Copyright Office 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Copyright Office is adopting an interim regulation that implements certain aspects of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010 (``STELA''). Cable operators and satellite carriers must file statements of account (``SOAs'') and deposit royalty fees with the Office in order to use the statutory licenses that allow for the retransmission of over-the-air broadcast signals. The Office published two notices of proposed rulemaking concerning a new process to allow copyright owners to audit the SOAs and associated royalty payments. The Office received extensive comments on its proposed audit procedures and is carefully reviewing these comments to address them as appropriate in a final rule. In the meantime, the Office is issuing an interim rule to establish the procedure for filing a notice of intent to audit one or more SOAs.

The U.S. Copyright Office (``Copyright Office'' or ``Office'') is reengineering certain processes in its Licensing Division to enable cable systems operating under the statutory license governing the secondary transmission of over-the-air television broadcast signals to file Statements of Account electronically. As part of that process, the Office plans to adopt an identity authentication process that will allow for the use of electronic signatures. The Office proposes revisions to specific rules to account for the changes associated with the implementation of an electronic Statement of Account filing system and seeks public comment on the proposed process and regulatory changes to accommodate the use of electronic signatures.

The Copyright Office is amending its regulations to clarify its practices for providing refunds of cable royalties under the provisions of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010 (``STELA''). A cable operator must pay royalties to and file Statements of Account with the Office every six months in order to use the statutory license that allows for the retransmission of over-the-air broadcast signals under 17 U.S.C. 111. STELA allows a cable operator to calculate its royalty obligation for the carriage of distant signals on a community-by-community basis for accounting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2010, instead of calculating its royalty obligation based on the system as a whole. STELA also states that a cable operator shall not be subject to an infringement action if it used the subscriber group methodology to calculate its royalty obligation in a Statement filed prior to the effective date of STELA. Although a cable operator cannot be held liable for using the subscriber group methodology, the regulation clarifies that a cable operator's obligation to pay for the carriage of distant signals prior to the effective date of STELA was determined on a system-wide basis. Therefore, refunds for an overpayment of royalty fees on a Statement filed prior to the effective date of STELA will be made only when a cable operator has satisfied its outstanding royalty obligations (if any), including the obligation to pay for the carriage of each distant signal on a system-wide basis.