Group Registration of Works on an Album of Music, 22762-22768 [2019-10166]

Agencies

• Library of Congress
• U.S. Copyright Office

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 97 (Monday, May 20, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 22762-22768]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-10166]


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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

U.S. Copyright Office

37 CFR Parts 201 and 202

[Docket No. 2019-4]


Group Registration of Works on an Album of Music

AGENCY: U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Copyright Office is proposing to create a new group 
registration option for musical works, sound recordings, and certain 
other works contained on an album. The proposed rule will expand the 
registration options currently available to register multiple musical 
works or sound recordings under one application. In particular, this 
proposed group registration option will permit the registration of 
multiple musical works and/or sound recordings distributed together, 
regardless of whether such distribution occurs via physical or digital 
media.

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule must be made in writing and 
received by the U.S. Copyright Office no later than 11:59 p.m. EDT on 
July 19, 2019.

ADDRESSES: For reasons of government efficiency, the Copyright Office 
is using the regulations.gov system for the submission and posting of 
public comments in this proceeding. All comments are therefore to be 
submitted electronically through regulations.gov. Specific instructions 
for submitting comments are available on the Copyright Office website 
at https://copyright.gov/rulemaking/gram. If electronic submission of 
comments is not feasible due to lack of access to a computer and/or the 
internet, please contact the Office using the contact information below 
for special instructions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Regan A. Smith, General Counsel and 
Associate Register of Copyrights, by email at [email protected], 
Robert Kasunic, Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of 
Registration Policy and Practice, by email at [email protected], Erik 
Bertin, Deputy Director, Registration Policy & Practice, by email at 
[email protected], or John R. Riley, Attorney-Advisor, by email at 
[email protected]. All can be reached by telephone at 202-707-8040.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The U.S. Copyright Office (``Office'') is proposing to create a new 
group registration option for musical works, sound recordings, and 
associated literary, pictorial, and graphic works contained on an 
album. When Congress enacted the Copyright Act, it authorized the 
Register of Copyrights to specify by regulation the administrative 
classes of works for the purpose of seeking a registration and the 
nature of the deposit required for each such class. In addition, 
Congress gave the Register the discretion to allow registration of 
groups of related works with one application and one filing fee, a 
procedure known as ``group registration.'' \1\ Pursuant to this 
authority, the Register issued regulations permitting the Office to 
issue group registrations for certain limited categories of works, 
provided that certain conditions have been met.\2\
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    \1\ See 17 U.S.C. 408(c)(1).
    \2\ See generally 37 CFR 202.3(b)(5), 202.4; see also 83 FR 
65612 (Dec. 21, 2018) (proposed group registration of short online 
literary works).
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    As the legislative history explains, allowing ``a number of related 
works to be registered together as a group represent[ed] a needed and 
important liberalization of the law.'' \3\ Congress recognized that 
requiring applicants to submit separate applications for certain types 
of works may be so burdensome and expensive that authors and copyright 
owners may forgo registration altogether, since copyright registration 
is not a prerequisite to copyright protection, although registration 
must be made before instituting a civil infringement action.\4\ For 
musical works, not appearing in the Office's records can have 
additional repercussions, as ``the copyright owner must be identified 
in the registration or other public records of the Copyright Office'' 
to be entitled to certain statutory royalties for the reproduction and 
distribution of non-digital phonorecords under the section 115 
license.\5\ Further, if copyright owners do not submit their works for 
registration, the public record will lack information concerning those 
works, diminishing the value of the Office's records.
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    \3\ H.R. Rep. No. 94-1476, at 154 (1976), reprinted in 1976 
U.S.C.C.A.N. 5659, 5770; S. Rep. No. 94-473, at 136 (1975).
    \4\ See 17 U.S.C. 411(a); Fourth Estate Pub. Benefit Corp. v. 
Wall-Street.com, LLC, 139 S. Ct. 881, 886 (2019).
    \5\ 17 U.S.C. 115(c)(1)(A).
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    When multiple works are included in one submission, however, it can 
be more difficult to adequately capture information about each work, 
particularly within the technological constraints of the current 
electronic registration system. The Office must also consider the 
potential effect any group registration option may have on its overall 
administration of the copyright registration system, to avoid an 
adverse effect on the timeframe for examining other types of works.\6\ 
Therefore, group registration options require careful balancing of the 
copyright owners' desire for more liberal registration options, the 
need for an accurate public record, and the need for an efficient 
method of facilitating the examination of each work.
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    \6\ See 84 FR 3693, 3694 (Feb. 13, 2019) (establishing limit on 
number of works in the group of unpublished works in light of 
projected examination costs); 83 FR 2542, 2544 (Jan. 18, 2018) 
(establishing limit on number of photographs that may be included in 
a group in light of the projected costs of examining claims for that 
group).

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[[Page 22763]]

II. Existing Registration Options for Musical Works and/or Sound 
Recordings on an Album

    A sound recording and the musical work embodied in the sound 
recording are considered separate works. Under the Copyright Office's 
existing regulations and registration practices, a single musical work 
and the recording of that work may be registered with one application 
and one filing fee if the composition and recording are embodied in the 
same phonorecord and if the same party has been named as the claimant 
for both works.\7\ In addition, copyright owners have three main 
options for registering multiple musical works and sound recordings 
with one application and one filing fee: (1) Registering multiple 
unpublished works as a group of related works; (2) registering a 
collective work together with the individual contributions included 
within that work; or (3) registering multiple published works as a unit 
of publication.\8\ These options are summarized below.
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    \7\ See 37 CFR 202.3(b)(1)(iv). For purposes of registration, a 
``claimant'' may be the author of the musical work and the sound 
recording or a person or organization that owns all of the exclusive 
rights in those works. Id. at 202.3(a)(3).
    \8\ See U.S. Copyright Office, Circular 34: Multiple Works (Mar. 
2019), https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ34.pdf.
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A. Unpublished Works

    Multiple sound recordings, musical works, or other creative works 
may be registered with one application and fee under the group 
registration option for unpublished works if (1) all of the works are 
unpublished; (2) the works are registered in the same administrative 
class; (3) all of the works are by the same author or the same joint 
authors; (4) the author or joint authors are named as the copyright 
claimant; and (5) the authorship statement for each work and each 
claimant is exactly the same.\9\ Up to ten sound recordings and ten 
musical works, i.e., twenty total works, may be registered under this 
option if each musical work and sound recording is fixed in the same 
phonorecord and if the copyright claimant for both works is the same 
person or organization.\10\ This may be beneficial to authors and 
copyright owners as a group registration covers each copyrightable work 
in the group, though this option is only available if registration is 
made before the works have been published.
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    \9\ 37 CFR 202.4(c).
    \10\ Id. at 202.3(b)(1)(iv), 202.4(c)(2).
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B. Collective Works and Contributions to Collective Works

    Applicants may presently register multiple musical works and/or 
sound recordings with one application and filing fee, if they are part 
of a ``collective work'' and if certain requirements have been met. A 
collective work is a type of compilation where there is a ``work, such 
as a periodical issue, anthology, or encyclopedia, in which a number of 
contributions, constituting separate and independent works in 
themselves, are assembled into a collective whole.'' \11\ The 
authorship in a collective work comes from the original selection, 
coordination, and arrangement of the independent works.\12\ But not all 
groupings of works qualify for registration as a collective work. For 
example, while some courts have held that albums consisting of selected 
sound recordings of musical works are ``compilations,'' \13\ an album 
would not be considered a collective work if it does not contain a 
sufficient number of contributions or a sufficient amount of creative 
selection, coordination, or arrangement.\14\
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    \11\ 17 U.S.C. 101 (definition of collective work); see also id. 
(``The term `compilation' includes collective works.'').
    \12\ See U.S. Copyright Office, Compendium of U.S. Copyright 
Office Practices, Third Edition sec. 312.2 (3d ed. 2017) (citing 
Feist Publ'ns., Inc. v. Rural Tel. Serv. Co. Inc., 499 U.S. 340, 348 
(1991)) (``Compendium (Third)'').
    \13\ See, e.g., Bryant v. Media Rights Prods., 603 F.3d 135, 
140-41 (2d Cir. 2010) (``An album falls within the Act's expansive 
definition of compilation. An album is a collection of preexisting 
materials--songs--that are selected and arranged by the author in a 
way that results in an original work of authorship--the album.''); 
Vargas v. Viacom Int'l, Inc., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 204474, at *15-
16 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 30, 2018).
    \14\ See, e.g., Compendium (Third) sec. 312.2 (noting that 
``selection[s] consisting of less than four items will be 
scrutinized for sufficient authorship'' and that selections ``that 
[are] mechanical or routine,'' or are ``commonplace'' will not 
trigger copyright protection).
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    A collective work registration will extend to the individual works 
on an album if the following requirements have been met. First, each 
individual work must contain a sufficient amount of original 
authorship. Second, the copyright in the collective work and the 
individual component works must be owned by the same party.\15\ And 
third, the individual works must not have been previously published or 
registered and must not be in the public domain.\16\ But a collective 
work is considered a single work for purposes of calculating statutory 
damages, therefore, registering a collective work together with the 
individual works contained in it may have important consequences in an 
infringement action.\17\
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    \15\ See Morris v. Bus. Concepts, Inc., 259 F.3d 65, 70-71 (2d 
Cir. 2001), abrogated on other grounds by Reed Elsevier, Inc. v. 
Muchnick, 559 U.S. 154, 160 (2010); King Records, Inc. v. Bennett, 
438 F. Supp. 2d 812, 843 (M.D. Tenn. 2006) (``[T]he copyright of a 
collection of sound recordings in the form of an album extends 
copyright protection to both the album and the individual sound 
recordings contained therein, regardless of whether the sound 
recordings are individually listed on the certificate of 
registration.'').
    \16\ Compendium (Third) sec. 509.2; U.S. Copyright Office, 
Circular 34: Multiple Works 2-3.
    \17\ See 17 U.S.C. 504(c)(1) (A copyright owner may be entitled 
to recover ``an award of statutory damages for all infringements 
involved in the [infringement] action, with respect to any one 
work,'' and ``[f]or the purposes of this subsection, all the parts 
of a compilation . . . constitute one work.''); see also UMG 
Recordings, Inc. v. MP3.com, Inc., 109 F. Supp. 2d 223, 224-25 
(S.D.N.Y. 2000).
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    In practice, most music albums are registered as collective works 
by record companies that authored or own the collective work and the 
sound recordings on the album. By contrast, musical works contained 
within an album are generally authored and/or owned by a wider variety 
of songwriters, composers, and music publishers. These works are not 
typically covered by the collective work registration, because the 
authors or owners of the musical works are often not the author or 
owner of the collective work, that is, the album. In such cases, the 
musical works must be registered separately from the album, and the 
applicant generally must submit a separate application for each work. 
The collective work option is therefore of limited value to 
songwriters, composers, and music publishers.

B. Unit of Publication

    Certain applicants may also register multiple musical works and 
sound recordings as a single work, with one application and filing fee, 
by using the ``unit of publication'' option.\18\ This is an 
administrative procedure that allows an applicant to register a number 
of works that were physically packaged or bundled together as a single 
unit by the claimant and first published on the same date.\19\
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    \18\ See 37 CFR 202.3(b)(4).
    \19\ Compendium (Third) secs. 1103, 1107.2.
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    A registration issued under this option covers each work in the 
unit that is owned by the copyright claimant. A unit of publication is 
different from a collective work because it does not require 
compilation authorship, and the unit does not need to contain ``a 
number of contributions, constituting separate and independent works in 
themselves.'' \20\ This option may be used to register ``a package of 
separately fixed component works that are physically bundled together 
for distribution to the

[[Page 22764]]

public as a single, integrated unit,'' such as a ``CD packaged with 
cover art and a leaflet containing lyrics'' or a ``box set of music 
CDs.'' \21\ This registration accommodation has long-allowed one 
application to not only extend to any collective work that is included 
within the unit (e.g., a compilation of sound recordings), but also the 
cover art, liner notes, and any other separately fixed work contained 
in the unit and owned by the same claimant.
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    \20\ 17 U.S.C. 101 (definition of collective work); Compendium 
(Third) sec. 1103.
    \21\ Compendium (Third) sec. 1107.1.
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    Because the unit of publication option is restricted to works that 
were first published in a physical unit, this option is not available 
for works first published, or published solely, on a digital album 
distributed over the internet, an increasingly common practice.\22\ The 
Office has declined to extend the unit of publication option to digital 
products, explaining that ``[t]he unit of publication option was always 
intended to be a narrow accommodation to account for a particular 
scenario: Where a physical product bundles together multiple types of 
works of authorship as a single `unit,' and those separate works are 
not published individually.'' \23\ It makes little sense to require 
separate applications for each work of authorship in this situation, 
because this could result in duplicative deposits.\24\ When considering 
digital products, the calculus is different. There is less concern over 
burdening applicants (or the Office) with duplicative deposits, but it 
is typically more difficult for the Office to verify whether multiple 
works have been packaged and distributed as a unit, or if they were 
distributed as ``a single digital file or in multiple digital files, or 
could readily be published only as a bundle, or both in a bundle and 
individually.'' \25\
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    \22\ See, e.g., Keith Caulfield, Chance the Rapper's `Coloring 
Book' is First Streaming-Exclusive Album to Chart on Billboard 200, 
Billboard (May 22, 2016), https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7378361/chance-the-rapper-coloring-book-first-streaming-exclusive; Jason Bullinger, Led Zeppelin Releases Three 
Digital Only Albums (Sept. 28, 2018), https://www.altrevolt.com/led-zeppelin-releases-three-digital-only-albums/.
    \23\ 82 FR 45625, 45627 (Sept. 29, 2017).
    \24\ Id. (providing example of individual pieces of a board 
game).
    \25\ Id.
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    In concluding that it would be inappropriate to make the unit of 
publication option generically available to digital products, the 
Office noted its intention to ``create a new group registration option 
to accommodate [digital music albums],'' citing ``the inability to 
register multiple musical works fixed and/or distributed on an album,'' 
including those released first (or only) in digital formats.\26\ This 
proposed rule follows through on this statement by proposing a new 
group registration option for multiple musical works, as well as sound 
recordings and other works distributed in the same album, subject to 
the eligibility criteria outlined below.
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    \26\ Id. at 45628.
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III. The Proposed Rule

    While the options described above remain useful to facilitate the 
registration of many musical works and sound recordings, in practice, 
the varying eligibility requirements can result in uneven registration 
options (and associated fees) for musical work copyright owners versus 
sound recording copyright owners (since the collective work option is 
more typically available for the latter), and for physical versus 
digital-only albums (since the unit of publication option may only be 
used to register physical products).
    To address these issues, the Office is proposing to create a group 
registration option specifically for works by the same author(s) that 
are contained on the same album. This option will be known as ``Group 
Registration of Works on an Album of Music'' or ``GRAM.'' This 
alternative is intended to expand registration options for the authors 
and other owners of musical works, sound recordings, and associated 
literary, pictorial, or graphic works in a manner that provides more 
flexibility for the registration of multiple works on a particular 
album. Each work in the group will be registered as a separate work, 
and each work should be eligible for a separate award of statutory 
damage awards in an infringement action.

A. Eligibility Requirements

    As proposed, applicants that fail to satisfy the eligibility 
requirements outlined below will not be permitted to use this option to 
register works.
1. Definition of an ``Album''; Works That May Be Included in This 
Option
    The proposed rule limits the group registration option to musical 
works, sound recordings, and any associated literary, pictorial, or 
graphic works on an album of music, such as liner notes and cover 
artwork.\27\ For the purposes of this registration option, the proposed 
rule defines ``album'' as ``a single physical or electronic unit of 
distribution containing at least two musical works and/or sound 
recordings embodied in phonorecords, including any associated literary, 
pictorial, or graphic works distributed with the unit.'' \28\
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    \27\ The proposed rule would not apply to any motion pictures or 
other audiovisual works that may be included on an album, because 
the Office has concluded that including such works would 
disproportionately increase the amount of time needed to examine 
each application. Such motion pictures or audiovisual works would 
have to be registered separate from the works registered through a 
GRAM registration. The Office understands that many digital albums 
increasingly contain audiovisual content and welcomes comments on 
this provision.
    \28\ The Office recognizes that in the music industry, the word 
``album'' sometimes is used to refer to a larger collection of 
tracks, in contrast to smaller bundles of tracks, such as EPs. For 
this rule, there is no policy reason to treat smaller bundles 
differently. See What is the Difference Between a Single, an EP and 
an Album, TuneCore, https://support.tunecore.com/hc/en-us/articles/115006689928-What-is-the-difference-between-a-Single-an-EP-and-an-Album- (last visited May. 1, 2019) (noting that a single is one 
track and an album has two or more tracks); What is the Difference 
Between Single, EP and Albums?, CDBaby, https://support.cdbaby.com/hc/en-us/articles/360008275672-What-is-the-difference-between-Single-EP-and-Albums- (last visited May 1, 2019) (same); see also 
Billboard 200, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_200 (last visited May 1, 2019) (noting Billboard 200 list 
ranks LPs and EPs together as ``albums''). Conversely, the Office 
may reassess this option in the future if ``albums'' stop being a 
popular means for releasing multiple tracks together.
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    This definition is intended to encompass groups of musical works 
and/or sound recordings released to the public,\29\ and includes both 
physical units of distribution such as CDs, cassettes, and vinyl 
records as well as digital releases that are available for download as 
an album (e.g., multiple digital tracks offered at a unified album 
price). The proposed rule does not distinguish between an album that 
can only be purchased in its entirety, such as a multi-track CD, and an 
album uploaded to a digital music service that is offered to the public 
both in its entirety and as individual songs that may also be 
individually downloaded without purchasing the album as a whole. In all 
cases, the musical works and/or sound recordings must be fixed and 
distributed together in an audio form. Works embodied in a visually 
perceptible form, such as books of sheet music, would not be eligible.
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    \29\ If all the works on the album have not been previously 
published, applicants should register the works as a group 
registration of unpublished works.
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    The proposed rule may be used to register up to twenty musical 
works or twenty sound recordings contained in an album. It may also be 
used to register up to twenty musical works and twenty sound 
recordings, i.e., forty total works, if the works are fixed in the same 
phonorecord, if the works are created by the same author or have at 
least one common author, and if the claimant for each work in the group 
is the same. The Office recognizes that some albums contain more than 
twenty musical works and sound recordings, but

[[Page 22765]]

believes this number will make this option available to the majority of 
albums actually sold in the market.\30\ This option also benefits 
copyright owners that are seeking to register two or three works that 
likely would not meet the statutory requirements for a collective work.
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    \30\ In cases where an album contains over twenty tracks, such 
as a double album, an applicant may file multiple applications under 
this option.
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    Based upon the Office's experience registering music albums, most 
claims will involve registration of a dozen or fewer works. As 
discussed below, applicants will be required to submit their claims 
through the existing online registration system. The Office does not 
currently have the ability to charge differential prices to offset the 
additional work involved in examining these claims. The Office will 
closely monitor the number of musical works and sound recordings that 
are submitted to determine if this option has an adverse effect on 
processing times for other types of claims handled by the Performing 
Arts Division. If the average number of works proves to be closer to 
twenty, or if these claims increase overall processing times, the 
Office may need to revisit the proposed limit, or its associated fee.
    This proposed rule will also permit the registration of associated 
literary, pictorial, and graphic works in the album, including cover 
art, liner notes, and/or posters. As noted above, the physical 
packaging requirement of the unit of publication accommodation has 
limited the opportunity to register such ancillary works released 
together in the digital environment. This proposed rule is intended to 
address that limitation by allowing such works to be registered 
together with the musical works and/or sound recordings, subject to the 
additional eligibility requirements discussed below.
    The proposed rule does not limit the number of literary, pictorial, 
or graphic works that may be included in the claim, for two reasons. To 
qualify for this option, the works must be created or co-created by the 
author of the musical works and/or sound recordings. This typically 
occurs when musical works, sound recordings, and other album content 
are created by the same singer-songwriter, or when sound recordings and 
related album material are created as a work made for hire. The Office 
expects that the vast majority of GRAM claims will be limited to music 
and/or sound recordings, and relatively few will include any associated 
literary, pictorial, or graphic works. If these types of works are 
included in the claim, the Office expects that they will take less time 
to examine than the musical works or sound recordings. If these 
assumptions prove to be incorrect, the Office may revisit this issue 
and impose a numerical limit on the amount of associated material that 
may be included in each claim.
    Finally, the group registration option cannot be used to register 
sound recordings that were fixed before February 14, 1972, because, as 
a general rule, those works are not eligible for full federal copyright 
protection.\31\ And unlike the registration for a collective work, this 
group registration option will not cover the authorship involved in 
selecting, coordinating, and arranging the works into the album as a 
whole, consistent with the general scope of a group registration.\32\ 
To register the authorship involved in selecting and arranging the 
works, the applicant would need to separately register the album as a 
collective work or compilation.
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    \31\ Title II of the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music 
Modernization Act, the Classics Protection and Access Act, provides 
for federal remedies for certain unauthorized uses of pre-1972 sound 
recordings, while preserving the rule that ``no sound recording 
fixed before February 15, 1972, shall be subject to copyright under 
this title.'' Public Law 115-264, sec. 202, 132 Stat. 3676, 3728-38 
(2018); 17 U.S.C. 301(c). Foreign sound recordings fixed before 
February 14, 1972, however, may be eligible for copyright protection 
in the United States, but these works must be registered on an 
individual basis using Form GATT. See 17 U.S.C. 104(A); 37 CFR 
202.12(c)(1), (d); 71 FR 15368, 15369 (Mar. 28, 2006); see also 84 
FR 1661, 1670 (Feb. 5, 2019) (discussing interplay between 17 U.S.C. 
104A and 303 following enactment of the Music Modernization Act).
    \32\ See 37 CFR 202.4(n) (``For purposes of registration, the 
group as a whole is not considered a compilation, a collective work, 
or a derivative work . . . .''). A court may separately determine 
whether multiple works infringed on any album were part of a 
collective work. VHT, Inc. v. Zillow Grp., Inc., 918 F.3d 723, 749 
(9th Cir. 2019) (``Though the registration label is not controlling, 
it may be considered by the court when assessing whether a work is a 
compilation. . . . Ultimately, what counts is the statutory 
definition.''); Yellow Pages Photos, Inc. v. Ziplocal, LP, 795 F.3d 
1255, 1277 (11th Cir. 2015) (``Although the manner of copyright 
registration is not dispositive of the works issue, this Court has 
previously considered it to be at least a relevant factor.'').
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2. Author and Claimant
    Under the proposed rule, all of the works claimed in the group must 
have a common author, although authorship for each work claimed need 
not be identical. This requirement may be satisfied if the works were 
created by the same author. In the case of a joint work, this 
requirement may be satisfied if each work was co-created by the same 
co-author, even if the other co-authors are different.\33\ In addition, 
the copyright claimant(s) for each work must be the same person(s) or 
organization.\34\ Specifically, the claimant may either be (1) the 
author or co-author of all of the works, or (2) the party that owns all 
of the exclusive rights that initially belonged to the author or co-
authors. If the author(s) and the copyright claimant(s) are different, 
the applicant must provide an appropriate transfer statement that 
indicates how the claimant obtained ownership of all of the exclusive 
rights in the works, such as ``by written agreement.''
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    \33\ For example, in cases where sound recordings are not 
registered as works made for hire, if an album contains the same 
featured artist across tracks, that artist could be listed as the 
author of all tracks, even if different producers co-authored 
various tracks. See Compendium (Third) 803.3. Similarly, if a 
songwriter co-authored multiple musical works on an album, any such 
works may be registered in the group, even if each work was co-
authored with different writing partners.
    \34\ In this respect the proposed rule is similar to the rules 
governing other group registration options. See, e.g., 37 CFR 
202.4(c)(5) (unpublished works), (d)(1)(iv) (serials), (e)(3) 
(newspapers), (f)(1)(iv) (newsletters), (g)(2) (contributions to 
periodicals), (h)(4) (unpublished photographs), (i)(4) (published 
photographs).
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    For example, if multiple songs on an album were created by the same 
songwriter, that individual could be named as the copyright claimant 
(even if the copyright is owned by a music publisher). If a music 
publisher owns all of the exclusive rights in the works claimed on the 
application, that publisher could register the works in its own name by 
identifying itself as the copyright claimant and providing an 
appropriate transfer statement explaining how it obtained ownership of 
the copyright. Similarly, a singer-songwriter that created the musical 
works, sound recordings, and photographs on an album could register all 
of those works by naming himself or herself as the copyright claimant. 
Alternatively, a third party that owns all of the exclusive rights in 
those works could register them in its own name by providing an 
appropriate transfer statement indicating how it obtained ownership of 
the rights that initially belonged to the singer-songwriter.
    To be clear, a third party may only be named as a claimant or co-
claimant if that party owns the copyright in all of the works in the 
group.\35\ If a party owns one or more--but less than all--of the 
exclusive rights in the works, that party cannot be a copyright 
claimant. Likewise, if the works were created by two or more co-
authors, the claimant or co-claimants must own or co-own all of the 
rights that initially belonged to the

[[Page 22766]]

co-authors.\36\ If a party owns or co-owns the rights that initially 
belonged to some, but not all, of the co-authors, that party cannot be 
named as a copyright claimant.
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    \35\ Id. at 202.3(a)(3); Compendium (Third) sec. 404 (``A person 
or entity who owns one or more--but less than all--of the exclusive 
rights in a work is not eligible to be a claimant.'').
    \36\ Shared ownership of all the musical works on an album is 
not an eligibility requirement, because each song will be registered 
as an individual work.
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    In all cases, the application may be submitted by an author, a 
party that owns all of the exclusive rights in the works, a party that 
owns one or more (but less than all) of the exclusive rights in the 
works, or an authorized agent of the foregoing parties.
    The authorship and ownership of musical works and sound recordings 
can be complex. The Office recognizes that the proposed framework does 
not capture every division of rights that potentially exists within the 
music industry. This is due to the limitations of the current 
electronic registration system, and the limited nature of the Office's 
examination. As discussed in more detail below, the Office does not 
plan to create a new application form for this group registration 
option. Instead, these claims will be submitted using the Standard 
Application. This application was designed to register one work that 
was created or co-created by the same author or co-authors, assuming 
that the work is owned or co-owned by the same claimant or co-
claimant(s).
    The fields within the Standard Application are limited and cannot 
be changed. They are not capable of capturing nuanced ownership 
information, which limits the Office's ability to evaluate claims 
involving transfers of ownership involving multiple works and multiple 
parties. The Office will consider these issues when it begins to 
develop the requirements for its next-generation registration system 
and welcomes input from authors, publishers, recording companies, and 
other interested parties concerning the features and capabilities that 
should be considered.
3. Title Information
    The applicant will be required to provide a title for the album, a 
title for each musical work and/or sound recording, titles for any 
associated literary, pictorial, or graphic works that are included in 
the group, and a title that identifies the group as a whole. The album 
title should be provided in the field marked ``Title of Larger Work.'' 
The title of the musical works, sound recordings, and any associated 
literary, pictorial, or graphic works should be provided in the field 
marked ``Contents Titles.'' When registering sound recordings together 
with the musical works embodied in those works, the same title may be 
provided for both works. When registering literary, pictorial, or 
graphic works, applicants may provide the file name that has been 
assigned to each work or a descriptive identification, such as ``cover 
art,'' ``liner notes,'' ``photo of recording artist,'' ``photo of 
guitar,'' etc.
    The title of the group as a whole will be used to identify the 
registration in the online public record. This title should be provided 
in the field marked ``Title of Work Being Registered'' and should begin 
with the term ``GRAM,'' which will be used to identify the claim and 
assign it to an appropriate member of the Performing Arts Division. The 
group title may include any additional words that reasonably identify 
the group as a whole, such as the author's name(s), the album title, 
the type of works, or the number of works in the group, as in ``GRAM 
songs by Antwan Patton & Andr[eacute] Benjamin,'' ``GRAM five songs 
from The Dungeon Album,'' ``GRAM songs, sound recordings, and cover 
artwork from the album Scorpricorn.''
4. Publication Information
    The application must specify the date and nation of publication for 
the album, and all the works in the group must be first published on 
the album and on the same date. If the album includes works that were 
previously published (either on an individual basis or on a different 
album), or previously registered with the Office, those works should be 
excluded from the claim.\37\ In this respect, the proposed rule is 
similar to the rules governing the registration of a collective work or 
a unit of publication.\38\
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    \37\ See Compendium (Third) secs. 621.4, 621.5.
    \38\ See id. secs. 509.1, 1107.1.
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B. Application Requirements

    In keeping with the Office's recent rules encouraging online 
registration,\39\ the proposed rule requires applicants to 
electronically submit the application.\40\ The Office recently amended 
its regulations to require other group registrations to be filed 
electronically, and the rationales provided in those rulemakings apply 
equally here.\41\ As is the case with these other recent registration 
rules, the proposed rule would allow the Office to waive this online 
filing requirement in exceptional cases.\42\
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    \39\ See 84 FR at 3698 (group registration of unpublished 
works); 83 FR 4144, 4146 (Jan. 30, 2019) (group registration of 
newspapers); see also 83 FR 66182, 66184 (Dec. 26, 2018) 
(architectural works notice of proposed rulemaking); 83 FR at 65616 
(short online literary works notice of proposed rulemaking).
    \40\ Likewise, the online-filing requirement will apply to the 
``supplementary registration'' procedure, which may be used to 
correct or amplify the information in an existing registration. 37 
CFR 202.6(e)(1).
    \41\ See, e.g., id. at 202.4(g)(6) (contributions to 
periodicals), 202.4(e)(5) (group newspapers), 202.4(f)(2) (group 
newsletters).
    \42\ See, e.g., id. at 202.4(g)(9), (h)(11), (i)(11), 
202.6(e)(8).
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    Ordinarily, when the Office creates a new group registration 
option, it develops a corresponding application form to collect the 
information needed for that type of claim.\43\ But the Office is 
beginning to work on the technical requirements for its next-generation 
registration system, and it does not intend to conduct any further 
development on the current system. In the interim, claims submitted 
under this new group registration option will need to be adapted to fit 
within the registration system as it currently exists.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \43\ See id. at 202.4(c)(8), (d)(2), (e)(5), (f)(2), (g)(6), 
(h)(8), (i)(8).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Under the proposed rule, applicants will be required to submit 
their claims through the electronic system and they will be required to 
use the Standard Application. If the claim includes one or more sound 
recordings the applicant should select the Standard Application 
designated for a ``Sound Recording.'' If the group includes musical 
works but does not include any sound recordings, the applicant should 
select the Standard Application designated for a ``Work of the 
Performing Arts.'' Further instructions on how to complete the 
application will be provided by the Office through traditional avenues, 
including its website, circulars, or Chapter 1100 of the Compendium.

C. Filing Fee

    Under the proposed rule, the filing fee for this option will be the 
fee that currently applies to any claim submitted on the Standard 
Application.\44\ The Office has issued a proposal to increase this fee 
from $55 to $75.\45\ If that proposal is adopted, the new fee will 
apply to any claim submitted on the Standard Application, including 
claims involving works contained on an album. The Office does not have 
the ability to charge differential prices when multiple works are 
submitted on the Standard

[[Page 22767]]

Application. However, the Office will consider this issue as it begins 
to develop the technical and legal requirements for its next-generation 
registration system.\46\ In the interim, because the Office cannot 
presently charge a higher fee for GRAM claims, should processing times 
for this group option significantly outstrip the overall average 
processing time for Standard Applications, the Office may consider an 
adjustment to the number of works or complexity of claims permitted in 
this group to minimize subsidization.
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    \44\ Section 708(b) authorizes the Register to adjust the fees 
that the Office charges for certain services, but before doing so it 
must conduct a study of the costs incurred in providing each 
service. 17 U.S.C. 708(b)(5). The Office intends to issue a 
supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking regarding its fee 
schedule that will give the public an opportunity to comment on the 
proposed fee for this group registration option, as well as fees 
that will be proposed in other unrelated rulemakings.
    \45\ 83 FR 25054, 24057 (May 24, 2018).
    \46\ See 83 FR 52336, 52339 (Oct. 17, 2018).
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D. Deposit Requirements

    The deposit requirements for this group registration option will be 
the same as the requirements that normally apply to claims involving 
musical works, sound recordings, and associated album material.
    Briefly stated, if the claim includes any sound recordings, the 
applicant should submit a complete phonorecord of the best edition of 
those sound recordings,\47\ along with any printed or other visually 
perceptible material distributed with the recordings (regardless of 
whether the applicant intends to register that material).\48\ If the 
album was published in a physical form (such as a CD or vinyl record) 
or in both physical and digital form, the applicant should submit two 
physical phonorecords, along with two physical copies of any related 
album material.\49\ If the album was published solely in digital form, 
the applicant may upload a digital phonorecord along with a digital 
copy of any related album material.\50\
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    \47\ See 37 CFR 202.20(c)(1)(iii) (noting best edition 
requirement). Guidelines for identifying the ``best edition'' of a 
sound recording are provided in section V of the ``Best Edition 
Statement,'' which appears in Appendix B to Part 202 of the Office's 
regulations and in Circular 7B: Best Edition of Published 
Copyrighted Works for the Collections of the Library of Congress. 37 
CFR pt. 202, app. B; U.S. Copyright Office, Circular 7B: Best 
Edition of Published Copyrighted Works for the Collections of the 
Library of Congress (Sept. 2017), https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ07b.pdf.
    \48\ See 37 CFR 202.19(b)(2), 202.20(b)(2)(v).
    \49\ Id. at 202.19(b)(2)(i), 202.20(b)(2)(v).
    \50\ Id. at 202.20(b)(2)(iii)(B). Alternatively, applicants may 
save the digital sound recordings and related album material onto a 
physical disc or other storage medium and submit the works in that 
form. Id. at 202.3(b)(2)(i)(D).
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    If the claim does not include any sound recordings, the applicant 
should submit a complete phonorecord of each musical work being 
registered.\51\ If the claim includes any associated literary, 
pictorial, or graphic works, the applicant should submit a complete 
copy of those works. Musical works published solely on phonorecords are 
not subject to the best edition requirement.\52\ Therefore, authors and 
owners of these works may submit digital phonorecords and digital 
copies to the electronic registration system (regardless of whether the 
album was published in a physical or digital form). Alternatively, the 
applicant may submit a physical phonorecord containing each musical 
work, along with a physical copy of any literary, pictorial, or graphic 
works that are included in the claim.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \51\ Id. at 202.20(c)(1)(iii), (c)(2)(i)(H).
    \52\ Id. at 202.19(c)(4) (exempting ``musical works published 
only as embodied in phonorecords'' from the 17 U.S.C. 407(a) deposit 
requirement).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    When submitting a digital deposit, each work must be contained in a 
separate electronic file. The files must be assembled in an orderly 
form, each must be submitted in one of the acceptable file formats 
listed on the Office's website,\53\ and they must be uploaded to the 
electronic registration system as individual electronic files (not .zip 
files). A submission would be considered ``orderly'' if the file name 
for each musical work and/or sound recording can reasonably be matched 
with the corresponding title entered on the application so that the 
examiner can verify that the correct works were uploaded. In addition, 
the applicant would have to provide documentation confirming that the 
musical works and/or sound recordings were included on the album. 
Specific guidance for this requirement will be provided on the Office's 
website, circulars, and the Compendium. By way of example, applicants 
could upload a photo of the liner notes for the album or a screenshot 
from an online music service where the album may be found.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \53\ See U.S. Copyright Office, eCO Acceptable File Types, 
https://www.copyright.gov/eco/help-file-types.html (last visited 
Mar. 30, 2019).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

IV. Conclusion

    The proposed rule is intended to facilitate broader participation 
in the registration system by making it easier for the authors or 
owners of musical works and/or sound recordings to register multiple 
works at the same time. The Office invites public comment on these 
proposed changes.

List of Subjects

37 CFR Part 201

    Cable television, Copyright, Jukeboxes, Recordings, Satellites.

37 CFR Part 202

    Claims, Copyright.

Proposed Regulations

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Copyright Office 
proposes amending 37 CFR parts 201 and 202 as follows:

PART 201--GENERAL PROVISIONS

0
1. The authority citation for part 201 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 17 U.S.C. 702.

0
2. Amend Sec.  201.3 by:
0
a. Redesignating paragraphs (c)(9) through (c)(25) as paragraphs 
(c)(10) through (c)(26), respectively.
0
b. Adding a new subparagraph (c)(9).
    The addition reads as follows:


Sec.  201.3  Fees for registration, recordation, and related services, 
special services, and services performed by the Licensing Division.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
* * * * *

------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(9) Registration of a group of works on an album.......              55
------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *

PART 202--PREREGISTRATION AND REGISTRATION OF CLAIMS TO COPYRIGHT

0
3. The authority citation for part 202 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 17 U.S.C. 408(f), 702.

0
4. Amend Sec.  202.4 by:
0
a. Redesignating paragraphs (k) through (n) as paragraphs (o) through 
(r), respectively.
0
b. Adding new paragraph (k).
0
c. Adding and reserving new paragraphs (l), (m), and (n).
0
d. Revising the newly designated paragraph (r) in the third sentence by 
removing the words ``or (k)of'' and adding in its place the words 
``(k), or (o) of''.
    The addition reads as follows:


Sec.  202.4  Group registration.

* * * * *
    (k) Group registration of works on an album. Pursuant to the 
authority granted by 17 U.S.C. 408(c)(1), the Register of Copyrights 
has determined that a group of two or more musical works and/or two or 
more sound recordings, and any associated literary, pictorial, or 
graphic works, may be registered with one application, the required 
deposit, and the filing fee required by Sec.  201.3 of this chapter, if 
the following conditions are met:
    (1) Eligible works.
    (i) All of the works in the group must be contained on the same 
album. For the purposes of this section, an ``album'' is ``a single 
physical or electronic unit of distribution containing at least two

[[Page 22768]]

musical works and/or sound recordings embodied in a phonorecord, 
including any associated literary, pictorial, or graphic works 
distributed with the unit.''
    (ii) The group may include up to twenty musical works and/or sound 
recordings, together with any associated literary, pictorial, or 
graphic works included with the same album. Where a musical work and a 
sound recording are embodied in the same phonorecord, the group may 
include up to twenty musical works and twenty sound recordings, and any 
associated literary, pictorial, or graphic works included with the same 
album.
    (iii) The applicant must provide a title for the group as a whole 
that begins with the term ``GRAM,'' a title for the album, and a title 
for each musical work, sound recording, and associated literary, 
pictorial, or graphic work claimed in the group.
    (iv) All of the works in the group must be created by the same 
author or the works must have a common joint author, and the copyright 
claimant or co-claimants for each work must be the same person or 
organization. The works may be registered as works made for hire if 
they are identified in the application as such.
    (v) All of the works must be first published on the same album and 
on the same date, and the date and nation of publication must be 
specified in the application.
    (2) Application. If the group includes at least one sound 
recording, the applicant must complete and submit the Standard 
Application designated for a ``Sound Recording.'' If the group does not 
include any sound recordings, the applicant must complete and submit 
the Standard Application designated for a ``Work of the Performing 
Arts. The application may be submitted by any of the parties listed in 
Sec.  202.3(c)(1).
    (3) Deposit.
    (i) If the claim includes any sound recordings, the applicant must 
submit two complete phonorecords containing the best edition of each 
recording, and two complete copies of any associated literary, 
pictorial, or graphic works that are included in the group. A 
phonorecord will be considered complete if it satisfies the 
requirements set forth in Sec.  202.19(b)(2). The deposit may be 
submitted in a digital form if the album has been distributed solely in 
a digital format, and if the requirements set forth in paragraph 
(k)(3)(iii) of this section have been met.
    (ii) If the claim does not include any sound recordings, the 
applicant must submit one complete phonorecord of each musical work 
that is included in the group. If the claim includes any associated 
literary, pictorial, or graphic works, the applicant must submit one 
complete copy of each work.
    (iii) The deposit may be submitted in a digital form if the 
following requirements have been met. Each work must be contained in a 
separate electronic file. The files must be assembled in an orderly 
form, they must be submitted in one of the electronic formats approved 
by the Office, and they must be uploaded to the electronic registration 
system as individual electronic files (not .zip files). The file size 
for each uploaded file must not exceed 500 megabytes; the files may be 
compressed to comply with this requirement. In addition, the applicant 
must submit documentation in accordance with the instructions specified 
on the Copyright Office's website confirming that the musical works 
and/or sound recordings were included on the album.
    (4) Special relief. In an exceptional case, the Copyright Office 
may waive the online filing requirement set forth in paragraph (l)(2) 
of this section or may grant special relief from the deposit 
requirement under Sec.  202.20(d), subject to such conditions as the 
Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of the Office of 
Registration Policy and Practice may impose on the applicant.

    Dated: May 13, 2019.
Regan A. Smith,
General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights.
[FR Doc. 2019-10166 Filed 5-17-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 1410-30-P