Copyright Office – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents
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Review of Copyright Royalty Judges Determination
The Register of Copyrights issues the following decision identifying and correcting an erroneous resolution of a material question of substantive law under title 17 that underlies or is contained in the Copyright Royalty Judges' final determination of rates and terms of royalty payments for the use of sound recordings in transmissions made by Preexisting Subscription Services.
Refunds Under the Cable Statutory License
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.
Copyright Office Fees
The Copyright Office has further revised its proposed fee schedule for filing cable and satellite statements of account following feedback from interested parties in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published on March 28, 2012. The modified fee schedule set forth below reflects an updated calculation of the cost of providing services.
Extension of Comment Period: Orphan Works and Mass Digitization
The Copyright Office is extending the period of public comment in response to its October 22, 2012 Notice of Inquiry requesting comments on issues relating to orphan works and mass digitization under U.S. copyright law.
Electronic Filing in the Copyright Office of Notices of Intention To Obtain a Section 115 Compulsory License
The Copyright Office is amending its regulations for filing Notices of Intention to obtain a Section 115 compulsory license with the Copyright Office to provide an option for electronically filing notices. By law, such notices may be filed in the Office only when the public records of the Copyright Office do not identify the copyright owner of the musical work and include an address at which notice can be served. In addition, the Copyright Office is amending its regulations to clarify the rules for filing physical Notices of Intention, to clarify that it does not examine Notices of Intention filed with the Office for legal sufficiency, and to include a Privacy Act Advisory Statement.
Mechanical and Digital Phonorecord Delivery Compulsory License
The Copyright Office is extending the deadline for filing reply comments regarding its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning regulations for reporting Monthly and Annual Statements of Account for the making and distribution of phonorecords under a compulsory license.
Registration of Claims to Copyright: Group Registration of Serial Issues Filed Electronically
The Copyright Office is adopting interim regulations that allow groups of related serial issues to be filed through the Office's electronic registration system. This interim rule will also allow applicants for groups of related serials, in certain circumstances, to mail physical deposit copies of the serial issues upon submitting an electronic application and payment, when electronic deposit copies do not exist. Regardless of the registration option chosen, applicants must still send two complimentary subscription copies of the serial promptly to the Library of Congress as a condition of eligibility unless directed otherwise by the Office. While filing electronically is not mandatory, the Copyright Office strongly urges applicants to use the electronic filing option since it is more efficient for both the user and the agency.
Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies
Having duly considered and accepted the Recommendation of the Register of Copyrights that the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that effectively control access to copyrighted works shall not apply to persons who engage in noninfringing uses of certain classes of copyrighted works, the Librarian of Congress is exercising his authority to publish a new rule designating classes of copyrighted works that shall be subject to statutory exemption.
Orphan Works and Mass Digitization
The U.S. Copyright Office is reviewing the problem of orphan works under U.S. copyright law in continuation of its previous work on the subject and in order to advise Congress as to possible next steps for the United States. The Office has long shared the concern with many in the copyright community that the uncertainty surrounding the ownership status of orphan works does not serve the objectives of the copyright system. For good faith users, orphan works are a frustration, a liability risk, and a major cause of gridlock in the digital marketplace. The issue is not contained to the United States. Indeed, in recent months, the European Commission has adopted measures that would begin to resolve the issue in certain contexts and a number of foreign governments are reviewing or proposing solutions. The Copyright Office seeks comments regarding the current state of play for orphan works. It is interested in what has changed in the legal and business environments during the past few years that might be relevant to a resolution of the problem and what additional legislative, regulatory, or voluntary solutions deserve deliberation. This is a general inquiry and the Office will likely publish additional notices on this topic.
Extension of Comment Period: Resale Royalty Right
The Copyright Office is extending the period of public comment in response to its September 19, 2012 Notice of Inquiry requesting comments regarding issues relating to consideration of a federal resale royalty right.
Verification of Statements of Account Submitted by Cable Operators and Satellite Carriers
The Copyright Office is again extending the deadline for filing reply comments in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning the verification of Statements of Account and royalty payments that are deposited with the Office by cable operators and satellite carriers.
Resale Royalty Right
The U.S. Copyright Office is undertaking an inquiry at the request of Congress to review how current copyright law affects and supports visual artists; and how a federal resale royalty right for visual artists would affect current and future practices of groups or individuals involved in the creation, licensing, sale, exhibition, dissemination, and preservation of works of visual art. The Office thus seeks comments from the public on the means by which visual artists exploit their works under existing law as well as the issues and obstacles that may be encountered when considering a federal resale royalty right in the United States.
Extension of Comment Period: Remedies for Small Copyright Claims: Additional Comments
The Copyright Office is extending the period of public comment in response to its August 23, 2012 Notice of Inquiry requesting additional comments regarding issues relating to remedies for small copyright claims.
Verification of Statements of Account Submitted by Cable Operators and Satellite Carriers
The Copyright Office is extending the deadline for filing reply comments in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning the verification of Statements of Account and royalty payments that are deposited with the Office by cable operators and satellite carriers. Initial comments are available for review on the Copyright Office Web site.
Mechanical and Digital Phonorecord Delivery Compulsory License
The Copyright Office is extending the deadline for filing comments and reply comments regarding its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning regulations for reporting Monthly and Annual Statements of Account for the making and distribution of phonorecords under compulsory licenses obtained pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 115.
Registration of Copyright: Definition of Claimant
The Copyright Office is extending the reply comment period on the proposed rule to amend its regulations governing the definition of a ``claimant'' for purposes of copyright registration by eliminating the footnote to the definition of a ``claimant'' in Sec. 202.3(a)(3)(ii).
Remedies for Small Copyright Claims: Additional Comments
This is the second request for public comment pertaining to a study undertaken by the U.S. Copyright Office at the request of Congress on the topic of adjudicating small copyright claims. The study will assess whether and, if so, how the current legal system hinders or prevents copyright owners from pursuing claims that have a relatively small economic value and will discuss, with appropriate recommendations, potential changes in administrative, regulatory, and statutory authority. At this time, the Office seeks additional comments on some of the possible alternatives. The Copyright Office also announces two public meetings following the comment period, to be held during November 2012 in New York and Los Angeles, respectively.
Mechanical and Digital Phonorecord Delivery Compulsory License
The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is proposing to amend its regulations for reporting Monthly and Annual Statements of Account for the making and distribution of phonorecords under the compulsory license, 17 U.S.C. 115, to bring the regulations up to date to reflect recent and pending rate determinations by the Copyright Royalty Judges, which among other things provide new rates for limited downloads, interactive streaming and incidental digital phonorecord deliveries, and to harmonize these reporting requirements with the existing regulations for reporting the making and distribution of physical phonorecords, permanent downloads and ringtones.
Deposit Requirements for Registration of Automated Databases That Predominantly Consist of Photographs
The Copyright Office is amending its regulations governing the deposit requirements for applications for automated databases that consist predominantly of photographs. The amendments require that, in addition to providing material related to claimed compilation authorship, the deposits for such databases include the image of each photograph in which copyright is claimed.
Registration of Claims to Copyright
The Copyright Office issues this statement of policy to clarify the practices relating to the examination of claims in compilations, and particularly in claims of copyrightable authorship in selection and arrangement of exercises or of other uncopyrightable matter. The statement also clarifies the Office's policies with respect to registration of choreographic works.
Verification of Statements of Account Submitted by Cable Operators and Satellite Carriers
The Copyright Office is proposing a new regulation to implement provisions in the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010 (``STELA'') that will allow copyright owners to audit certain Statements of Account filed with the Copyright Office. Cable operators and satellite carriers pay royalties to and file Statements of Account with the Copyright Office every six months as required by law for the use of the statutory licenses that allow for the retransmission of programming carried on over-the-air broadcast signals. However, until the passage of STELA the licenses did not authorize the copyright owners, who are the beneficiaries of the royalties collected, to audit the information on Statements of Account and the amounts paid for use of the statutory licenses.
Electronic Filing in the Copyright Office of Notices of Intention To Obtain a Section 115 Compulsory License
The Copyright Office is proposing to amend its regulations for filing Notices of Intention to obtain a Section 115 compulsory license with the Copyright Office to provide an option for electronically filing the notice. By law, such notices may be filed in the Office only when the public records of the Copyright Office do not identify the copyright owner of the musical work and include an address at which notice can be served. In addition, the Copyright Office is proposing to clarify in its regulations that it does not examine Notices of Intention filed with the Office for legal sufficiency and to include a Privacy Act Advisory Statement.
Registration of Copyright: Definition of Claimant
The Copyright Office proposes to amend its regulations governing the definition of a ``claimant'' for purposes of copyright registration by eliminating the footnote to the definition of a ``claimant'' in Sec. 202.3(a)(3)(ii). The footnote currently extends the definition of a claimant to include individuals or entities that have obtained the contractual right to claim legal title to copyright in an application for copyright registration. This amendment would clarify that the copyright claimant must be either the author of the work, or a person or organization that has obtained ownership of all of the exclusive rights initially belonging to the author. The Copyright Office believes that the footnote creates considerable legal uncertainty while offering no clear benefits to the registration system. Removing it will foster the use of other available registration options that create a more meaningful public record.
Cable Statutory License: Specialty Station List
The Copyright Office is publishing a final list of stations listed in affidavits sent to the Copyright Office in which the owner or licensee of the station attests that the station qualifies as a specialty station in accordance with the Federal Communications Commission's (``FCC'') definition of specialty station in effect on June 24, 1981. The list shall be used to verify the specialty station status of those stations identified as such by cable systems on their semi-annual statements of account.
Discontinuance of Form CO in Registration Practices
The United States Copyright Office is amending its regulations in order to discontinue use of the Form CO application as an option for applying for copyright registration, and in order to remove references to CON 1 and CON 2 continuation sheets. The removal of Form CO leaves applicants a choice of filing an application for registration electronically or by using the appropriate printed application form relating to the subject matter of the application. The amendment also removes the references to CON 1 and CON 2 continuation sheets, which were never developed or made available to the public; the regulations instead now refer only to the continuation sheets currently available for applicants filing paper applications and makes other housekeeping amendments relating to applications for copyright registration.
Copyright Office Fees
The Copyright Office is proposing the adoption of new fees for the registration of claims, recordation of documents, special services, Licensing Division services, and processing of FOIA requests. The proposed fees would recover a significant part of the costs to the Office for services that benefit both copyright owners and the public, and provide full cost recovery for many services which benefit only or primarily the user of that service. As part of the fee setting process, the Office is providing an opportunity to the public to comment on the proposed changes before submitting the fee schedule to Congress for review.
Fees
The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is publishing a final rule establishing an additional fee for a particular service: Travel expenses in connection with educational activities.
Copyright Office Fees
The U.S. Copyright Office is in the process of reviewing its fees for services and will publish a proposed revised fee schedule in the spring. As part of the process of formulating that fee schedule, the Office seeks the views of interested parties on two particular issues: (1) With respect to the basic registration fee, should special consideration be provided to individual author-claimants registering a single work, and (2) are there any special services and corresponding fees the Office should expand, improve or add to its offerings at this time, including, for example, additional expedited services and fee options.
Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies
The United States Copyright Office (``Office'') seeks comments on proposals to exempt certain classes of works from the prohibition on circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. The Office has initiated a rulemaking proceeding in accordance with provisions added by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (``DMCA'') which provide that the Librarian of Congress (``Librarian''), upon the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, may exempt certain classes of works from the prohibition against circumvention. The purpose of this proceeding is to determine whether there are particular classes of works as to which users are, or are likely to be, adversely affected in their ability to make noninfringing uses due to the prohibition on circumvention. This notice publishes the classes of works received by the Office, which were proposed by several parties in the comment period that ended on December 1, 2011.
Cable Statutory License: Specialty Station List; Correction
Periodically, the Copyright Office (``Office'') seeks to update its list of specialty stations related to the use of the cable compulsory license. In response to the publication of an initial list of specialty stations for this purpose in April of this year, the Office received objections filed by the Motion Picture Association of America to the identification of certain stations as being entitled to specialty station status in accordance with the Federal Communications Commission's (``FCC'') definition of specialty station in effect on June 24, 1981. Corrections are being made to the specialty station list published on November 8, 2011.
Cable Statutory License: Specialty Station List
Periodically, the Copyright Office (``Office'') seeks to update its list of specialty stations related to the use of the cable compulsory license. In response to the publication of an initial list of specialty stations for this purpose in April of this year, the Office received objections filed by the Motion Picture Association of America to the identification of certain stations as being entitled to specialty station status in accordance with the Federal Communications Commission's (``FCC'') definition of specialty station in effect on June 24, 1981. Consequently, before compiling the final list, the Office is providing an opportunity for response to the filed objections. The Office is also publishing for comment a new list of television stations reported in filed affidavits received after publication of the initial list in which the owner or licensee of the television station attests that the station qualifies as a specialty station under the FCC's former rules.
Remedies for Small Copyright Claims
The U.S. Copyright Office is undertaking a study at the request of Congress to assess whether and, if so, how the current legal system hinders or prevents copyright owners from pursuing copyright infringement claims that have a relatively small economic value (``small copyright claims''); and recommend potential changes in administrative, regulatory, and statutory authority to improve the adjudication of these small copyright claims. The Office thus seeks comment on how copyright owners have handled small copyright claims and the obstacles they have encountered, as well as potential alternatives to the current legal system that could better accommodate such claims. This is a general inquiry and the Office will publish additional notices on this topic.
Discontinuance of Form CO in Registration Practices
The United States Copyright Office is proposing to amend its regulations to discontinue use of the Form CO application as an option for applying for copyright registration; and remove the references to CON 1 and CON 2 sheets. Form CO applications comprise only a small percentage of all applications submitted but they contain a significant number of errors, thus requiring a disproportionate amount of the Office's time, effort and resources to process. The proposed amendments would remove references to Form CO and would instead allow applicants a choice to file an application for registration either by filing the application electronically or by using the appropriate printed application form that relates to the subject matter of the application (i.e., Form TX for nondramatic literary works, Form PA for works of the performing arts, Form VA for works of visual art, Form SR for sound recordings, and Form SE for serials). Additionally, the proposed amendment would remove the references to CON 1 and CON 2 sheets, which were never developed or made available to the public, and would instead refer only to the continuation sheets currently available for applicants filing paper applications.
Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies
The United States Copyright Office is preparing to conduct proceedings in accordance with provisions added by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act which provide that the Librarian of Congress, upon the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, may exempt certain classes of works from the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. The purpose of this rulemaking proceeding is to determine whether there are particular classes of works as to which users are, or are likely to be, adversely affected in their ability to make noninfringing uses due to the prohibition on circumvention. This notice requests written comments from all interested parties, including representatives of copyright owners, educational institutions, libraries and archives, scholars, researchers and members of the public, in order to elicit evidence on whether noninfringing uses of certain classes of works are, or are likely to be, adversely affected by this prohibition on the circumvention of measures that control access to copyrighted works.
Designation of Agent To Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement
The Copyright Office is issuing this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to solicit public comment on proposals to update its interim regulations governing the designation by online service providers of agents to receive notifications of claimed copyright infringement as provided for in the Copyright Act.
Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel Rules and Procedures
The Copyright Office is making an amendment to its regulations by removing Part 251 Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel Rules of Procedure. In 2004, Congress replaced the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panels with three Copyright Royalty Judges who operate under separate regulations.
Fees for Special Handling of Registration Claims
The Copyright Office is extending for one year the interim rule relating to fees for special handling of registration claims that have been pending for at least six months. Currently, the interim rule is set to expire on July 1, 2011, and this extension will change the expiration date to July 1, 2012.
Gap in Termination Provisions
The Copyright Office is amending its regulations governing notices of termination of certain grants of transfers and licenses of copyright under section 203 of the Copyright Act. The amendments are intended to clarify the recordation practices of the Copyright Office regarding the content of certain notices of termination, and the circumstances under which such notices will be accepted by the Office. In particular, they clarify that the Copyright Office will record section 203 notices of termination of grants for works created after 1977 even when the agreement to make a grant was made before 1978.
Registration and Recordation Program
The Copyright Office is making non-substantive amendments to its regulations to reflect a reorganization that has moved the Recordation function from the Visual Arts and Recordation Division of the Registration and Recordation Program to the Information and Records Division. As a result of this reorganization, the name of the Registration and Recordation Program has been changed to the Registration Program.
Section 302 Report
In Section 302 of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act, Congress directed the Copyright Office (``Office'') to prepare a report addressing possible mechanisms, methods, and recommendations for phasing out the statutory licensing requirements set forth in Sections 111, 119, and 122 of the Copyright Act. The Office published a Notice of Inquiry (``NOI'') in the Federal Register, seeking comments on issues related to Section 302. 76 FR 11816 (March 3, 2011). The Office announces that it will hold a public hearing on the issues raised by the NOI on June 10, 2011.
Federal Copyright Protection of Sound Recordings Fixed Before February 15, 1972
The Copyright Office will host a public meeting to discuss the desirability and means of bringing sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972 under Federal jurisdiction. The meeting will provide a forum, in the form of a roundtable discussion, for interested parties to address the legal, policy, and factual questions raised so far regarding pre-1972 sound recordings. It will take place on June 2 and 3, 2011 at the Copyright Office in Washington, DC. In order to participate in the meeting, interested parties should submit a request via the Copyright Office Web site.
Cable Statutory License: Specialty Station List
The Copyright Office is publishing an initial list of television stations listed in filed affidavits in which the owner or licensee of the television station attests that the station qualifies as a specialty station in accordance with the Federal Communications Commission's (``FCC'') definition of specialty station in effect on June 24, 1981, and is requesting any objections to an owner's claim of specialty station status be filed with the Copyright Office. The final list shall be used to verify the specialty station status of those television stations identified as such by cable systems on their semi- annual statements of account.
Notice of Public Meeting: Technical Aspects of Mandatory Deposit of Published Electronic Works Available Only Online
The U.S. Copyright Office of the Library of Congress will host a public meeting on May 24, 2011, with members of the publishing community to discuss lessons learned from the Office's receipt of electronic deposits in fulfillment of the mandatory deposit requirements of the copyright law. The objective is to identify file submission, packaging, and formatting standards that can effectively and efficiently be adapted to the workflow requirements for both the publishing community and the Library of Congress.
Section 302 Report
In Section 302 of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (``STELA''), Congress directed the Copyright Office (``Office'') to prepare a report addressing possible mechanisms, methods, and recommendations for phasing out the statutory licensing requirements set forth in Sections 111, 119, and 122 of the Copyright Act. The Office published a Notice of Inquiry (``NOI'') in the Federal Register on March 3, 2011, seeking comment on issues related to Section 302. (76 FR 11816). This notice is extending the time in which comments and reply comments can be filed in this proceeding.
Section 302 Report
The Copyright Office published in the Federal Register of March 3, 2011, a Notice of Inquiry seeking comments for a report to Congress addressing possible recommendations for phasing out the statutory licensing requirements in Section 111, 119, and 122 of the Copyright Act.
Section 302 Report
Congress has directed the Copyright Office (``Office'') to prepare a report addressing possible mechanisms, methods, and recommendations for phasing out the statutory licensing requirements set forth in Sections 111, 119, and 122 of the Copyright Act. This notice seeks comment on marketplace solutions to replace the use of the statutory licenses for the retransmission of over-the-air broadcast signals, suggestions for ways to implement market-based licensing practices, and legislative and regulatory actions that would be needed to bring about these changes.
Federal Copyright Protection of Sound Recordings Fixed Before February 15, 1972
The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is extending the deadline for filing reply comments in response to its Notice of Inquiry requesting public input on the desirability and means of bringing sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972 under federal jurisdiction. Initial comments are available for review on the Copyright Office Web site.
Administration of Copyright Office Deposit Accounts
The Copyright Office is amending its regulations to set the minimum level of activity required to hold a deposit account at 12 transactions per year; require deposit account holders to maintain a minimum balance in that account; require the closure of a deposit account the second time it is overdrawn within any 12-month period; and offer deposit account holders the option of automatic replenishment of their account via their bank account or credit card.
Deposit Requirements for Registration of Automated Databases That Predominantly Consist of Photographs
The Copyright Office is proposing to amend its regulations, including the recently published interim regulations regarding electronic registration of automated databases that consist predominantly of photographs and group registration of published photographs (the ``Interim Regulations''), governing the deposit requirements for applications for automated databases that consist predominantly of photographs. The proposed amendments would require that, in addition to providing material relating to claimed compilation authorship, the deposits for such databases include the image of each photograph in which copyright is claimed. The Office believes that this amendment will align the deposit requirements for such databases with the deposit requirements for published or unpublished photographs as a single work or group registration of published photographs and provide a better public record identifying the scope of the copyright claim.
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