Library of Congress – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Copyright Office is proposing to amend its regulation governing the group registration option for newspapers. The proposed rule will make a number of changes to reflect current Office practices, promote efficiency of the registration process, and encourage broader participation in the registration system by reducing the burden on applicants. Specifically, the proposed rule revises the definition of ``newspaper issues'' and clarifies that the group registration option is available to any qualifying ``newspaper issue.'' The proposed rule will require applicants to file an online application rather than a paper application, and upload a complete digital copy of each issue through the electronic registration system instead of submitting them in physical form. The Library of Congress intends to incorporate digital copies of newspapers received by the Office under this group registration option, and provide public access to them, subject to certain restrictions set forth in the proposed rule. Applicants may continue to submit their issues on microfilm (in addition to submitting digital files) on a voluntary basis if the microfilm is received by December 31, 2019. After that date, the microfilm option will be phased out. The proposed rule will clarify that each newspaper issue in the group must be a new collective work and a work made for hire, that the author and copyright claimant for each issue must be the same person or organization, and will clarify the scope of protection for newspaper issues, compared to individual components appearing within those issues. In addition, the proposed rule will require applicants to submit a full month of issues, and submit their claims within three months after the publication of the earliest issue in the group. The Office invites public comment on these proposed changes.

The U.S. Copyright Office is proposing to create a new group registration option for a limited number of unpublished works. To qualify for this group option, all the works must be created by the same author or the same joint authors, and the author or joint authors must be named as the copyright claimant for each work. The claim to copyright in each work must be the same, and each work must be registered in the same administrative class. In general, applicants will be allowed to include up to five works in each submission. Applicants will be required to submit an online application and upload their works to the electronic registration system, although the Office may waive these requirements in exceptional cases. This new group registration option will replace the current ``unpublished collections'' option, which the Office has determined is an ineffective mechanism for registration of multiple unpublished works; among other things, it allows applicants to register an essentially unlimited number of works. The proposed rule will allow the Office to more easily examine each work for copyrightable authorship, create a more robust record of the claim, and improve the efficiency of the registration process. The Proposed Rule also makes unrelated technical amendments to the ``unit of publication'' regulation.

The Copyright Royalty Judges solicit reply comments on a motion of Allocation Phase claimants for partial distribution of 2015 satellite royalty funds.

This final rule makes a non-substantive technical change to the U.S. Copyright Office's regulations governing the affixation and position of copyright notice on various types of works.

The United States Copyright Office is proposing to amend the regulations governing the deposit requirements for certain types of literary works and musical compositions. Specifically, the proposed rule will apply to certain types of ``literary monographs,'' which are defined, in part, as literary works published in one volume or a finite number of separate volumes. The proposed rule also applies to musical compositions that are published in the United States in print formats that is, compositions published as ``copies'' rather than solely as phonorecords, as referenced in the Copyright Act. Under the current regulations, two copies of the best edition are generally needed to register these types of works and to comply with the mandatory deposit requirement. Under the proposed rule, copyright owners will be able to satisfy both requirements for literary monographs by submitting one copy of the best edition of the work, although the Office will retain the right to demand a second copy under the mandatory deposit provision should the Library need it. Copyright owners will also be able to satisfy both requirements for certain musical compositions by submitting one copy of the best edition. As part of these changes, the proposed rule also clarifies the deposit requirements for musical compositions published both in print and phonorecord formats. For musical works (i.e., musical compositions) published in both formats, the Office will require the submission of the print version for purposes of copyright registration. If the musical composition is published only as a phonorecord, the applicant should submit the phonorecord. All of these changes will improve the efficiency of registration and mandatory deposit for both the Office and copyright owners alike, ensuring that the Office has an adequate registration record and continuing to make these works available to the Library of Congress when needed for use in its collections or other disposition. The Office invites public comment on this proposal.

The Copyright Royalty Judges announce receipt of a notice of intent to audit the 2016 statements of account of Music Choice concerning the royalty payments its Preexisting Subscription Service and Business Establishments Service made pursuant to two statutory licenses.

The United States Copyright Office is modernizing its registration practices to increase the efficiency of the registration process for both the Office and copyright owners. To further these efforts, this final rule adopts modifications to the Office's procedures for group registration for contributions to periodicals. Specifically, the Office adopts a new requirement that applicants seeking copyright registrations for groups of contributions to periodicals must submit applications through the Office's electronic registration system; modifies the deposit requirement by requiring applicants to submit their contributions in a digital format and to upload those files through the electronic system; clarifies the eligibility requirements; and alters the administrative classes used for such registrations.

The Copyright Royalty Judges seek reply comments regarding a proposed new Copyright Royalty Board rule that would authorize the Judges to bar, either temporarily or permanently, certain individuals and entities from participating in proceedings before the Judges.

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.

The Copyright Royalty Judges (Judges) publish for comment proposed regulations to require covered cable systems to pay a separate per-telecast royalty (a Sports Surcharge) in addition to the other royalties that that cable system must pay under Section 111 of the Copyright Act.

The U.S. Copyright Office is amending its regulations governing delays in the receipt of material caused by the disruption of postal or other transportation or communication services. The amendments, for the first time, specifically address the effect of a disruption or suspension of any Copyright Office electronic system on the Office's receipt of applications, fees, deposits, or other materials, and the assignment of a constructive date of receipt to such materials. The amendments also make various revisions to the existing portions of the rule for usability and readability. In addition, the amendments specify how the Office will assign effective dates of receipt when, in the absence of a declaration of a general disruption, the Office does not receive, loses, or misplaces materials that were physically delivered or attempted to be physically delivered to the Office.

The Copyright Royalty Judges announce receipt of a notice of intent to audit the 2015 and 2016 statements of account submitted by commercial webcaster Pandora Media, Inc. concerning the royalty payments it made pursuant to two statutory licenses.

The U.S. Copyright Office is announcing a pilot program that will allow for the bulk submission of claims to copyright in certain limited types of literary works. Specifically, at this time, the pilot program is limited to claims to single literary works that have a single author, where all content that appears in the work was created and is owned solely by that single author. Applicants that participate in the pilot will be required to provide author, title, and other pertinent information for each work they submit. And they will be required to upload a copy of each work and pay the appropriate filing fee. But they will be able to bypass the Office's online interface and transmit their claims directly into the electronic registration system, instead of filing them on an individual basis. To participate in the pilot, applicants would have to comply with certain technical requirements, which are discussed below. The Office is offering this pilot as part of its continuing effort to increase the efficiency of the registration system for both applicants and the Office alike.

The Copyright Royalty Judges are amending and augmenting procedural regulations governing the filing and delivery of documents to allow for electronic filing of documents.

The Copyright Royalty Judges solicit comments on a motion of Allocation Phase claimants for partial distribution of 2015 satellite royalty funds.

The Copyright Royalty Judges propose to amend regulations governing the filing of claims to royalty fees collected under compulsory license to reflect implementation of a new electronic filing system and to consolidate cable and satellite rules. The Judges solicit comments on the proposed rule.

The U.S. Copyright Office is proposing to amend its regulations governing delays in the receipt of material caused by the disruption of postal or other transportation or communication services. As proposed, the amended rule would, for the first time, specifically address the effect of a disruption or suspension of any Copyright Office electronic system on the Office's receipt of applications, fees, deposits, or other materials, and the assignment of a constructive date of receipt to such materials. The proposed rule would also make various revisions to the existing portions of the rule for usability and readability. In addition, the proposed rule would specify how the Office will assign effective dates of receipt when a specific submission is lost in the absence of a declaration of disruption, as might occur during the security screening procedures used for mail that is delivered to the Office.

The U.S. Copyright Office is issuing an interim rule that amends its regulations governing its practices and procedures under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), to implement the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016. The regulations are issued on an interim basis without opportunity to comment to ensure that updated regulations are in place as soon as practicable to implement the Act. These amendments are intended to incorporate changes in the law, and provide clear guidance to members of the public in filing a FOIA request with the Office.

The U.S. Copyright Office is announcing receipt of eight notices of intent to audit certain statements of account filed by cable operators and satellite carriers pursuant to the section 111 and 119 statutory licenses.

The United States Copyright Office is extending the deadlines for the submission of written comments and empirical research studies in response to its November 8, 2016 request for additional comments (``Second Notice'') regarding the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (``DMCA'') safe harbor provisions contained in 17 U.S.C. 512.

The Copyright Royalty Judges announce settlement of controversies and a request for partial distribution of satellite television retransmission royalties claimed by Music Claimants. Music Claimants include Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), as well as SESAC, Inc.

The Copyright Royalty Judges announce receipt of three notices of intent to audit the 2013, 2014, and 2015 statements of account submitted by commercial webcasters Radionomy (Docket No. 17-CRB-0004- AU), IMVU, Inc. (Docket No. 17-CRB-0007-AU), and Slacker, Inc. (Docket No. 17-CRB-0010-AU), concerning the royalty payments each made pursuant to two statutory licenses.

The Copyright Royalty Judges announce receipt of a notice of intent to audit the 2013, 2014, and 2015 statements of account of Music Choice concerning the royalty payments its Preexisting Subscription Service and Business Establishments Service made pursuant to two statutory licenses.

The Copyright Royalty Judges (Judges) announce commencement of a proceeding \1\ to determine reasonable royalty rates and terms for the recording of ephemeral copies of sound recordings pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 112(e)(1) to facilitate digital audio transmissions of those sound recordings to business establishments pursuant to the limitation on exclusive rights specified by 17 U.S.C. 114(d)(1)(C)(iv). The royalty rates and terms the Judges determine in this proceeding will apply during the period beginning January 1, 2019, and ending December 31, 2023. The Judges also announce the date by which a party wishing to participate in the rate determination proceeding must file its Petition to Participate and pay the accompanying $150 filing fee.

The United States Copyright Office is extending the deadline for the submission of written comments in response to its December 1, 2016 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding supplementary registration.