Copyright Claims Board: Initiating of Proceedings and Related Procedures-Designation of Agents for Service of Process, 12861-12866 [2022-04745]
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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 8, 2022 / Rules and Regulations
potential impact of regulations on small
entities during rulemaking. The term
‘‘small entities’’ comprises small
businesses, not-for-profit organizations
that are independently owned and
operated and are not dominant in their
fields, and governmental jurisdictions
with populations of less than 50,000.
The Coast Guard received no comments
from the Small Business Administration
on this rule. The Coast Guard certifies
under 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that this rule will
not have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small
entities.
While some owners or operators of
vessels intending to transit the bridge
may be small entities, for the reasons
stated in section IV.A above, this rule
will not have a significant economic
impact on any vessel owner or operator.
Under section 213(a) of the Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement
Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104–121),
we want to assist small entities in
understanding this rule. If the rule
would affect your small business,
organization, or governmental
jurisdiction and you have questions
concerning its provisions or options for
compliance, please contact the person
listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section.
Small businesses may send comments
on the actions of Federal employees
who enforce, or otherwise determine
compliance with, Federal regulations to
the Small Business and Agriculture
Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman
and the Regional Small Business
Regulatory Fairness Boards. The
Ombudsman evaluates these actions
annually and rates each agency’s
responsiveness to small business. If you
wish to comment on actions by
employees of the Coast Guard, call 1–
888–REG–FAIR (1–888–734–3247). The
Coast Guard will not retaliate against
small entities that question or complain
about this rule or any policy or action
of the Coast Guard.
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C. Collection of Information
This rule calls for no new collection
of information under the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–
3520).
D. Federalism and Indian Tribal
Government
A rule has implications for federalism
under Executive Order 13132,
Federalism, if it has a substantial direct
effect on the States, on the relationship
between the National Government and
the States, or on the distribution of
power and responsibilities among the
various levels of government. We have
analyzed this rule under that Order and
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have determined that it is consistent
with the fundamental federalism
principles and preemption requirements
described in Executive Order 13132.
Also, this rule does not have tribal
implications under Executive Order
13175, Consultation and Coordination
with Indian Tribal Governments,
because it does not have a substantial
direct effect on one or more Indian
tribes, on the relationship between the
Federal Government and Indian tribes,
or on the distribution of power and
responsibilities between the Federal
Government and Indian tribes.
E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531–1538) requires
Federal agencies to assess the effects of
their discretionary regulatory actions. In
particular, the Act addresses actions
that may result in the expenditure by a
State, local, or tribal government, in the
aggregate, or by the private sector of
$100,000,000 (adjusted for inflation) or
more in any one year. Though this rule
will not result in such an expenditure,
we do discuss the effects of this rule
elsewhere in this preamble.
F. Environment
12861
List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 117
Bridges.
For the reasons discussed in the
preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33
CFR part 117 as follows:
PART 117—DRAWBRIDGE
OPERATION REGULATIONS
1. The authority citation for part 117
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 33 U.S.C. 499; 33 CFR 1.05–1;
and Department of Homeland Security
Delegation No. 0170.1.
■
2. Revise § 117.500 to read as follows:
§ 117.500
Tchefuncta River.
The draw of the SR 22 Bridge, mile
2.5, at Madisonville, LA shall operate
according to the following schedule. On
Monday through Friday the draw will
operate as follows: From 6 p.m. to 5:59
a.m. the draw will open on signal; from
6 a.m. to 7:59 a.m. the draw need not
open; from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. the draw
will open on signal on the hour; from
4:01 p.m. to 6 p.m. the draw need not
open. On Saturday and Sunday the
draw will operate as follows: From 6
p.m. to 6 a.m. the draw will open on
signal; from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. the draw
will open on signal on the hour.
We have analyzed this rule under
Department of Homeland Security
Management Directive 023–01, Rev.1,
associated implementing instructions,
and Environmental Planning Policy
COMDTINST 5090.1 (series) which
guide the Coast Guard in complying
with the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321–
4370f). The Coast Guard has determined
that this action is one of a category of
actions that do not individually or
cumulatively have a significant effect on
the human environment. This rule
promulgates the operating regulations or
procedures for drawbridges and is
categorically excluded from further
review, under paragraph L49, of Chapter
3, Table 3–1 of the U.S. Coast Guard
Environmental Planning
Implementation Procedures.
Neither a Record of Environmental
Consideration nor a Memorandum for
the Record are required for this rule.
Dated: February 3, 2022.
R.V. Timme,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander,
Eighth Coast Guard District.
G. Protest Activities
SUMMARY:
The Coast Guard respects the First
Amendment rights of protesters.
Protesters are asked to contact the
person listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section to
coordinate protest activities so that your
message can be received without
jeopardizing the safety or security of
people, places or vessels.
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[FR Doc. 2022–04860 Filed 3–7–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110–04–P
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Office
37 CFR Parts 201 and 222
[Docket No. 2021–6]
Copyright Claims Board: Initiating of
Proceedings and Related
Procedures—Designation of Agents
for Service of Process
U.S. Copyright Office, Library
of Congress.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Copyright Office is
amending its regulations to establish
procedures governing the process by
which corporations, partnerships, and
unincorporated associations may
designate agents to receive service of the
initial notice of a proceeding and claim
asserted against them before the
Copyright Claims Board. The amended
regulations provide the requirements for
designating a service agent, amending
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the designation, and maintaining the
directory of designated service agents.
DATES: Effective April 7, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Megan Efthimiadis, Assistant to the
General Counsel, by email at meft@
copyright.gov, or by telephone at 202–
707–8350.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On
September 29, 2021, the Office
published a notice of proposed
rulemaking (‘‘NPRM’’) to establish
procedures governing the initial stages
of a proceeding before the Copyright
Claims Board (‘‘CCB’’).1 The Office is
finalizing aspects of that proposed rule
addressing the CCB’s designated service
agent directory in this partial final rule.
The Office anticipates publishing
another final rule in the future
addressing the remainder of the
proposed changes.
I. Background
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The Copyright Alternative in SmallClaims Enforcement (‘‘CASE’’) Act of
2020 2 directs the Copyright Office to
establish the CCB, a voluntary tribunal
within the Office comprised of three
Copyright Claims Officers who have the
authority to render determinations on
certain copyright claims for economic
recoveries under the statutory threshold.
The Office issued a notification of
inquiry (‘‘NOI’’) to describe the CASE
Act’s legislative background and
regulatory scope and to ask for public
input on various topics,3 including a
provision of the Act permitting
corporations, partnerships, and
unincorporated associations to
designate agents to receive service of
notices of proceedings and claims
asserted against them.4 The CASE Act
provides that service upon an entity that
has designated a service agent must be
made by delivering a copy of the notice
and claim to that agent.5 The CASE Act
also provides an alternative means for
service upon corporations, partnerships,
and unincorporated associations that
have not designated a service agent.6
Under the CASE Act, such entities
may designate an agent ‘‘by complying
with requirements that the Register of
Copyrights shall establish by
regulation’’ and the Register is directed
to ‘‘maintain a current directory of
service agents that is available to the
public for inspection, including through
FR 53897 (Sept. 29, 2021).
Law 116–260, sec. 212, 134 Stat. 1182,
2176 (2020).
3 86 FR 16156, 16161 (Mar. 26, 2021).
4 15 U.S.C. 1506(g)(5)(B).
5 Id. at 1506(g)(5)(A).
6 Id. at 1506(g)(5)(A)(i)–(ii).
the internet.’’ 7 The Register may require
designating entities to pay a fee to cover
the costs of maintaining the directory.8
In September 2021, the Office
published a NPRM to establish
procedures governing the initial stages
of a proceeding before the CCB.9 Among
the provisions proposed in that notice
were rules governing the process for
designating a service agent. In both the
NOI and the NPRM, the Office requested
input on issues related to service of
process and other papers in general as
well as the designation of service agents
in particular. Commenting parties were
encouraged to review the Office’s
designated agent directory for online
service providers created pursuant to
the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
(‘‘DMCA’’), and to discuss to what
extent the Office should use that
directory as a model. The Office also
invited comments about how the system
should indicate corporate parentsubsidiary relationships, and about
fees.10
The NPRM proposed a rule that
would allow a submitter to provide the
same designated agent information for
multiple companies, partnerships, or
unincorporated associations, but would
require a separate submission for each
entity. The proposal would have
required that a submission include
identifying information for the business,
including contact information, principal
place of business, and for corporations,
the state of incorporation, any
associated state file or registration
number, and all other states in which
the corporation is registered to do
business. It would have permitted
organizations to list up to five alternate
names under which they are doing
business, i.e., trade names, which would
be used for indexing the designation.
Submissions would also have to provide
contact information for the service agent
and the designating entity’s consent to
service by mail, with an option to elect,
in addition, to accept service by email
at an email address to be provided in
the directory. Unlike the DMCA
designated agent directory, the CCB’s
designated service agent directory
(‘‘DSAD’’) would not have to be
renewed periodically, although existing
designations could be amended by the
designating entity.11
Noting that the fee for designating an
agent in the DMCA designated agent
1 86
2 Public
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7 Id.
at 1506(g)(5)(B).
8 Id.
9 86
FR 53897.
at 53900–01; 86 FR at 16160.
11 86 FR at 53900–01; see also id. at 53907–08
(proposing § 222.5(b)).
10 Id.
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directory is $6,12 the Office proposed
the same fee for submitting or amending
a designation to the DSAD.13
II. Discussion
A. Limited Scope of This Rule
The NPRM addressed numerous
issues concerning the initial stages of a
CCB proceeding, and a final rule
addressing the rest of those issues is
forthcoming. Meanwhile, to facilitate
the submission of service agent
designations in advance of the CCB’s
acceptance of claims, the Office is
publishing this final rule on designating
service agents before publishing that
forthcoming rule.
B. Overview
With a few exceptions discussed
below, commenters generally supported
the NPRM’s proposed provisions on
designating service agents. In response
to those comments and for other reasons
explained herein, the Office has revised
the proposed rule to allow, under
certain circumstances, inclusion of
multiple affiliated entities in a single
service agent designation, to increase
the number of trade names that may be
associated with an entity making a
designation, and to make minor
modifications regarding the information
that must be provided in a designation.
The final rule also includes some
nonsubstantive technical edits to clarify
the regulatory text, as well as the
additional minor substantive edits
described below.
The relevant proposed regulatory text
in the NPRM was set forth as § 222.5(b)
of the CCB regulations. For purposes of
this final rule, the revised text has been
removed from proposed § 222.5
(‘‘Service’’) and has become a new
section, § 222.6 (‘‘Designated service
agents’’). In the forthcoming final rule
governing other aspects of the initial
stages of CCB proceedings, proposed
§ 222.6 (addressing waiver of service)
will be included as part of § 222.5.
C. Inclusion of Affiliated Entities in a
Single Designation
The proposed rule would have
permitted a qualifying entity to provide
the same designated agent information
for related companies, partnerships, or
unincorporated associations, but would
have required a separate submission for
each of those related entities. The
proposed rule followed the model of the
12 37 CFR 201.3(c)(23) (assigning the fee for
‘‘[d]esignation of agent under 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(2) to
receive notification of claimed infringement, or
amendment or resubmission of designation’’).
13 86 FR at 53904; see also id. at 53905 (proposing
§ 201.3(g)(2)).
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Office’s regulation governing the DMCA
designated agent directory, which
provides that ‘‘[r]elated or affiliated
service providers that are separate legal
entities (e.g., corporate parents and
subsidiaries) are considered separate
service providers, and each must have
its own separate designation.’’ 14
Multiple commenters urged that the
final rule permit a corporate parent to
designate a single designated agent for
affiliated corporations as part of a single
submission. One commenter
summarized the position, similar to
those taken by others, by noting that
under the Office’s proposed rule,
‘‘companies with numerous subsidiaries
may find it too burdensome to provide
a separate submission for each
subsidiary and will simply decline to
designate a service agent. That would
inconvenience copyright claimants, who
will presumably rely on the designated
service agent directory to determine
where to serve their claim.’’ 15 Another
commenter observed that its members
anticipate needing to register service
agents for many more entities under
CCB than under the DMCA, as the range
of activities relevant to DMCA
designated agents is much narrower.16
The Office finds that the arguments
advanced by proponents of permitting
affiliated business entities to file a
single service agent designation are
persuasive. It is in the interest of entities
that designate service agents to have a
system that encourages them to
designate agents for all of their affiliated
entities. It is also in the interest of all
parties in CCB proceedings to have
access to a directory of service agents
that is comprehensive and facilitates
their ability to take advantage of the
more relaxed service requirements
(including service by mail and, when
the designating entity has agreed, by
email) that apply to designated service
agents. To implement such a revision,
the Office finds it necessary to modify
some of the other proposed
requirements for service agent
designations and impose some
limitations.
Because the term ‘‘related’’ entities
may be considered ambiguous, and to
offer greater guidance as to what
additional entities would be permitted
to be included in a single service agent
14 37
CFR 201.38(b)(1)(i).
e.g., Amazon.com, Inc. (‘‘Amazon’’) Initial
NPRM Comments at 5; see also Computer & Comm’s
Indus. Ass’n (‘‘CCIA’’) & internet Ass’n Initial
NPRM Comments at 4; Motion Picture Ass’n,
Recording Indus. Ass’n of Am. & Software and Info.
Ass’n of Am. (‘‘MPA, RIAA & SIIA’’) Initial NPRM
Comments at 5–6; Verizon Initial NPRM Comments
at 2.
16 MPA, RIAA & SIIA Initial NPRM Comments at
5–6.
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15 See,
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designation by a corporation,
partnership, or unincorporated
association, the final rule uses the term
‘‘affiliated,’’ which connotes a closer
relationship than ‘‘related.’’ The
following elaboration has been added to
the regulatory text: ‘‘Affiliated
corporations, partnerships, or
unincorporated associations that are
separate legal entities but are under
direct or indirect common control (e.g.,
parent and subsidiary companies) may
also be included in the same service
agent designation.’’ The concept of
direct or indirect common control
among affiliated entities is common in
various areas of the law.17
Because the Office’s electronic DSAD
system was at an advanced stage of
development at the time the comments
were received, there are certain
constraints on the way in which
affiliated entities can currently be
included within a single designation. As
discussed below, the system was
already being built to accommodate up
to five trade names based on a single
designation. It is now being adapted to
permit a combination of up 50 trade
names and to enable affiliated entities to
be included, indexed, and searchable
based on a single designation. To be
included as part of a single designation,
affiliated entities must have their
principal place of business in the same
state and, for corporations, they must
have the same state of incorporation. In
addition, the names and contact
information of the designated service
agent and of the submitter must each be
the same. The Office considers
information regarding the principal
place of business and state of
incorporation to be important for
purposes of providing accurate
identification of the entity and avoiding
misidentification (e.g., in cases
involving entities from different states
with identical or similar names), and
the system can only accommodate
single designations for multiple entities
where that information is identical.
With respect to an entity’s principal
place of business, the rule has been
modified to clarify that the required
17 See, e.g., 26 U.S.C. 168(h)(4)(B)(ii) (defining
‘‘related entities,’’ for certain federal income tax
purposes, as entities having ‘‘directly or indirectly
substantial common direction or control’’); 47
U.S.C. 152(b) (withholding FCC jurisdiction over a
‘‘carrier engaged in interstate or foreign
communication solely through physical connection
with the facilities of another carrier not directly or
indirectly controlling or controlled by, or under
direct or indirect common control with such
carrier’’); 15 U.S.C. 78l(b)(1) (requiring applications
for registration of a security with SEC to include
information regarding ‘‘the issuer and any person
directly or indirectly controlling or controlled by,
or under direct or indirect common control with,
the issuer’’).
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12863
information pertains to the state in
which the entity’s principal place of
business is located. This modification
has been made for three reasons: (1) To
clarify ambiguous text in the proposed
rule; (2) to facilitate the ability to submit
designations for groups of affiliated
entities, since requiring that the
principal place of business for all
affiliated entities be at the same address
would likely disqualify many affiliated
entities from being included in a single
designation; and (3) to conform to the
design of the electronic DSAD system.
For corporations, the proposed rule
also would have required that the
designation provide any state file or
registration numbers from the state of
incorporation, as well as identification
of all additional states in which the
corporation is registered to do business.
Because a parent corporation and its
subsidiaries or other affiliated
corporations are not necessarily
registered to do business in the same
group of states, retaining this
requirement would be likely to restrict
significantly the ability of affiliated
corporations to be included in a single
designation. Commenters observed that
it is not clear what benefit would be
gained by requiring corporations to
include, for themselves and their
subsidiaries, state file or registration
numbers and information on all states in
which they are registered to do
business; that requiring such
information would be burdensome; and
that such information is already readily
available elsewhere, in a form that is
accurate and up to date.18 The Office is
persuaded that the time and costs
involved in requiring such information
outweigh the benefits, and those
requirements have been removed in the
final rule.
Finally, the rule requires that the
following information be the same for
all entities included in a single
designation: Information pertaining to
the designated agent; information
pertaining to the person submitting the
designation; and information on
whether service may be made by email
and mail or just mail.
D. The Number of Trade Names
Permitted in a Single Designation
The proposed rule would have
permitted qualifying entities to list no
more than five trade names (alternate
business names or ‘‘doing business as’’
(d/b/a) names) under which they are
doing business. Inspired by a similar
provision in the DMCA designated agent
regulation, this would permit persons
18 Amazon Initial NPRM Comments at 5; Verizon
Initial NPRM Comments at 2.
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using the DSAD to more easily identify
the designated agent for companies that
might do business—and be recognized
by the public—under names other than
their corporate names. The DMCA
directory imposes no limit on the
number of ‘‘alternate names’’ (the term
used in the regulation governing that
directory) 19 that an online service
provider may include for indexing and
search purposes. However, based on the
Office’s understanding of the technical
limitations of the electronic DSAD that
it was developing at the time the NPRM
was drafted, it proposed a five-tradename maximum.
Some commenters objected to the
five-trade-name maximum, noting that if
a single entity does business under
different names, all such names should
be included on the same designation
and observing that many entities, such
as record companies, operate multiple
imprints or labels that are trade names
that are part of the same legal entity.20
Those comments, as well as the
comments discussed above urging that
the Office accept designations submitted
on behalf of multiple designated
entities, have persuaded the Office to
raise the permitted number of trade
names to 50,21 and to permit those 50
to be either trade names or the names of
affiliated entities.
E. Additional Revisions
Other minor substantive revisions
include a duty to maintain current
information in the directory by
submitting amendments when the
information changes and a minor
revision to the provision stating what
information in a designation shall not be
made publicly available on the DSAD
website.
Regarding the obligation to keep
directory information current, one
commenter noted that large corporations
will have a long and frequently
changing list of related or affiliated
corporations as well as partnerships and
other associations, and encouraged the
Office to provide sufficient leniency to
correct any changes to corporate
information and acknowledge that
yearly updates should be deemed to be
reasonable compliance.22 While the
Office understands that changes may
not be made instantaneously, there can
19 37
CFR 201.38(b)(2).
RIAA & SIIA Initial NPRM Comments at
6–7; see also Verizon Initial NPRM Comments at 4.
21 The Office has adopted a 50-trade-name
maximum after consulting with the developers of
the electronic DSAD, who are confident that the
system will be able to accommodate up to 50 names
per entity, but not necessarily a greater number in
the available time before its launch.
22 Verizon Initial NPRM Comment at 2.
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be serious consequences, such as the
service of claims on a person whom the
designating entity no longer considers to
be the correct service agent, when the
directory contains out-of-date
information. Therefore, any rule that
would permit a business to defer an
update of information in the directory as
long as a year after the information has
changed would be unacceptable. The
final rule provides that when
information that is in the directory is no
longer valid, it should be updated
promptly. While the Office does not
believe that it is necessary to require
updates on a regular basis, a
requirement to update the information
whenever it changes should ensure that
it is kept up to date. Because there may
be instances where a brief but
understandable delay in updating the
information results in service upon
someone whom the designating entity
no longer considers to be its service
agent, the final rule provides that the
CCB has the discretion to decide in
particular cases whether service of an
initial notice and claim was effective.
However, an entity that has designated
a service agent should be aware that if
service is made upon the person who,
at the time of service, appears in the
directory as the respondent’s designated
service agent, that service is likely to be
deemed effective. This should provide
sufficient incentive to update the
information promptly.23
With respect to the public availability
of DSAD information, the proposed rule
would have provided that the business
address, email, and telephone number
of the corporation, partnership, or
unincorporated association provided in
the designation would not be publicly
available on the DSAD website, but
would be available to CCB staff. As
revised, the entity’s business address is
removed from that provision. Although
the Office has no present intention to
include that information in the directory
on the website, it recognizes that the
business address of a business entity is
not generally considered to be
confidential information and that there
may be occasions where knowledge of
the business address may be helpful in
determining which of two or more
similarly or identically named entities is
the one that a claimant needs to serve.
23 Although a change in the identity of the
designated service agent is the most crucial
information in the directory, delays in updating
other information can also have consequences.
Information such as legal name of a corporation,
partnership, or unincorporated association, or about
the principal place of business or state of
incorporation, can be of great assistance to a
claimant in identifying the correct respondent to be
served.
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F. Fee
In the NPRM, the Office proposed a
fee of $6 for designation of a service
agent, payable upon the submission or
amendment of a designation. The Office
noted that this is the fee charged for
submissions to the Office’s similar
DMCA designated agent directory. One
comment suggested that the fee should
be increased, noting that designations of
agents for the DMCA directory must be
updated every three years, but
designations for the CCB service agent
directory need not be renewed.24 While
recognizing that distinction, the Office
does not believe that a higher fee is
justified at this time. The DSAD offers
benefits not only to the entities that take
advantage of the opportunity to
designate service agents, but also to
claimants in CCB proceedings who can
use it to identify the agents to serve on
behalf of the designating entities.
Because an entity designating a service
agent must accept service by mail and
may also accept service by email, the
directory provides claimants with a
simple and inexpensive means to serve
initial notices of proceedings and claims
upon respondents who have designated
service agents.
Moreover, as previously discussed, a
provision added to the final rule
obligates designating entities to
maintain current information in the
directory by amending an existing
designation (and paying an additional
$6 fee) whenever an update is needed.
As a practical matter, most entities with
designated agents are likely to have to
submit amendments from time to time.
G. Mandatory Service on Designated
Service Agent
The CASE Act requires that when a
qualifying entity has designated a
service agent, a claimant must serve the
initial notice and claim upon that
agent.25 Many commenters requested
that the regulations clarify that this is
the case.26 The Office agrees with that
interpretation of the statute.
24 Copyright Alliance, Am. Photographic Artists,
Am. Soc’y for Collective Rights Licensing, Am.
Soc’y of Media Photographers, The Authors Guild,
CreativeFuture, Digital Media Licensing Ass’n,
Graphic Artists Guild, Indep. Book Pubs. Ass’n,
Music Artists Coalition, Music Creators N. Am.,
Nat’l Music Council of the U.S.A., Nat’l Press
Photographers Ass’n, N. Am. Nature Photography
Ass’n, Prof’l Photographers of Am., Recording
Acad., Screen Actors Guild-Am. Fed. of Television
& Radio Artists, Soc’y of Composers & Lyricists,
Songwriters Guild of Am. & Songwriters of N. Am.
(‘‘Copyright Alliance et al.’’) Initial NPRM
Comments at 15–16.
25 17 U.S.C. 1506(g)(5).
26 See, e.g., MPA, RIAA & SIIA Initial NPRM
Comments at 7–8; Verizon Initial NPRM Comments
at 4; Copyright Alliance et al. Reply NPRM
Comments at 14–15.
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Accordingly, in the interests of avoiding
confusion, the Office shall address that
issue in its forthcoming final rule
addressing the remaining portions of the
rulemaking on initiating proceedings,
including § 222.5 on service.
List of Subjects
Authority: 17 U.S.C. 702.
Final Regulations
For the reasons stated in the
preamble, the U.S. Copyright Office
amends Chapter II, Subchapters A and
B, of title 37 Code of Federal
Regulations as follows:
SUBCHAPTER A—COPYRIGHT
OFFICE AND PROCEDURES
37 CFR Part 201
Copyright, General provisions.
PART 201—GENERAL PROVISIONS
37 CFR Part 220
1. The authority citation for part 201
continues to read as follows:
■
Claims, Copyright, General.
12865
2. In § 201.3, revise the section
heading and add paragraph (g) to read
as follows:
■
§ 201.3 Fees for registration, recordation,
and related services, special services, and
services performed by the Licensing
Section and the Copyright Claims Board.
*
*
*
*
*
(g) Copyright Claims Board fees. The
Copyright Office has established the
following fees for specific services
related to the Copyright Claims Board:
TABLE 4 TO PARAGRAPH (g)
Copyright Claims Board fees
Fees
($)
(1) [Reserved] ......................................................................................................................................................................................
(2) Designation of a service agent by a corporation, partnership, or unincorporated association under 17 U.S.C. 1506(g)(5)(B),
or amendment of designation ..........................................................................................................................................................
........................
SUBCHAPTER B—COPYRIGHT
CLAIMS BOARD AND PROCEDURES
■
3. Add part 222 to read as follows:
PART 222—PROCEEDINGS
Sec.
222.1–222.5 [Reserved]
222.6 Designated service agents.
Authority: 17 U.S.C. 702, 1510.
§ 222.1–222.5
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
§ 222.6
[Reserved]
Designated service agents.
(a) In general. A corporation,
partnership, or unincorporated
association that is entitled under 17
U.S.C. 1506(g)(5)(B) to designate a
service agent to receive notice of a claim
may designate such an agent by
submitting the designation
electronically through the Board’s
designated service agent directory,
which shall be available on the Board’s
website.
(b) Designation fee. A service agent
designation shall be accompanied by the
fee set forth in 37 CFR 201.3.
(c) Trade names and affiliated
entities—(1) Trade names. Each
corporation, partnership, or
unincorporated association that submits
a service agent designation may include
up to 50 trade names that function as
alternate business names (i.e., ‘‘doing
business as’’ or ‘‘d/b/a’’ names) under
which such registered corporation,
partnership, or unincorporated
association is doing business.
(2) Affiliated entities. Affiliated
corporations, partnerships, or
unincorporated associations that are
separate legal entities but are under
direct or indirect common control (e.g.,
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parent and subsidiary companies) of the
filing corporation, partnership, or
unincorporated association may also be
included in the same service agent
designation, but only if all of the
information required in paragraph
(d)(1)(ii), (iii), and (v) through (vii) of
this section is the same for the filing
corporation, partnership, or
unincorporated association and the
affiliated corporation, partnership, or
unincorporated association. Otherwise,
those separate legal entities must file
separate service agent designations,
although a submitter may designate the
same service agent for multiple
corporations, partnerships, or
unincorporated associations.
(d) Content of submission—(1) In
general. The designated service agent
submission shall include:
(i) The legal name, business address,
email address, and telephone number of
the corporation, partnership, or
unincorporated association;
(ii) The state in which the principal
place of business of the corporation,
partnership, or unincorporated
association is located;
(iii) For corporations, the state or
territory (including the District of
Columbia) of incorporation;
(iv) Up to 50 additional names,
consisting of either the names of
affiliated entities or trade names, or
both, as described in paragraph (c) of
this section;
(v) The name, business address (or, if
the agent does not have a business
address, the address of the residence of
such agent), email address, and
telephone number of the designated
service agent;
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6
(vi) The submitter’s name, email
address, and telephone number; and
(vii) The corporation, partnership, or
unincorporated association’s service
method election, as described in
paragraph (e) of this section.
(2) Certification. To complete the
designation, the person submitting the
designation shall certify, under penalty
of perjury, that the submitter is
authorized by law to make the
designation on behalf of the corporation,
partnership, or unincorporated
association, including any other
affiliated entities for which the filing is
made.
(e) Service on designated agents. A
corporation, partnership, or
unincorporated association that
designates a service agent shall, as a
condition of designating a service agent,
consent to receive service upon the
agent by means of certified or priority
mail at the identified mailing address. It
may also indicate in its designation that
it consents to receive service by email
at the identified email address.
(1) Service by mail. The corporation,
partnership, or unincorporated
association shall identify the service
agent’s place of business or, if there is
no place of business, the address of the
service agent’s residence for purposes of
service by mail. The service agent’s
place of business or address of the
service agent’s residence must be
located within the United States.
(2) Service by email. (i) If a
corporation, partnership, or
unincorporated association indicates
that it consents to receive service by
email, the designated service agent’s
email address shall be displayed on the
designated service agent directory.
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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 8, 2022 / Rules and Regulations
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(ii) In cases where the designation
states that service may be made by
email, the person submitting the
designation shall affirm under penalty
of perjury that the corporation,
partnership, or unincorporated
association for which the agent has been
designated waives the right to personal
service by means other than email and
that the person making the designation
has been authorized to waive that right
on behalf of the corporation,
partnership, or unincorporated
association and any other affiliated
entity for which the filing is made for
Board proceedings.
(f) Amendments. A corporation,
partnership, or unincorporated
association shall have a duty to
maintain current information in the
directory. A corporation, partnership, or
unincorporated association may amend
a designation of a service agent by
following directions on the Board’s
website. Such amendment shall be
accompanied by the fee set forth in 37
CFR 201.3. The requirements found in
paragraph (d) of this section shall apply
to the service agent designation
amendment. If current information is
not timely maintained and, as a result,
the identification or address of the
service agent in the directory is no
longer accurate, the Board may, in its
discretion and subject to any reasonable
conditions that the Board may decide to
impose, determine whether service
upon that agent or at that address was
effective.
(g) Public directory—(1) In general.
After a corporation, partnership, or
unincorporated association submits a
service agent designation, such
designation shall be made available on
the public designated service agent
directory after payment has been
remitted and the Board has reviewed the
submission to determine whether the
submission qualifies for the designated
agent provision.
(2) Removal from directory. If the
Board determines that a submitted
service agent designation does not
qualify under this section or if it has
reason to believe that the submitter was
not authorized by law to make the
designation on behalf of the corporation,
partnership, or unincorporated
association, it shall notify the submitter
that it intends not to add the record to
the directory, or that it intends to
remove the record from the directory,
and shall provide the submitter 10
calendar days to respond. If the
submitter fails to respond, or if, after
reviewing the response, the Board
determines that the submission does not
qualify for the designated service agent
directory, the entity shall not be added
to, or shall be removed from, the
directory.
(3) Content of public listing. The
designation shall be indexed under the
names of each corporation, partnership,
or unincorporated association for which
an agent has been designated and shall
be made available on the Board’s
website. The email address and
telephone number of the corporation,
partnership, or unincorporated
association provided under paragraph
(d)(1)(i) of this section shall not be made
publicly available on the designated
service agent directory website, but such
information shall be made available to
Board staff.
(4) Designation date. A designation
filed in accordance with this section
before April 7, 2022 will become
effective on that date.
Dated: February 28, 2022.
Shira Perlmutter,
Register of Copyrights and Director of the
U.S. Copyright Office.
Approved by:
Carla D. Hayden,
Librarian of Congress.
[FR Doc. 2022–04745 Filed 3–7–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410–30–P
(SIP). We are also determining that the
submitted SIP revision fulfills the
District’s and the State’s commitment to
adopt and submit a specific enforceable
contingency measure to address Clean
Air Act (CAA or ‘‘Act’’) requirements for
the 2006 24-hour and 2012 annual
national ambient air quality standards
(NAAQS) for fine particulate matter
(PM2.5) in the South Coast air basin.
DATES:
This rule is effective on April 7,
2022.
The EPA has established a
docket for this action under Docket ID
No. EPA–R09–OAR–2021–0296. All
documents in the docket are listed on
the https://www.regulations.gov
website. Although listed in the index,
some information is not publicly
available, e.g., Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Certain other material, such as
copyrighted material, is not placed on
the internet and will be publicly
available only in hard copy form.
Publicly available docket materials are
available through https://
www.regulations.gov, or please contact
the person identified in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section for
additional availability information. If
you need assistance in a language other
than English or if you are a person with
disabilities who needs a reasonable
accommodation at no cost to you, please
contact the person identified in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
Ginger Vagenas, EPA Region IX, 75
Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA
94105. By phone at (415) 972–3964 or
by email at vagenas.ginger@epa.gov.
[EPA–R09–OAR–2021–0296; FRL–9386–01–
R9]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document, ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’
and ‘‘our’’ refer to the EPA.
Air Plan Approval; California; Los
Angeles—South Coast Air Basin
Table of Contents
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is taking final action to
approve a revision to the South Coast
Air Quality Management District
(SCAQMD or ‘‘District’’) portion of the
California State Implementation Plan
SUMMARY:
I. Proposed Action
II. Public Comments and EPA Responses
III. Final Action
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Proposed Action
On May 20, 2021, the EPA proposed
to approve all but paragraphs (g) and (k)
of the following rule into the California
SIP.1
TABLE 1—RULE ADDRESSED BY EPA PROPOSAL
Local agency
Rule No.
SCAQMD ..........
1 86
445
Rule
Amended
Wood-Burning Devices (except paragraphs (g) and (k)) ............
October 27, 2020 ...
FR 27346.
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Submitted
October 29, 2020.
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 8, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12861-12866]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-04745]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Office
37 CFR Parts 201 and 222
[Docket No. 2021-6]
Copyright Claims Board: Initiating of Proceedings and Related
Procedures--Designation of Agents for Service of Process
AGENCY: U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Copyright Office is amending its regulations to
establish procedures governing the process by which corporations,
partnerships, and unincorporated associations may designate agents to
receive service of the initial notice of a proceeding and claim
asserted against them before the Copyright Claims Board. The amended
regulations provide the requirements for designating a service agent,
amending
[[Page 12862]]
the designation, and maintaining the directory of designated service
agents.
DATES: Effective April 7, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Megan Efthimiadis, Assistant to the
General Counsel, by email at [email protected], or by telephone at
202-707-8350.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 29, 2021, the Office published
a notice of proposed rulemaking (``NPRM'') to establish procedures
governing the initial stages of a proceeding before the Copyright
Claims Board (``CCB'').\1\ The Office is finalizing aspects of that
proposed rule addressing the CCB's designated service agent directory
in this partial final rule. The Office anticipates publishing another
final rule in the future addressing the remainder of the proposed
changes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 86 FR 53897 (Sept. 29, 2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Background
The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (``CASE'')
Act of 2020 \2\ directs the Copyright Office to establish the CCB, a
voluntary tribunal within the Office comprised of three Copyright
Claims Officers who have the authority to render determinations on
certain copyright claims for economic recoveries under the statutory
threshold. The Office issued a notification of inquiry (``NOI'') to
describe the CASE Act's legislative background and regulatory scope and
to ask for public input on various topics,\3\ including a provision of
the Act permitting corporations, partnerships, and unincorporated
associations to designate agents to receive service of notices of
proceedings and claims asserted against them.\4\ The CASE Act provides
that service upon an entity that has designated a service agent must be
made by delivering a copy of the notice and claim to that agent.\5\ The
CASE Act also provides an alternative means for service upon
corporations, partnerships, and unincorporated associations that have
not designated a service agent.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Public Law 116-260, sec. 212, 134 Stat. 1182, 2176 (2020).
\3\ 86 FR 16156, 16161 (Mar. 26, 2021).
\4\ 15 U.S.C. 1506(g)(5)(B).
\5\ Id. at 1506(g)(5)(A).
\6\ Id. at 1506(g)(5)(A)(i)-(ii).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under the CASE Act, such entities may designate an agent ``by
complying with requirements that the Register of Copyrights shall
establish by regulation'' and the Register is directed to ``maintain a
current directory of service agents that is available to the public for
inspection, including through the internet.'' \7\ The Register may
require designating entities to pay a fee to cover the costs of
maintaining the directory.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ Id. at 1506(g)(5)(B).
\8\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In September 2021, the Office published a NPRM to establish
procedures governing the initial stages of a proceeding before the
CCB.\9\ Among the provisions proposed in that notice were rules
governing the process for designating a service agent. In both the NOI
and the NPRM, the Office requested input on issues related to service
of process and other papers in general as well as the designation of
service agents in particular. Commenting parties were encouraged to
review the Office's designated agent directory for online service
providers created pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
(``DMCA''), and to discuss to what extent the Office should use that
directory as a model. The Office also invited comments about how the
system should indicate corporate parent-subsidiary relationships, and
about fees.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ 86 FR 53897.
\10\ Id. at 53900-01; 86 FR at 16160.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The NPRM proposed a rule that would allow a submitter to provide
the same designated agent information for multiple companies,
partnerships, or unincorporated associations, but would require a
separate submission for each entity. The proposal would have required
that a submission include identifying information for the business,
including contact information, principal place of business, and for
corporations, the state of incorporation, any associated state file or
registration number, and all other states in which the corporation is
registered to do business. It would have permitted organizations to
list up to five alternate names under which they are doing business,
i.e., trade names, which would be used for indexing the designation.
Submissions would also have to provide contact information for the
service agent and the designating entity's consent to service by mail,
with an option to elect, in addition, to accept service by email at an
email address to be provided in the directory. Unlike the DMCA
designated agent directory, the CCB's designated service agent
directory (``DSAD'') would not have to be renewed periodically,
although existing designations could be amended by the designating
entity.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ 86 FR at 53900-01; see also id. at 53907-08 (proposing
Sec. 222.5(b)).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noting that the fee for designating an agent in the DMCA designated
agent directory is $6,\12\ the Office proposed the same fee for
submitting or amending a designation to the DSAD.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ 37 CFR 201.3(c)(23) (assigning the fee for ``[d]esignation
of agent under 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(2) to receive notification of
claimed infringement, or amendment or resubmission of
designation'').
\13\ 86 FR at 53904; see also id. at 53905 (proposing Sec.
201.3(g)(2)).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. Discussion
A. Limited Scope of This Rule
The NPRM addressed numerous issues concerning the initial stages of
a CCB proceeding, and a final rule addressing the rest of those issues
is forthcoming. Meanwhile, to facilitate the submission of service
agent designations in advance of the CCB's acceptance of claims, the
Office is publishing this final rule on designating service agents
before publishing that forthcoming rule.
B. Overview
With a few exceptions discussed below, commenters generally
supported the NPRM's proposed provisions on designating service agents.
In response to those comments and for other reasons explained herein,
the Office has revised the proposed rule to allow, under certain
circumstances, inclusion of multiple affiliated entities in a single
service agent designation, to increase the number of trade names that
may be associated with an entity making a designation, and to make
minor modifications regarding the information that must be provided in
a designation. The final rule also includes some nonsubstantive
technical edits to clarify the regulatory text, as well as the
additional minor substantive edits described below.
The relevant proposed regulatory text in the NPRM was set forth as
Sec. 222.5(b) of the CCB regulations. For purposes of this final rule,
the revised text has been removed from proposed Sec. 222.5
(``Service'') and has become a new section, Sec. 222.6 (``Designated
service agents''). In the forthcoming final rule governing other
aspects of the initial stages of CCB proceedings, proposed Sec. 222.6
(addressing waiver of service) will be included as part of Sec. 222.5.
C. Inclusion of Affiliated Entities in a Single Designation
The proposed rule would have permitted a qualifying entity to
provide the same designated agent information for related companies,
partnerships, or unincorporated associations, but would have required a
separate submission for each of those related entities. The proposed
rule followed the model of the
[[Page 12863]]
Office's regulation governing the DMCA designated agent directory,
which provides that ``[r]elated or affiliated service providers that
are separate legal entities (e.g., corporate parents and subsidiaries)
are considered separate service providers, and each must have its own
separate designation.'' \14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ 37 CFR 201.38(b)(1)(i).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Multiple commenters urged that the final rule permit a corporate
parent to designate a single designated agent for affiliated
corporations as part of a single submission. One commenter summarized
the position, similar to those taken by others, by noting that under
the Office's proposed rule, ``companies with numerous subsidiaries may
find it too burdensome to provide a separate submission for each
subsidiary and will simply decline to designate a service agent. That
would inconvenience copyright claimants, who will presumably rely on
the designated service agent directory to determine where to serve
their claim.'' \15\ Another commenter observed that its members
anticipate needing to register service agents for many more entities
under CCB than under the DMCA, as the range of activities relevant to
DMCA designated agents is much narrower.\16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ See, e.g., Amazon.com, Inc. (``Amazon'') Initial NPRM
Comments at 5; see also Computer & Comm's Indus. Ass'n (``CCIA'') &
internet Ass'n Initial NPRM Comments at 4; Motion Picture Ass'n,
Recording Indus. Ass'n of Am. & Software and Info. Ass'n of Am.
(``MPA, RIAA & SIIA'') Initial NPRM Comments at 5-6; Verizon Initial
NPRM Comments at 2.
\16\ MPA, RIAA & SIIA Initial NPRM Comments at 5-6.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Office finds that the arguments advanced by proponents of
permitting affiliated business entities to file a single service agent
designation are persuasive. It is in the interest of entities that
designate service agents to have a system that encourages them to
designate agents for all of their affiliated entities. It is also in
the interest of all parties in CCB proceedings to have access to a
directory of service agents that is comprehensive and facilitates their
ability to take advantage of the more relaxed service requirements
(including service by mail and, when the designating entity has agreed,
by email) that apply to designated service agents. To implement such a
revision, the Office finds it necessary to modify some of the other
proposed requirements for service agent designations and impose some
limitations.
Because the term ``related'' entities may be considered ambiguous,
and to offer greater guidance as to what additional entities would be
permitted to be included in a single service agent designation by a
corporation, partnership, or unincorporated association, the final rule
uses the term ``affiliated,'' which connotes a closer relationship than
``related.'' The following elaboration has been added to the regulatory
text: ``Affiliated corporations, partnerships, or unincorporated
associations that are separate legal entities but are under direct or
indirect common control (e.g., parent and subsidiary companies) may
also be included in the same service agent designation.'' The concept
of direct or indirect common control among affiliated entities is
common in various areas of the law.\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\ See, e.g., 26 U.S.C. 168(h)(4)(B)(ii) (defining ``related
entities,'' for certain federal income tax purposes, as entities
having ``directly or indirectly substantial common direction or
control''); 47 U.S.C. 152(b) (withholding FCC jurisdiction over a
``carrier engaged in interstate or foreign communication solely
through physical connection with the facilities of another carrier
not directly or indirectly controlling or controlled by, or under
direct or indirect common control with such carrier''); 15 U.S.C.
78l(b)(1) (requiring applications for registration of a security
with SEC to include information regarding ``the issuer and any
person directly or indirectly controlling or controlled by, or under
direct or indirect common control with, the issuer'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Because the Office's electronic DSAD system was at an advanced
stage of development at the time the comments were received, there are
certain constraints on the way in which affiliated entities can
currently be included within a single designation. As discussed below,
the system was already being built to accommodate up to five trade
names based on a single designation. It is now being adapted to permit
a combination of up 50 trade names and to enable affiliated entities to
be included, indexed, and searchable based on a single designation. To
be included as part of a single designation, affiliated entities must
have their principal place of business in the same state and, for
corporations, they must have the same state of incorporation. In
addition, the names and contact information of the designated service
agent and of the submitter must each be the same. The Office considers
information regarding the principal place of business and state of
incorporation to be important for purposes of providing accurate
identification of the entity and avoiding misidentification (e.g., in
cases involving entities from different states with identical or
similar names), and the system can only accommodate single designations
for multiple entities where that information is identical.
With respect to an entity's principal place of business, the rule
has been modified to clarify that the required information pertains to
the state in which the entity's principal place of business is located.
This modification has been made for three reasons: (1) To clarify
ambiguous text in the proposed rule; (2) to facilitate the ability to
submit designations for groups of affiliated entities, since requiring
that the principal place of business for all affiliated entities be at
the same address would likely disqualify many affiliated entities from
being included in a single designation; and (3) to conform to the
design of the electronic DSAD system.
For corporations, the proposed rule also would have required that
the designation provide any state file or registration numbers from the
state of incorporation, as well as identification of all additional
states in which the corporation is registered to do business. Because a
parent corporation and its subsidiaries or other affiliated
corporations are not necessarily registered to do business in the same
group of states, retaining this requirement would be likely to restrict
significantly the ability of affiliated corporations to be included in
a single designation. Commenters observed that it is not clear what
benefit would be gained by requiring corporations to include, for
themselves and their subsidiaries, state file or registration numbers
and information on all states in which they are registered to do
business; that requiring such information would be burdensome; and that
such information is already readily available elsewhere, in a form that
is accurate and up to date.\18\ The Office is persuaded that the time
and costs involved in requiring such information outweigh the benefits,
and those requirements have been removed in the final rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\18\ Amazon Initial NPRM Comments at 5; Verizon Initial NPRM
Comments at 2.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, the rule requires that the following information be the
same for all entities included in a single designation: Information
pertaining to the designated agent; information pertaining to the
person submitting the designation; and information on whether service
may be made by email and mail or just mail.
D. The Number of Trade Names Permitted in a Single Designation
The proposed rule would have permitted qualifying entities to list
no more than five trade names (alternate business names or ``doing
business as'' (d/b/a) names) under which they are doing business.
Inspired by a similar provision in the DMCA designated agent
regulation, this would permit persons
[[Page 12864]]
using the DSAD to more easily identify the designated agent for
companies that might do business--and be recognized by the public--
under names other than their corporate names. The DMCA directory
imposes no limit on the number of ``alternate names'' (the term used in
the regulation governing that directory) \19\ that an online service
provider may include for indexing and search purposes. However, based
on the Office's understanding of the technical limitations of the
electronic DSAD that it was developing at the time the NPRM was
drafted, it proposed a five-trade-name maximum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\19\ 37 CFR 201.38(b)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some commenters objected to the five-trade-name maximum, noting
that if a single entity does business under different names, all such
names should be included on the same designation and observing that
many entities, such as record companies, operate multiple imprints or
labels that are trade names that are part of the same legal entity.\20\
Those comments, as well as the comments discussed above urging that the
Office accept designations submitted on behalf of multiple designated
entities, have persuaded the Office to raise the permitted number of
trade names to 50,\21\ and to permit those 50 to be either trade names
or the names of affiliated entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\20\ MPA, RIAA & SIIA Initial NPRM Comments at 6-7; see also
Verizon Initial NPRM Comments at 4.
\21\ The Office has adopted a 50-trade-name maximum after
consulting with the developers of the electronic DSAD, who are
confident that the system will be able to accommodate up to 50 names
per entity, but not necessarily a greater number in the available
time before its launch.
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E. Additional Revisions
Other minor substantive revisions include a duty to maintain
current information in the directory by submitting amendments when the
information changes and a minor revision to the provision stating what
information in a designation shall not be made publicly available on
the DSAD website.
Regarding the obligation to keep directory information current, one
commenter noted that large corporations will have a long and frequently
changing list of related or affiliated corporations as well as
partnerships and other associations, and encouraged the Office to
provide sufficient leniency to correct any changes to corporate
information and acknowledge that yearly updates should be deemed to be
reasonable compliance.\22\ While the Office understands that changes
may not be made instantaneously, there can be serious consequences,
such as the service of claims on a person whom the designating entity
no longer considers to be the correct service agent, when the directory
contains out-of-date information. Therefore, any rule that would permit
a business to defer an update of information in the directory as long
as a year after the information has changed would be unacceptable. The
final rule provides that when information that is in the directory is
no longer valid, it should be updated promptly. While the Office does
not believe that it is necessary to require updates on a regular basis,
a requirement to update the information whenever it changes should
ensure that it is kept up to date. Because there may be instances where
a brief but understandable delay in updating the information results in
service upon someone whom the designating entity no longer considers to
be its service agent, the final rule provides that the CCB has the
discretion to decide in particular cases whether service of an initial
notice and claim was effective. However, an entity that has designated
a service agent should be aware that if service is made upon the person
who, at the time of service, appears in the directory as the
respondent's designated service agent, that service is likely to be
deemed effective. This should provide sufficient incentive to update
the information promptly.\23\
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\22\ Verizon Initial NPRM Comment at 2.
\23\ Although a change in the identity of the designated service
agent is the most crucial information in the directory, delays in
updating other information can also have consequences. Information
such as legal name of a corporation, partnership, or unincorporated
association, or about the principal place of business or state of
incorporation, can be of great assistance to a claimant in
identifying the correct respondent to be served.
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With respect to the public availability of DSAD information, the
proposed rule would have provided that the business address, email, and
telephone number of the corporation, partnership, or unincorporated
association provided in the designation would not be publicly available
on the DSAD website, but would be available to CCB staff. As revised,
the entity's business address is removed from that provision. Although
the Office has no present intention to include that information in the
directory on the website, it recognizes that the business address of a
business entity is not generally considered to be confidential
information and that there may be occasions where knowledge of the
business address may be helpful in determining which of two or more
similarly or identically named entities is the one that a claimant
needs to serve.
F. Fee
In the NPRM, the Office proposed a fee of $6 for designation of a
service agent, payable upon the submission or amendment of a
designation. The Office noted that this is the fee charged for
submissions to the Office's similar DMCA designated agent directory.
One comment suggested that the fee should be increased, noting that
designations of agents for the DMCA directory must be updated every
three years, but designations for the CCB service agent directory need
not be renewed.\24\ While recognizing that distinction, the Office does
not believe that a higher fee is justified at this time. The DSAD
offers benefits not only to the entities that take advantage of the
opportunity to designate service agents, but also to claimants in CCB
proceedings who can use it to identify the agents to serve on behalf of
the designating entities. Because an entity designating a service agent
must accept service by mail and may also accept service by email, the
directory provides claimants with a simple and inexpensive means to
serve initial notices of proceedings and claims upon respondents who
have designated service agents.
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\24\ Copyright Alliance, Am. Photographic Artists, Am. Soc'y for
Collective Rights Licensing, Am. Soc'y of Media Photographers, The
Authors Guild, CreativeFuture, Digital Media Licensing Ass'n,
Graphic Artists Guild, Indep. Book Pubs. Ass'n, Music Artists
Coalition, Music Creators N. Am., Nat'l Music Council of the U.S.A.,
Nat'l Press Photographers Ass'n, N. Am. Nature Photography Ass'n,
Prof'l Photographers of Am., Recording Acad., Screen Actors Guild-
Am. Fed. of Television & Radio Artists, Soc'y of Composers &
Lyricists, Songwriters Guild of Am. & Songwriters of N. Am.
(``Copyright Alliance et al.'') Initial NPRM Comments at 15-16.
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Moreover, as previously discussed, a provision added to the final
rule obligates designating entities to maintain current information in
the directory by amending an existing designation (and paying an
additional $6 fee) whenever an update is needed. As a practical matter,
most entities with designated agents are likely to have to submit
amendments from time to time.
G. Mandatory Service on Designated Service Agent
The CASE Act requires that when a qualifying entity has designated
a service agent, a claimant must serve the initial notice and claim
upon that agent.\25\ Many commenters requested that the regulations
clarify that this is the case.\26\ The Office agrees with that
interpretation of the statute.
[[Page 12865]]
Accordingly, in the interests of avoiding confusion, the Office shall
address that issue in its forthcoming final rule addressing the
remaining portions of the rulemaking on initiating proceedings,
including Sec. 222.5 on service.
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\25\ 17 U.S.C. 1506(g)(5).
\26\ See, e.g., MPA, RIAA & SIIA Initial NPRM Comments at 7-8;
Verizon Initial NPRM Comments at 4; Copyright Alliance et al. Reply
NPRM Comments at 14-15.
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List of Subjects
37 CFR Part 201
Copyright, General provisions.
37 CFR Part 220
Claims, Copyright, General.
Final Regulations
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the U.S. Copyright Office
amends Chapter II, Subchapters A and B, of title 37 Code of Federal
Regulations as follows:
SUBCHAPTER A--COPYRIGHT OFFICE AND PROCEDURES
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. In Sec. 201.3, revise the section heading and add paragraph (g) to
read as follows:
Sec. 201.3 Fees for registration, recordation, and related services,
special services, and services performed by the Licensing Section and
the Copyright Claims Board.
* * * * *
(g) Copyright Claims Board fees. The Copyright Office has
established the following fees for specific services related to the
Copyright Claims Board:
Table 4 to Paragraph (g)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright Claims Board fees Fees ($)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) [Reserved].......................................... ..............
(2) Designation of a service agent by a corporation, 6
partnership, or unincorporated association under 17
U.S.C. 1506(g)(5)(B), or amendment of designation......
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUBCHAPTER B--COPYRIGHT CLAIMS BOARD AND PROCEDURES
0
3. Add part 222 to read as follows:
PART 222--PROCEEDINGS
Sec.
222.1-222.5 [Reserved]
222.6 Designated service agents.
Authority: 17 U.S.C. 702, 1510.
Sec. 222.1-222.5 [Reserved]
Sec. 222.6 Designated service agents.
(a) In general. A corporation, partnership, or unincorporated
association that is entitled under 17 U.S.C. 1506(g)(5)(B) to designate
a service agent to receive notice of a claim may designate such an
agent by submitting the designation electronically through the Board's
designated service agent directory, which shall be available on the
Board's website.
(b) Designation fee. A service agent designation shall be
accompanied by the fee set forth in 37 CFR 201.3.
(c) Trade names and affiliated entities--(1) Trade names. Each
corporation, partnership, or unincorporated association that submits a
service agent designation may include up to 50 trade names that
function as alternate business names (i.e., ``doing business as'' or
``d/b/a'' names) under which such registered corporation, partnership,
or unincorporated association is doing business.
(2) Affiliated entities. Affiliated corporations, partnerships, or
unincorporated associations that are separate legal entities but are
under direct or indirect common control (e.g., parent and subsidiary
companies) of the filing corporation, partnership, or unincorporated
association may also be included in the same service agent designation,
but only if all of the information required in paragraph (d)(1)(ii),
(iii), and (v) through (vii) of this section is the same for the filing
corporation, partnership, or unincorporated association and the
affiliated corporation, partnership, or unincorporated association.
Otherwise, those separate legal entities must file separate service
agent designations, although a submitter may designate the same service
agent for multiple corporations, partnerships, or unincorporated
associations.
(d) Content of submission--(1) In general. The designated service
agent submission shall include:
(i) The legal name, business address, email address, and telephone
number of the corporation, partnership, or unincorporated association;
(ii) The state in which the principal place of business of the
corporation, partnership, or unincorporated association is located;
(iii) For corporations, the state or territory (including the
District of Columbia) of incorporation;
(iv) Up to 50 additional names, consisting of either the names of
affiliated entities or trade names, or both, as described in paragraph
(c) of this section;
(v) The name, business address (or, if the agent does not have a
business address, the address of the residence of such agent), email
address, and telephone number of the designated service agent;
(vi) The submitter's name, email address, and telephone number; and
(vii) The corporation, partnership, or unincorporated association's
service method election, as described in paragraph (e) of this section.
(2) Certification. To complete the designation, the person
submitting the designation shall certify, under penalty of perjury,
that the submitter is authorized by law to make the designation on
behalf of the corporation, partnership, or unincorporated association,
including any other affiliated entities for which the filing is made.
(e) Service on designated agents. A corporation, partnership, or
unincorporated association that designates a service agent shall, as a
condition of designating a service agent, consent to receive service
upon the agent by means of certified or priority mail at the identified
mailing address. It may also indicate in its designation that it
consents to receive service by email at the identified email address.
(1) Service by mail. The corporation, partnership, or
unincorporated association shall identify the service agent's place of
business or, if there is no place of business, the address of the
service agent's residence for purposes of service by mail. The service
agent's place of business or address of the service agent's residence
must be located within the United States.
(2) Service by email. (i) If a corporation, partnership, or
unincorporated association indicates that it consents to receive
service by email, the designated service agent's email address shall be
displayed on the designated service agent directory.
[[Page 12866]]
(ii) In cases where the designation states that service may be made
by email, the person submitting the designation shall affirm under
penalty of perjury that the corporation, partnership, or unincorporated
association for which the agent has been designated waives the right to
personal service by means other than email and that the person making
the designation has been authorized to waive that right on behalf of
the corporation, partnership, or unincorporated association and any
other affiliated entity for which the filing is made for Board
proceedings.
(f) Amendments. A corporation, partnership, or unincorporated
association shall have a duty to maintain current information in the
directory. A corporation, partnership, or unincorporated association
may amend a designation of a service agent by following directions on
the Board's website. Such amendment shall be accompanied by the fee set
forth in 37 CFR 201.3. The requirements found in paragraph (d) of this
section shall apply to the service agent designation amendment. If
current information is not timely maintained and, as a result, the
identification or address of the service agent in the directory is no
longer accurate, the Board may, in its discretion and subject to any
reasonable conditions that the Board may decide to impose, determine
whether service upon that agent or at that address was effective.
(g) Public directory--(1) In general. After a corporation,
partnership, or unincorporated association submits a service agent
designation, such designation shall be made available on the public
designated service agent directory after payment has been remitted and
the Board has reviewed the submission to determine whether the
submission qualifies for the designated agent provision.
(2) Removal from directory. If the Board determines that a
submitted service agent designation does not qualify under this section
or if it has reason to believe that the submitter was not authorized by
law to make the designation on behalf of the corporation, partnership,
or unincorporated association, it shall notify the submitter that it
intends not to add the record to the directory, or that it intends to
remove the record from the directory, and shall provide the submitter
10 calendar days to respond. If the submitter fails to respond, or if,
after reviewing the response, the Board determines that the submission
does not qualify for the designated service agent directory, the entity
shall not be added to, or shall be removed from, the directory.
(3) Content of public listing. The designation shall be indexed
under the names of each corporation, partnership, or unincorporated
association for which an agent has been designated and shall be made
available on the Board's website. The email address and telephone
number of the corporation, partnership, or unincorporated association
provided under paragraph (d)(1)(i) of this section shall not be made
publicly available on the designated service agent directory website,
but such information shall be made available to Board staff.
(4) Designation date. A designation filed in accordance with this
section before April 7, 2022 will become effective on that date.
Dated: February 28, 2022.
Shira Perlmutter,
Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office.
Approved by:
Carla D. Hayden,
Librarian of Congress.
[FR Doc. 2022-04745 Filed 3-7-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-30-P
