claims
online through eCRB on behalf of ten or
fewer claimants, must list claimant
information directly on the filed joint
claim. Filers submitting joint claims on
behalf of more than ten claimants must
include an Excel spreadsheet listing the
full legal name, address, and email
address of each claimant included in the
joint claim. For joint claims filed by
mail or hand delivery, the filer may
submit the list containing the name of
each claimant included in the joint
claim in a single Excel spreadsheet on
CD, DVD, or other electronic storage
medium.
(f) Subfunds. If an interested
copyright party intends to file claims
against more than one Subfund, each
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Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
Subfund claim must be filed separately
with the Copyright Royalty Board. The
Copyright Royalty Board will reject any
claim that purports to claim funds from
more than one Subfund.
§ 360.23
Copies of claims.
Following the instructions outlined in
37 CFR 301.2, a claimant must file an
original and one copy of the claim to
DART royalty fees at the address(es)
listed for each claim submitted to the
Copyright Royalty Board by hand
delivery or by U.S. mail.
§ 360.24 Content of notices regarding
independent administrators.
(a) The independent administrator
jointly appointed by the interested
copyright parties, as defined in 17
U.S.C. 1001(7)(A), and the American
Federation of Musicians (or any
successor entity) for the purpose of
managing and ultimately distributing
royalty payments to nonfeatured
musicians as defined in 17 U.S.C.
1006(b)(1), must file a notice informing
the Copyright Royalty Board of his/her
appointment.
(b) The independent administrator
jointly appointed by the interested
copyright parties, as defined in 17
U.S.C. 1001(7)(A) and the American
Federation of Television and Radio
Artists (or any successor entity) for the
purpose of managing and ultimately
distributing royalty payments to
nonfeatured vocalists as defined in 17
U.S.C. 1006(b)(1), must file a notice
informing the Copyright Royalty Board
of his/her appointment.
(c) A notice filed under paragraph (a)
or (b) of this section must include the
full name, telephone number, mailing
address, and email address of the place
of business of the independent
administrator.
(d) The independent administrator
must file the notices identified in
paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section
through eCRB no later than March 31 of
each year, commencing with March 31,
2018.
Subpart C—Rules of General
Application
§ 360.30
Amendment of claims.
Any claimant may amend a filed
claim as of right by filing a Notice of
Amendment during the statutory period
for filing annual claims. After the
expiration of the time for filing claims,
a claimant may amend a filed claim as
of right to correct the general
description of the nature of the
claimant’s work(s), to fix typographical
or other nonsubstantive errors in other
portions of the claim, or to strike a
claimant or interested copyright party
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 112 / Tuesday, June 13, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
that was erroneously included in a joint
claim. No filer may amend a filed claim
to add additional claimants or interested
copyright parties after the expiration of
the time for filing claims.
§ 360.31
Withdrawal of claims.
Any claimant may withdraw its claim
for any royalty year as of right by filing
a Notice of Withdrawal of Claim(s). If a
single claimant filed a Petition to
Participate in a proceeding, withdrawal
of the claim shall serve to dismiss the
Petition to Participate. If the claimant
withdrawing a claim was included on
the Petition to Participate of another
entity, withdrawal of the claim shall not
affect the Petition to Participate as to
other claims listed thereon.
§ 360.32 Reinstatement of previously
withdrawn claims.
Once a claimant has withdrawn a
claim, that claim may be reinstated only
by order of the Copyright Royalty
Judges, on motion showing good cause
and lack of prejudice to other claimants
to the applicable year’s royalty funds.
Dated: May 26, 2017.
Suzanne M. Barnett,
Chief Copyright Royalty Judge.
Approved by:
Carla D. Hayden,
Librarian of Congress.
[FR Doc. 2017–12114 Filed 6–12–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410–72–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 180
[EPA–HQ–OPP–2013–0467; FRL–9961–68]
Cumene Sulfonic Acid and Its
Ammonium, Calcium, Magnesium,
Potassium, Sodium and Zinc Salts;
Exemption From the Requirement of a
Tolerance
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
This regulation establishes an
exemption from the requirement of a
tolerance for residues of cumene
sulfonic acid and its ammonium,
calcium, magnesium, potassium,
sodium and zinc salts when used as an
inert ingredient (surfactants, related
adjuvants of surfactants) in pesticide
formulations applied to growing crops
and to animals. Huntsman
Petrochemical LLC submitted a petition
to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), requesting
nlaroche on DSK30NT082PROD with RULES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
14:51 Jun 12, 2017
Jkt 241001
establishment of an exemption from the
requirement of a tolerance. This
regulation eliminates the need to
establish a maximum permissible level
for residues of cumene sulfonic acid and
its ammonium, calcium, magnesium,
potassium, sodium and zinc salts when
applied or used under these conditions.
DATES: This regulation is effective June
13, 2017. Objections and requests for
hearings must be received on or before
August 14, 2017, and must be filed in
accordance with the instructions
provided in 40 CFR part 178 (see also
Unit I.C. of the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION).
The docket for this action,
identified by docket identification (ID)
number EPA–HQ–OPP–2013–0467, is
available at https://www.regulations.gov
or at the Office of Pesticide Programs
Regulatory Public Docket (OPP Docket)
in the Environmental Protection Agency
Docket Center (EPA/DC), West William
Jefferson Clinton Bldg., Rm. 3334, 1301
Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC
20460–0001. The Public Reading Room
is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, excluding legal
holidays. The telephone number for the
Public Reading Room is (202) 566–1744,
and the telephone number for the OPP
Docket is (703) 305–5805. Please review
the visitor instructions and additional
information about the docket available
at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michael Goodis, Registration Division
(7505P), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington,
DC 20460–0001; main telephone
number: (703) 305–7090; email address:
RDFRNotices@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
ADDRESSES:
I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
You may be potentially affected by
this action if you are an agricultural
producer, food manufacturer, or
pesticide manufacturer. The following
list of North American Industrial
Classification System (NAICS) codes is
not intended to be exhaustive, but rather
provides a guide to help readers
determine whether this document
applies to them. Potentially affected
entities may include:
• Crop production (NAICS code 111).
• Animal production (NAICS code
112).
• Food manufacturing (NAICS code
311).
• Pesticide manufacturing (NAICS
code 32532).
PO 00000
Frm 00043
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
27021
B. How can I get electronic access to
other related information?
You may access a frequently updated
electronic version of 40 CFR part 180
through the Government Printing
Office’s e-CFR site at https://
www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/textidx?&c=ecfr&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title40/
40tab_02.tpl
C. How can I file an objection or hearing
request?
Under FFDCA section 408(g), 21
U.S.C. 346a, any person may file an
objection to any aspect of this regulation
and may also request a hearing on those
objections. You must file your objection
or request a hearing on this regulation
in accordance with the instructions
provided in 40 CFR part 178. To ensure
proper receipt by EPA, you must
identify docket ID number EPA–HQ–
OPP–2013–0467 in the subject line on
the first page of your submission. All
objections and requests for a hearing
must be in writing, and must be
received by the Hearing Clerk on or
before August 14, 2017. Addresses for
mail and hand delivery of objections
and hearing requests are provided in 40
CFR 178.25(b).
In addition to filing an objection or
hearing request with the Hearing Clerk
as described in 40 CFR part 178, please
submit a copy of the filing (excluding
any Confidential Business Information
(CBI)) for inclusion in the public docket.
Information not marked confidential
pursuant to 40 CFR part 2 may be
disclosed publicly by EPA without prior
notice. Submit the non-CBI copy of your
objection or hearing request, identified
by docket ID number EPA–HQ–OPP–
2013–0467, by one of the following
methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Do not submit electronically any
information you consider to be CBI or
other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute.
• Mail: OPP Docket, Environmental
Protection Agency Docket Center (EPA/
DC), (28221T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave.
NW., Washington, DC 20460–0001.
• Hand Delivery: To make special
arrangements for hand delivery or
delivery of boxed information, please
follow the instructions at https://
www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.html.
Additional instructions on commenting
or visiting the docket, along with more
information about dockets generally, is
available at https://www.epa.gov/
dockets.
E:\FR\FM\13JNR1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 112 (Tuesday, June 13, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 27016-27021]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-12114]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Royalty Board
37 CFR Parts 350 and 360
[Docket No. 17-CRB-0012-RM]
Procedural Regulations for the Copyright Royalty Board Regarding
Electronic Filing of Claims
AGENCY: Copyright Royalty Board, Library of Congress.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Copyright Royalty Judges are amending regulations
governing claims to royalty fees deposited with the Copyright Office
under compulsory licenses to reflect implementation of a new electronic
filing system and to consolidate cable and satellite rules.
DATES: Effective June 13, 2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kimberly Whittle, Attorney Advisor, by
telephone at (202) 707-7658 or email at crb@loc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
On March 17, 2017, the Copyright Royalty Judges (Judges) published
a notice in the Federal Register seeking comments on proposed
amendments to regulations relating to an automated system, designated
eCRB.\1\ The proposed regulations addressed electronic filing of claims
to royalty fees deposited with the Copyright Office for compulsory
licenses. The Judges received comments from the following interested
parties: The Allocation Phase Parties; \2\ the Joint Sports Claimants
(JSC); \3\ the MPAA-Represented Program Suppliers (Program Suppliers);
\4\ the Performing Rights Organizations (PROs); \5\ and Screenrights
International (Screenrights).\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See 82 FR 14167.
\2\ ``The Allocation Phase Parties are Program Suppliers, Joint
Sports Claimants, Commercial Television Claimants, Public
Broadcasting Service, American Society of Composers, Authors and
Publishers, Broadcast Music, Inc., SESAC, Inc., Settling Devotional
Claimants, Canadian Claimants Group, and National Public Radio.''
Comments of the Allocation Phase Parties at 1 n1.
\3\ The JSC is comprised of Office of the Commissioner of
Baseball, National Football League, National Basketball Association,
Women's National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, and
the National Collegiate Athletic Association. JSC Comments at 1 n.1.
\4\ The Program Suppliers are comprised of The Motion Picture
Association of America, Inc., its member companies and ``other
producers and/or distributors of syndicated series, movies,
specials, and non-team sports broadcast by television stations.''
Program Suppliers Comments at 1.
\5\ The PROs consist of the American Society of Composers,
Authors and Publishers, Broadcast Music, Inc., and SESAC, Inc.
\6\ ``Screenrights International is a division of the Audio-
Visual Copyright Society Pty Ltd trading as Screenrights the
Australian based collecting society.'' Screenrights Comments at 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. Comments on Proposed Rules and Judges' Findings
The Judges address the comments on a section-by-section basis. The
Judges will adopt without change those sections upon which no
interested party commented.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ The Judges received no comments, apart from technical
corrections, on the following sections in the NPRM: Sec. Sec.
350.5(c)(3), 360.1, 360.2, 360.3, 360.5, 360.20, 360.21, 360.23,
360.24, 360.31, and 360.32. The Judges have incorporated in the
final rule all technical corrections to these provisions identified
in the comments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 360.4--Form and Content of Claims
Each of the comments the Judges received addressed this section.
All of the commenters opposed proposed language that would have
required parties filing joint claims to identify a qualifying secondary
transmission of a work for each copyright owner listed in a joint
claim. See, e.g., Comments of the Allocation Phase Parties at 1-4; JSC
Comments at 1; Program Suppliers Comments at 3-4; PROs Comments at 4-6;
Screenrights Comments at 1. Two commenters sought clarification that
Sec. 360.4(b)(2)(ii) does not require the filer of a joint claim to
include a separate statement from each copyright owner confirming the
filer's authorization to act on the copyright owner's behalf. See
Comments of the Allocation Phase Parties at 6-7; Program Suppliers
Comments at 2-3. In addition, the Program Suppliers proposed that the
special relief granted to performing rights organizations in Sec.
360.4(b)(2)(i) and (ii) be extended to ``collective management
organizations'' such as AGICOA, EGEDA, and Screenrights. See Program
Suppliers Comments at 4-7.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ Several commenters also suggested nonsubstantive, technical
corrections to this section. The Judges find all of those
suggestions to have merit and have included them in the final rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Allocation Phase Parties described the burden on claimants and
filers of requiring identification of a qualifying transmission for a
work of each copyright owner listed in a joint claim, both in terms of
labor and monetary expense. ``For example, the
[[Page 27017]]
last time one of the Allocation Phase Parties . . . undertook such a
task, it expended approximately 300 hours annually to identify
secondary transmissions . . . . [F]or many copyright owners' claims it
would require merging commercially available and expensive broadcast
programming databases with cable carriage data . . . .'' Comments of
the Allocation Phase Parties at 3. The Allocation Phase Parties also
noted that the Copyright Office had considered and ultimately rejected
the same requirement in 1994. Id. at 2-3. In the face of unanimous
opposition from interested parties, the Copyright Office concluded that
``requiring identification of a secondary transmission for each joint
claimant would add in some cases a substantial burden and cost to joint
claimants without yielding an appreciable return in administrative
efficiency.'' Id. at 3 (quoting Final Regulations, Copyright
Arbitration Royalty Panels, 59 FR 63025-63028 (Dec. 7, 1994)).
Identifying only a single secondary transmission on a joint claim
has very little utility for the Judges. The Judges proposed requiring
identification of secondary transmissions for each joint claimant at
the claims-filing stage in order to improve the efficiency of
distribution proceedings by screening out invalid claims at the
earliest possible point in the claims distribution process. The Judges
must weigh the potential improvement of administrative efficiency
against the cost of compliance on some claimants, and the potential for
deterring the filing of meritorious claims. On balance, the Judges find
that the burden outweighs the benefit and will not include the proposed
requirement in the final rule. Moreover, given the extremely limited
value of identifying a single secondary transmission on a joint claim,
the Judges will eliminate that existing requirement as well.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ In order to maintain consistency for single and joint
claimants, the Judges will eliminate the requirement to identify a
secondary transmission from both single and joint claims.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Similar considerations apply to Sec. 360.4(b)(2)(ii). The language
the Judges proposed was intended to elicit information from joint
claimants regarding their authorization to file claims on behalf of
each of the copyright owners listed in the claim. Again, the Judges
were seeking to improve the efficiency of distribution proceedings by
screening out invalid claims at the earliest possible point in the
distribution process. The Judges recognize that the proposal would
impose additional cost on some claimants, potentially deterring them
from filing meritorious claims. Consequently, the Judges will omit the
proposed the language concerning authorization from the final rule. The
Judges will rely instead on the filer's declaration and certification
regarding the filer's authority and the veracity of the claim.
The Program Suppliers have proposed that the Judges extend to
collective management organizations (CMOs) the existing language that
exempts performing rights organizations from the requirement to
identify each of the copyright owners covered by a joint claim. The
Program Suppliers argued that ``CMOs are distinct from other non-PRO
claimants in that they are government-authorized, non-profit entities
typically regulated by their native national legislation, and are
specifically created to administer audiovisual rights and/or collect
royalties on behalf of thousands of rights owners based in their
respective countries or regions . . . . Within the context of
retransmission royalties, CMOs therefore are similarly situated as
PROs.'' Program Suppliers Comments at 5-6.
This is a new proposal that has not been reviewed or commented upon
by any interested parties (other than the Program Suppliers). The
administrative record is limited to a brief discussion in the Program
Suppliers Comments. The Judges are not prepared to extend the existing
exemption to a potentially broad group of entities on this basis. The
final rule will not include the Program Suppliers' proposal.
Section 360.22--Form and Content of Claims
The PROs urged the Judges to revise this provision to permit filers
of joint claims to submit a list of joint claimants in electronic form.
PROs Comments at 7. The PROs ``anticipate[d]''--correctly--that eCRB
will accommodate lists of claimants in electronic format, and seek
express acknowledgement in the regulation. In addition, the PROs sought
language that would permit parties filing joint claims by mail or hand
delivery to provide claimant lists on a CD or other electronic format.
Claims filed through eCRB are entirely electronic. eCRB will permit
a person filing a joint claim to list up to ten claimants in the
webform. For joint claims with more than ten claimants, the filer will
be permitted to attach a separate electronic file that lists the
claimants. Proposed Sec. 360.4(b)(2)(i) already reflects this eCRB
innovation. The Judges will modify proposed Sec. 360.22 to reflect
this as well.
In addition, the Judges find the PROs' proposal to permit parties
filing joint claims by mail or hand delivery to provide claimant lists
on a CD or other electronic format to be reasonable and likely to
improve administrative efficiency. The Judges will therefore include
this proposal in both the final rule for cable and satellite claims
(Sec. 360.4) and the final rule for DART claims (Sec. 360.22).
Section 360.30--Amendment of Claims
The Allocation Phase Parties and the Program Suppliers urged the
Judges to permit amendment of claims after the claims-filing deadline
without requiring the claimant to file a motion with the Judges. See
Comments of the Allocation Phase Parties at 4-6; Program Suppliers
Comments at 7-8. As proposed, Sec. 360.30 would permit claimants to
amend claims prior to the claims filing deadline by filing a Notice of
Amendment. In the proposed rule, after the statutory claims filing
period claimants would be required to file a motion with the Judges
demonstrating good cause and lack of prejudice to other claimants.
The Allocation Phase Parties noted that ``[t]he only elements of a
claim subject to being amended are those relating to the `general
statement of the nature of the works' being claimed and to the example
of a secondary transmission of one of the copyright owner's works
establishing the basis of the claim.'' Comments of the Allocation Phase
Parties at 5 (citations and footnote omitted).\10\ They argued that
``amendments of those portions of a claim should be allowed as of right
at any time.'' Id. The Program Suppliers pointed out that, as drafted,
the regulation would require a claimant to file a motion to fix
typographical and other nonsubstantive errors after the claims
deadline. Program Suppliers Comments at 7. In addition, they noted that
``the Judges typically do not establish docket numbers or official
service lists for cable or satellite royalty distribution proceedings
until months (or even years) after royalty claims are filed'' making it
difficult for claimants to file motions with the Judges. Id. at 7-8.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ The Allocation Phase Parties also note, correctly, that
under the proposal claimants are required to update contact
information for the filer and copyright owner(s) and are prohibited
from adding additional claimants after the claims filing deadline.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Allocation Phase Parties' assertion is mistaken: There are
other elements of a claim that may be amended. For example, while the
proposed regulation would prohibit
[[Page 27018]]
filers from adding additional claimants to a joint claim, it would
allow a filer to strike claimants that have been included in error.
Filers might also need to amend a claim to correct an erroneous
corporate name or to reflect a corporate acquisition or name change. In
addition, the Allocation Phase Parties failed to note those elements of
a claim to DART royalties, such as the list and category of interested
copyright parties and identification of the subfund in which they
claim, that are not addressed by the final sentence of Sec. 360.30.
Nevertheless, the Allocation Phase Parties are correct in pointing
out that the regulations should allow certain amendments as of right
after the claims filing deadline. In addition, the Program suppliers
are correct in pointing out practical difficulties in filing a motion
to amend a claim prior to the initiation of a distribution
proceeding.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ The eCRB system will establish a docket number for
distribution proceedings concurrently with the filing of the first
claim in each category. Assignment of the docket number alone,
however, will not trigger filing Petitions to Participate, which are
the source documents for lists of participants requiring notice of
proceeding activities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The final regulation will permit amendment to filed claims prior to
the claims filing deadline as of right. It will also permit amendment
to filed claims after the claims filing deadline as of right, provided
that the amendment is limited to correcting the general description of
the nature of the work, fixing typographical or other nonsubstantive
errors in other portions of the claim, or striking a claimant that was
erroneously included in a joint claim. The Judges will address the
procedure for making any other amendments to filed claims in a separate
rulemaking at a later date and after further study.
Having considered all comments from interested parties, the Judges
adopt as final rules the changes and additions to 37 CFR parts 350 and
360 detailed in this Final Rule.
Final Regulations
List of Subjects
37 CFR Part 350
Administrative practice and procedure, Claims, Copyright,
Electronic filing.
37 CFR Part 360
Administrative practice and procedure, Cable royalties, Claims,
Copyright, Electronic filing, Satellite royalties.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, we amend parts 350 and
360 of Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows:
PART 350--GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
0
1. The authority citation for part 350 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 17 U.S.C. 803.
0
2. Amend Sec. 350.5 by adding paragraph (c)(3) to read as follows:
Sec. 350.5 Electronic filing system (eCRB).
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(3) Claimants. Any person desiring to file a claim with the
Copyright Royalty Board for copyright royalties may obtain an eCRB
password for the limited purpose of filing claims by completing the
application form available on the CRB Web site.
* * * * *
0
3. Revise part 360 to read as follows:
PART 360--FILING OF CLAIMS TO ROYALTY FEES COLLECTED UNDER
COMPULSORY LICENSE
Subpart A--Cable and Satellite Claims
Sec.
360.1 General.
360.2 Definitions.
360.3 Time of filing.
360.4 Form and content of claims.
360.5 Copies of claims.
Subpart B--Digital Audio Recording Devices and Media (DART) Royalty
Claims
360.20 General.
360.21 Time of filing.
360.22 Form and content of claims.
360.23 Copies of claims.
360.24 Content of notices regarding independent administrators.
Subpart C--Rules of General Application
360.30 Amendment of claims.
360.31 Withdrawal of claims.
360.32 Reinstatement of previously withdrawn claims.
Authority: 17 U.S.C. 801, 803, 805.
Subpart A also issued under 17 U.S.C. 111(d)(4) and 119(b)(4).
Subpart B also issued under 17 U.S.C. 1007(a)(1).
Subpart C also issued under 17 U.S.C. 111(d)(4), 119(b)(4) and
1007(a)(1).
Subpart A--Cable and Satellite Claims
Sec. 360.1 General.
This subpart prescribes procedures under 17 U.S.C. 111(d)(4)(A) and
17 U.S.C. 119(b)(4) whereby parties claiming entitlement to cable
compulsory license royalty fees or satellite compulsory license royalty
fees must file claims with the Copyright Royalty Board.
Sec. 360.2 Definitions.
For purposes of this subpart, the following definitions will apply:
Cable compulsory license royalty fees means royalty fees deposited
with the Copyright Office pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 111.
Performing rights society has the meaning set forth in 17 U.S.C.
101.
Satellite compulsory license royalty fees means royalty fees
deposited with the Copyright Office pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 119.
Sec. 360.3 Time of filing.
(a) During the month of July each year, any party claiming to be
entitled to cable compulsory license royalty fees or satellite
compulsory license royalty fees for secondary transmissions during the
preceding calendar year must file a claim or claims with the Copyright
Royalty Board. No party will receive royalty fees for secondary
transmissions during the specified period unless the party has filed a
timely claim to the fees. Claimants may file claims jointly or as a
single claim. Claimants must file separate claims for cable compulsory
license royalty fees and satellite compulsory license royalty fees. The
Copyright Royalty Board will reject any claim that purports to be for
both cable and satellite royalty fees.
(b) Claims filed with the Copyright Royalty Board will be
considered timely filed only if they are filed online through eCRB or
by mail or hand delivery in accordance with Sec. 301.2 during the
month of July, as determined in accordance with Sec. 350.7.
(c) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, in any
year in which July 31 falls on a Saturday, Sunday, holiday, or other
nonbusiness day within the District of Columbia or the Federal
Government, the due date for claims to cable or satellite compulsory
license royalty fees will be the first business day in August.
(d) In the event the Copyright Royalty Board does not receive a
claim that was properly addressed and mailed, the filer may prove
proper filing of the claim if it was sent by certified mail return
receipt requested, and the filer produces a receipt bearing a July date
stamp of the United States Postal Service. The Copyright Royalty Board
will accept no other offer of proof in lieu of the return receipt.
(e) For claims filed electronically through eCRB, the Copyright
Royalty Board will accept the confirmation email generated by eCRB as
proof of filing. The Copyright Royalty Board will accept no other offer
of proof regarding claims filed electronically through eCRB.
[[Page 27019]]
Sec. 360.4 Form and content of claims.
(a) Forms. (1) Each filer must use the form prescribed by the
Copyright Royalty Board to claim cable compulsory license royalty fees
or satellite compulsory license royalty fees and must provide all
information required by that form and its accompanying instructions.
(2) Copies of claim forms are available:
(i) On the Copyright Royalty Board Web site at https://www.crb.gov/claims/ during the month of July for claims filed with the Copyright
Royalty Board by mail or by hand delivery;
(ii) On the Copyright Royalty Board Web site at https://www.crb.gov/cable/ (for cable claims) or https://www.crb.gov/satellite/ (for
satellite claims) during the month of July for claims filed online
through eCRB; and
(iii) Upon request to the Copyright Royalty Board by mail at the
address set forth in Sec. 301.2(a), by email at the address set forth
in Sec. 301.2(d), or by telephone at (202) 707-7658.
(b) Content--(1) Single claim. A claim filed on behalf of a single
copyright owner of a work or works secondarily transmitted by a cable
system or satellite carrier must include the following information:
(i) The full legal name, address, and email address of the
copyright owner entitled to claim the royalty fees.
(ii) A statement of the nature of the copyright owner's work(s)
that has (have) been secondarily transmitted by a cable system or
satellite carrier establishing a basis for the claim.
(iii) The name, telephone number, full mailing address, and email
address of the person or entity filing the single claim. The
information contained in a filer's eCRB profile shall fulfill this
requirement for claims submitted through eCRB.
(iv) The name, telephone number, and email address of the person
whom the Copyright Royalty Board can contact regarding the claim.
(v) An original signature of the copyright owner or of a duly
authorized representative of the copyright owner, except for claims
filed online through eCRB.
(vi) A declaration of authority to file the claim and a
certification of the veracity of the information contained in the claim
and the good faith of the person signing in providing the information.
Penalties for fraud and false statements are provided under 18 U.S.C.
1001 et seq.
(2) Joint claim. A claim filed on behalf of more than one copyright
owner whose works have been secondarily transmitted by a cable system
or satellite carrier must include the following information:
(i) With the exception of joint claims filed by a performing rights
society on behalf of its members, a list including the full legal name,
address, and email address of each copyright owner whose claim(s) are
included in the joint claim. Claims filed online through eCRB must
include an Excel spreadsheet containing the information if the number
of joint claimants is in excess of ten. For claims filed by mail or
hand delivery, the list containing the name of each claimant to the
joint claim may be provided in a single Excel spreadsheet on CD, DVD,
or other electronic storage medium.
(ii) A general statement of the nature of the copyright owners'
works that have been secondarily transmitted by a cable system or
satellite carrier establishing a basis for the joint claim.
(iii) The name, telephone number, full mailing address, and email
address of the person or entity filing the joint claim. The information
contained in a filer's eCRB profile shall fulfill this requirement for
claims submitted through eCRB.
(iv) The name, telephone number, and email address of a person whom
the Copyright Royalty Board can contact regarding the claim.
(v) Original signatures of the copyright owners identified on the
joint claim or of a duly authorized representative or representatives
of the copyright owners, except for claims filed online through eCRB.
(vi) A declaration of authority to file the claim and a
certification of the veracity of the information contained in the claim
and the good faith of the person signing in providing the information.
Penalties for fraud and false statements are provided under 18 U.S.C.
1001 et seq.
(c) Changes. In the event the legal name and/or address of the
copyright owner entitled to royalties or the person or entity filing
the claim changes after the filing of the claim, the filer or the
copyright owner shall notify the Copyright Royalty Board of the change.
Any other proposed changes or amendments must be submitted in
accordance with 37 CFR 360.30. If the good faith efforts of the
Copyright Royalty Board to contact the copyright owner or filer are
frustrated because of outdated or otherwise inaccurate contact
information, the claim may be subject to dismissal. A person or entity
that filed a claim online through eCRB must notify the Copyright
Royalty Board of any change of name or address by updating the eCRB
profile for that person or entity through eCRB as required by 37 CFR
350.5(g).
Sec. 360.5 Copies of claims.
Following the instructions outlined in 37 CFR 301.2, a claimant
must file an original and one copy of the claim to cable or satellite
compulsory license royalty fees at the address(es) listed for each
claim submitted to the Copyright Royalty Board by hand delivery or by
U.S. mail.
Subpart B--Digital Audio Recording Devices and Media (DART) Royalty
Claims
Sec. 360.20 General.
This subpart prescribes procedures whereby an interested copyright
party, as defined in 17 U.S.C. 1001(7), claiming to be entitled to
royalty payments made for the importation and distribution in the
United States, or the manufacture and distribution in the United
States, of digital audio recording devices and media (DART) pursuant to
17 U.S.C. 1006, shall file claims with the Copyright Royalty Board.
Sec. 360.21 Time of filing.
(a) General. During January and February of each year, every
interested copyright party claiming to be entitled to DART royalty
payments made for quarterly periods ending during the previous calendar
year must file a claim with the Copyright Royalty Board. Claimants may
file claims jointly or as a single claim.
(b) Consequences of an untimely filing. No royalty payments for the
previous calendar year will be distributed to any interested copyright
party who has not filed a claim to those royalty payments during
January or February of the following calendar year.
(c) Authorization. Any organization or association acting as a
common agent for collection and distribution of DART royalty fees must
obtain from its members or affiliates separate, specific, and written
authorization, signed by members, affiliates, or their representatives,
apart from their standard affiliation agreements, for purposes of
royalties claim filing and fee distribution relating to the DART
Musical Works Fund or Sound Recordings Fund. The written authorization,
however, will not be required for claimants to the Musical Works Fund
when either:
(1) The agreement between the organization or association and its
members or affiliates specifically authorizes the entity to represent
its members or affiliates as a common agent before the Copyright
Royalty Board in royalty claims filing and fee distribution
proceedings; or
[[Page 27020]]
(2) The agreement between the organization or association and its
members or affiliates, as specified in a court order issued by a court
with authority to interpret the terms of the contract, authorizes the
entity to represent its members or affiliates as a common agent before
the Copyright Royalty Board in royalty claims filing and fee
distribution proceedings.
Sec. 360.22 Form and content of claims.
(a) Forms. (1) Each claim to DART royalty payments must be
furnished on a form prescribed by the Copyright Royalty Board and must
contain the information required by that form and its accompanying
instructions.
(2) Copies of DART claim forms are available:
(i) On the Copyright Royalty Board's Web site at https://www.crb.gov/claims for claims filed with the Copyright Royalty Board by
mail or by hand delivery;
(ii) On the Copyright Royalty Board's Web site at https://www.crb.gov/dart/ during the months of January and February for claims
filed online through eCRB; and
(iii) Upon request to the Copyright Royalty Board, by mail at the
address set forth in Sec. 301.2(a), by email at the address set forth
in Sec. 301.2(d), or by telephone at (202) 707-7658.
(b) Content. Claims filed by interested copyright parties for DART
royalty payments must include the following information:
(1) The full legal name and address of the person or entity
claiming royalty payments.
(2) The name, telephone number, full mailing address, and email
address of the person or entity filing the claim. The information
contained in a filer's eCRB profile will fulfill this requirement for
claims submitted through eCRB.
(3) The name, telephone number, and email address of a person whom
the Copyright Royalty Board can contact regarding the claim.
(4) A statement as to how the claimant fits within the definition
of interested copyright party.
(5) A statement as to whether the claim is being made against the
Sound Recordings Fund or the Musical Works Fund, as set forth in 17
U.S.C. 1006(b), and as to which Subfund the claim is made. The Subfunds
for the Sound Recordings Fund are the Copyright Owners Subfund and the
Featured Recording Artists Subfund, The Subfunds for the Musical Works
Fund are the Music Publishers Subfund and the Writers Subfund, as
described in 17 U.S.C. 1006(b)(1) through (2).
(6) Identification, establishing a basis for the claim, of at least
one musical work or sound recording embodied in a digital musical
recording or an analog musical recording lawfully made under title 17
of the United States Code that has been distributed (as that term is
defined in 17 U.S.C. 1001(6)), and that, during the period to which the
royalty payments claimed pertain, has been:
(i) Distributed (as that term is defined in 17 U.S.C. 1001(6)) in
the form of digital musical recordings or analog musical recordings; or
(ii) Disseminated to the public in transmissions.
(7) A declaration of the authority to file the claim and of the
veracity of the information contained in the claim and the good faith
of the person signing in providing the information. Penalties for fraud
and false statements are provided under 18 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.
(c) Signature. Claims must bear the original signature of the
claimant or of a duly authorized representative of the claimant, except
for claims filed online through eCRB.
(d) Changes. In the event that the legal name and/or address of the
claimant changes after the filing of the claim, the claimant must
notify the Copyright Royalty Board of the change. Any other proposed
changes or amendments must be submitted in accordance with 37 CFR
360.30. If the good faith efforts of the Copyright Royalty Board to
contact the claimant are frustrated because of failure to notify the
Copyright Royalty Board of a name and/or address change, the claim may
be subject to dismissal. A person or entity that filed a claim online
through eCRB must notify the Copyright Royalty Board of any change of
name or address by updating that person or entity's eCRB profile as
required by Sec. 350.5(g).
(e) List of claimants. If the claim is a joint claim, it must
include the name of each claimant participating in the joint claim.
Filers submitting joint claims online through eCRB on behalf of ten or
fewer claimants, must list claimant information directly on the filed
joint claim. Filers submitting joint claims on behalf of more than ten
claimants must include an Excel spreadsheet listing the full legal
name, address, and email address of each claimant included in the joint
claim. For joint claims filed by mail or hand delivery, the filer may
submit the list containing the name of each claimant included in the
joint claim in a single Excel spreadsheet on CD, DVD, or other
electronic storage medium.
(f) Subfunds. If an interested copyright party intends to file
claims against more than one Subfund, each Subfund claim must be filed
separately with the Copyright Royalty Board. The Copyright Royalty
Board will reject any claim that purports to claim funds from more than
one Subfund.
Sec. 360.23 Copies of claims.
Following the instructions outlined in 37 CFR 301.2, a claimant
must file an original and one copy of the claim to DART royalty fees at
the address(es) listed for each claim submitted to the Copyright
Royalty Board by hand delivery or by U.S. mail.
Sec. 360.24 Content of notices regarding independent administrators.
(a) The independent administrator jointly appointed by the
interested copyright parties, as defined in 17 U.S.C. 1001(7)(A), and
the American Federation of Musicians (or any successor entity) for the
purpose of managing and ultimately distributing royalty payments to
nonfeatured musicians as defined in 17 U.S.C. 1006(b)(1), must file a
notice informing the Copyright Royalty Board of his/her appointment.
(b) The independent administrator jointly appointed by the
interested copyright parties, as defined in 17 U.S.C. 1001(7)(A) and
the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (or any
successor entity) for the purpose of managing and ultimately
distributing royalty payments to nonfeatured vocalists as defined in 17
U.S.C. 1006(b)(1), must file a notice informing the Copyright Royalty
Board of his/her appointment.
(c) A notice filed under paragraph (a) or (b) of this section must
include the full name, telephone number, mailing address, and email
address of the place of business of the independent administrator.
(d) The independent administrator must file the notices identified
in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section through eCRB no later than
March 31 of each year, commencing with March 31, 2018.
Subpart C--Rules of General Application
Sec. 360.30 Amendment of claims.
Any claimant may amend a filed claim as of right by filing a Notice
of Amendment during the statutory period for filing annual claims.
After the expiration of the time for filing claims, a claimant may
amend a filed claim as of right to correct the general description of
the nature of the claimant's work(s), to fix typographical or other
nonsubstantive errors in other portions of the claim, or to strike a
claimant or interested copyright party
[[Page 27021]]
that was erroneously included in a joint claim. No filer may amend a
filed claim to add additional claimants or interested copyright parties
after the expiration of the time for filing claims.
Sec. 360.31 Withdrawal of claims.
Any claimant may withdraw its claim for any royalty year as of
right by filing a Notice of Withdrawal of Claim(s). If a single
claimant filed a Petition to Participate in a proceeding, withdrawal of
the claim shall serve to dismiss the Petition to Participate. If the
claimant withdrawing a claim was included on the Petition to
Participate of another entity, withdrawal of the claim shall not affect
the Petition to Participate as to other claims listed thereon.
Sec. 360.32 Reinstatement of previously withdrawn claims.
Once a claimant has withdrawn a claim, that claim may be reinstated
only by order of the Copyright Royalty Judges, on motion showing good
cause and lack of prejudice to other claimants to the applicable year's
royalty funds.
Dated: May 26, 2017.
Suzanne M. Barnett,
Chief Copyright Royalty Judge.
Approved by:
Carla D. Hayden,
Librarian of Congress.
[FR Doc. 2017-12114 Filed 6-12-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-72-P
