Remitter Payment Options and Deposit Account Requirements, 59306-59309 [2022-21294]
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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 189 / Friday, September 30, 2022 / Rules and Regulations
individually or cumulatively have a
significant effect on the human
environment. The regulated area will
impact small designated areas of the
Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico
around Key West, Florida, for only 8
hours and thus is limited in time and
scope. It is categorically excluded from
further review under paragraph L60(a)
of Appendix A, Table 1 of DHS
Instruction Manual 023–01–001–01,
Rev. 1. A Record of Environmental
Consideration supporting this
determination is available in the docket.
For instructions on locating the docket,
see the ADDRESSES section of this
preamble.
G. Protest Activities
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.
List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 165
Harbors, Marine safety, Navigation
(water), Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Security measures,
Waterways.
For the reasons discussed in the
preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33
CFR part 165 as follows:
PART 165—REGULATED NAVIGATION
AREAS AND LIMITED ACCESS AREAS
1. The authority citation for part 165
continues to read as follows:
■
2. Add § 165.T07–0758 to read as
follows:
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§ 165.T07–0758 Safety Zone; 25th Annual
Key West Paddle Classic, Key West, FL.
(a) Location. The following regulated
area is a moving safety zone: All waters
extending 100 yards to either side of the
race participants and safety vessels;
extending 50 yards in front of the lead
safety vessel preceding the first race
participants; and extending 50 yards
behind the safety vessel trailing the last
race participants. The event course
begins at Higgs Beach in Key West,
Florida, moves west to the area offshore
of Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State
Park, north through Key West Harbor,
east through Fleming Key Cut, south
through Cow Key Channel, and west
returning back to Higgs Beach.
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BILLING CODE 9110–04–P
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Office
■
16:09 Sep 29, 2022
Dated: September 27, 2022.
J. Ingram,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the
Port Key West.
[FR Doc. 2022–21340 Filed 9–29–22; 8:45 am]
Authority: 46 U.S.C. 70034, 70051; 33 CFR
1.05–1, 6.04–1, 6.04–6, and 160.5;
Department of Homeland Security Delegation
No. 00170.1, Revision No. 01.2.
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(b) Definition. As used in this section,
the term designated representative
means a Coast Guard Patrol
Commander, including a Coast Guard
coxswain, petty officer, or other officer
operating a Coast Guard vessel and a
Federal, State, and local officer
designated by or assisting the Captain of
the Port Key West (COTP) in the
enforcement of the safety zone.
(c) Regulations. (1) All persons and
vessels are prohibited from entering,
transiting through, anchoring in, or
remaining within the regulated area
unless authorized by the COTP Key
West or a designated representative.
(2) Persons and vessels desiring to
enter, transit through, anchor in, or
remain within the regulated area may
contact the COTP Key West by
telephone at (305) 292–8772, or a
designated representative via VHF–FM
radio on channel 16 to request
authorization. If authorization is
granted, all persons and vessels
receiving such authorization must
comply with the instructions of the
COTP Key West or a designated
representative.
(3) The Coast Guard will provide
notice of the regulated area by Local
Notice to Mariners, Broadcast Notice to
Mariners via VHF–FM channel 16, or
the COTP’s designated representative.
(d) Enforcement period. This section
will be enforced from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m.
on October 1, 2022.
37 CFR Parts 201 and 202
[Docket No. 2020–1]
Remitter Payment Options and Deposit
Account Requirements
U.S. Copyright Office, Library
of Congress.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Copyright Office is
amending certain regulations related to
remitter payments for its services and
requirements for maintaining a deposit
account. This final rule adopts
regulatory language set forth in the
Office’s February 2022 notice of
proposed rulemaking with some
modifications in response to public
SUMMARY:
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comments. These amendments
consolidate regulatory provisions
related to payment options and update
existing regulations to articulate current
Office practices. They also simplify
requirements for maintaining a deposit
account and clarify procedures related
to noncompliant accounts.
DATES: Effective October 31, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Megan Efthimiadis, Assistant to the
General Counsel, by email at meft@
copyright.gov or telephone at (202) 707–
8350.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On February 4, 2022, the Office
published a notice of proposed
rulemaking (‘‘NPRM’’) to amend its
regulations governing remitter payments
for its services and requirements for
maintaining a deposit account.1
Specifically, the Office proposed to
consolidate all regulations related to the
types of payment methods it will accept
for services into a single set of
provisions to ensure consistency as it
moves to an integrated enterprise
information technology (IT) system.2
The proposed rule enumerated three
methods accepted for remitting a
payment: (1) Electronic payments
through Pay.gov; (2) mailed payments
by check or money order; and (3) inperson payments by check, money
order, credit or debit card, or currency,
by appointment at the Office’s Public
Information Office.3
Next, the Office proposed simplifying
requirements to maintain a deposit
account, and set forth rules establishing
the procedures for account closures. The
proposed rule set forth five substantive
amendments. First, the Office
recommended eliminating the
requirement that a deposit account
holder engage in a minimum number of
transactions per year.4 Second, the
Office proposed imposing a service
charge of $25 for each month a deposit
account balance fell below $450.5 Third,
the NPRM provided for the inactivation
of deposit accounts if (1) there has been
no activity in the account for 24 months;
(2) the account holder overdraws the
account; or (3) the account has
insufficient funds at the end of the
month to pay the service charge for an
account balance below $450.6 Fourth,
the Office proposed codifying its
procedures for closing noncompliant
1 87
FR 6452 (Feb. 4, 2022).
at 6454.
3 Id. at 6454.
4 Id. at 6454.
5 Id. at 6454.
6 Id. at 6454–55.
2 Id.
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and inactivated deposit accounts,
including the circumstances for closure
and the process for returning any
remaining funds to the account holder.7
Finally, the Office recommended
eliminating from the regulations
references to automatic replenishment
of deposit accounts, based on its
understanding at the time the NPRM
was prepared that Pay.gov lacked the
ability to provide such an automatic
replenishment feature.8
The Office received four relevant
comments in response to the NPRM.
Author Services, Inc. endorsed the
proposed amendments in full, and had
no further suggestions.9 The Motion
Picture Association, Inc. (‘‘MPA’’),
expressing no objection to the proposed
rules regarding deposit accounts, noted
that its members valued the automaticreplenishment feature available in other
areas of the Office (e.g., the eCo system
for registrations), and ‘‘urge[d] the
Office to ensure that the payment
systems in any updated versions of the
registration and recordation systems
include an automatic replenishment
feature as well.’’ 10 Finally, Copyright
Alliance and Marilyn D. Cameron
submitted comments that were generally
supportive of the amendments in the
proposed rule, but contained several
concerns that are addressed in more
detail below.11
II. Discussion
A. Remitter Payment Options
Most commenters supported the
provisions of the proposed rule that
consolidate the regulations governing
the types of payment methods the Office
will accept for services.12 Accordingly,
those provisions are adopted in the final
rule without alteration.
In addition to ‘‘applaud[ing] the
Office’s efforts to modernize and
consolidate regulations regarding
payment options for Copyright Office
services,’’ Copyright Alliance
encouraged the Office to ‘‘accommodate
7 Id.
at 6455.
FR 6455.
9 Author Services, Inc. Comments at 1.
10 MPA Comments at 2.
11 Copyright Alliance Comments at 1–4; Marilyn
D. Cameron Comments at 1.
12 See e.g., Copyright Alliance Comments at 1.
Marilyn D. Cameron requested that ‘‘all other rules
attached to the announcement and do not have any
relevance to Remitter Payment Options and Deposit
Account Requirements, for example Section 201.33,
be removed from this round of comments and a new
Federal Register proposal written for a later date.’’
Marilyn D. Cameron Comments at 1. Because each
of the proposed amendments, including the
amendment proposed to § 201.33(e) regarding the
fee and method of payment, relate to payment
options available to remitters, the Office declines to
remove the rule.
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the diversity of copyright owners
engaging with the Office’s systems’’ by
permitting payment using ‘‘prepaid
cards and other widely accepted online
payment options, like PayPal, Zelle,
Venmo, and CashApp.’’ 13 The Office
appreciates Copyright Alliance’s
concern and shares its aim to broaden
participation in the copyright system.
While payment using prepaid cards is
not currently supported by Pay.gov, the
Office will enable the Pay.gov feature to
accept Paypal and Amazon digital
wallet options to better accommodate a
broader range of stakeholders. The
Office will continue to consider
additional options to improve
accessibility as Pay.gov expands its
capabilities.
B. Deposit Accounts
With respect to the proposed rule
simplifying requirements for
maintaining deposit accounts,
commenters universally endorsed the
Office’s amendment to eliminate the
minimum-transaction-per-year
requirement.14 Copyright Alliance
expressed appreciation for the ‘‘Office’s
decision to continue allowing
stakeholders to use deposit accounts, as
well as the decision to eliminate the
requirement for a minimum number of
transactions per year.’’ 15
However, some commenters disagreed
with the Office’s proposal to assess a
service charge of $25 for each month a
deposit account balance fell below $450.
One commenter opposed the fee
outright, calling it ‘‘[t]oo much’’ as
‘‘many individuals find a minimum
deposit amount a challenge, especially
during the pandemic.’’ 16 Copyright
Alliance argued that imposing a service
charge ‘‘without first notifying the
account holder that the account has
fallen below the minimum balance’’
‘‘will only exacerbate a problem . . .
that might otherwise be easily
resolved.’’ 17 Commenters encouraged
the Office to ‘‘notify the account holder
so that they can add the necessary
funds’’ before assessing any service
charge 18 and before any account
inactivation.19 Finally, Copyright
Alliance probed whether the Office
could permit automatic replenishment,
advising, ‘‘rather than assessing a $25
service charge if an account falls below
the minimum balance, the regulations
13 Copyright
14 See
Alliance Comments at 1–2.
e.g., id. at 2.
15 Id.
16 Marilyn
D. Cameron Comments at 1.
Alliance Comments at 2–3.
should permit automatic replenishment
of those deposit accounts.’’ 20
As an initial matter, it has been and
will remain the Office’s practice to send
automatic notifications to account
holders when their balances drop below
the minimum balance. Similarly,
notifications are and will be provided
before the Office takes any action to
inactivate or close an account. To
ensure that these notifications are
received, the Office encourages account
holders to keep their contact
information current.
Regarding the service charge, the
Office proposed the fee to incentivize
deposit account holders to maintain
sufficient funds in deposit accounts and
avoid any overdraft of the account,
which is subject to a penalty (currently
$285). Ultimately, the Office’s goal is to
help account holders maintain sufficient
balances to prevent additional penalties
and delays. Copyright Alliance’s
comment led the Office to consider
again the availability of an automatic
replenishment option. While our initial
inquiry had suggested that this option
was not available,21 further
investigation has determined that an
automatic recurring payment option (via
ACH transactions) can be used to
automatically replenish deposit
accounts through Pay.gov. Therefore,
the Office will test the practical
application of such a feature for deposit
accounts. Once confirmed operable, the
Office will announce details on how
this feature can be used.
In addition, given commenters’
concern regarding the potential
financial burden for those account
holders who find the minimum balance
amount difficult to maintain, we will
pause the implementation of any service
charge to further assess whether there is
a need for measures to incentivize
balance maintenance. Accordingly, the
final rule omits any reference to the
proposed service charge, and instead
provides that the Office will
automatically notify account holders
when their accounts fall below a
minimum balance of $450, as the
previous rule prescribed.
Finally, while commenters did not
raise specific concerns regarding the
NPRM’s inactivation and closure
procedures beyond objecting to
inactivation or closure based on a
failure to pay the proposed service
charge, the Office acknowledges their
general desire for more communication
regarding account status issues. Thus, in
addition to removing references to the
previously proposed service charge, the
17 Copyright
18 Id.
at 3.
19 Marilyn
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20 Copyright
D. Cameron Comments at 1.
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21 87
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Alliance Comments at 3.
FR 6454.
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final rule explains that the Office will
automatically notify account holders
when their accounts are made inactive
due to prolonged inactivity or
overdrawal of the account. Reflecting
current procedures, the final rule further
provides that an inactive deposit
account will only be closed 30 days
from the date of the inactivation notice
if there continues to be no activity or if
insufficient funds remain in the
account.
C. Technical Changes
Lastly, the final rule includes a few
non-substantive technical revisions to
clarify certain phrases and terms.
List of Subjects
37 CFR Part 201
Copyright, General provisions.
37 CFR Part 202
Copyright, Preregistration and
registration of claims to copyright.
Final Regulations
For the reasons set forth in the
preamble, the Copyright Office amends
37 CFR parts 201 and 202 as follows:
PART 201—GENERAL PROVISIONS
1. The authority citation for part 201
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 17 U.S.C. 702.
Section 201.10 also issued under 17 U.S.C.
304.
2. Amend § 201.6 by:
a. Revising paragraphs (a) and (b); and
b. Removing the parenthetical
authority citation at the end of the
section.
The revisions read as follows:
■
■
■
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§ 201.6 Payment and refund of Copyright
Office fees.
(a) In general—(1) Electronic
payments. All fees for online
applications and services must be paid
by electronic payment through Pay.gov.
(2) Mailed payments. All fees mailed
to the Copyright Office should be in the
form of a money order or check payable
to the U.S. Copyright Office. Currency
will not be accepted; any payment
received in currency will be refunded
via check, and the registration or other
service request will not be processed.
Where the statutory fee is submitted in
the form of a check, the registration of
the copyright claim or other record
made by the Office is provisional until
the funds associated with the check are
received. In the event the fee is not paid,
the provisional registration or other
record shall be expunged.
(3) In-person payments. All fees for
services rendered in person at the
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Copyright Office Public Information
Office must be paid by cash, money
order, check, or credit or debit card.
(4) Foreign remittances. Foreign
remittances must be redeemable without
service or exchange fees through a
United States institution, must be
payable in United States dollars, and
must be imprinted with American
Banking Association routing numbers.
Postal money orders that are negotiable
only at a post office are not acceptable.
International checks and money orders
must be drawn from a United States
bank and payable in United States
dollars for the full amount of the fee
required. Uncertified checks are
accepted subject to collection.
(5) Other. In addition to the payment
options in paragraphs (a)(1) through (3)
of this section, payment for any
application or service can be made
using a Copyright Office deposit
account.
(b) Deposit accounts—(1)
Establishment. Persons or firms may
prepay copyright expenses by
establishing a deposit account.
(2) Minimum balance. The Office will
automatically notify the deposit account
holder when the account goes below a
minimum balance of $450.
(3) Contact information. (i) Deposit
account holders are responsible for
keeping contact information with the
Copyright Office current.
(ii) If the Copyright Office is unable to
correspond with the deposit account
holder (e.g., due to returned/
undeliverable postal or email), the
Office will deem the deposit account
undeliverable.
(4) Inactivation. (i) The Copyright
Office will inactivate a deposit account
if there has been no activity in the
account for 24 months.
(ii) The Copyright Office will
inactivate a deposit account if the
deposit account holder overdraws his or
her account.
(iii) The Copyright Office will
automatically notify the deposit account
holder when the account has been
inactivated.
(5) Closure. (i) An inactive deposit
account will be closed no sooner than
30 days from the date of the inactivation
notice if there continues to be no
activity in the account or if insufficient
funds remain in the deposit account
after the deposit account holder
overdraws the account.
(ii) The Copyright Office may
permanently close a deposit account if
the deposit account holder overdraws
his or her account twice in any calendar
year.
(iii) An undeliverable deposit account
as defined in paragraph (b)(3)(ii) of this
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section will be closed after the
Copyright Office has made at least three
unsuccessful attempts, including at least
one attempt by phone if a deposit
account holder provided a telephone
number, to correspond with the deposit
account holder. Attempts at
corresponding with the deposit account
holder may be considered unsuccessful
if the postal or email correspondence is
returned as undeliverable.
(iv) Any funds remaining in a closed
deposit account will be applied to any
pending or processed service request(s)
for which payment is due. If there are
insufficient funds to cover the total of
all fees due for any service, the service
request(s) will not be processed.
(v) Any balance remaining in a closed
deposit account will be refunded to the
account holder in accordance with
Copyright Office policies. Unredeemed
refunds will be handled in accordance
with Library of Congress and U.S.
Treasury rules and policies.
(vi) The Copyright Office may refer
any overdraft in a closed deposit
account for collections.
(6) Further information. For
information on deposit accounts, see
Circular 5 on the Copyright Office’s
website, or request a copy at the address
specified in § 201.1(b).
*
*
*
*
*
■ 3. Amend § 201.33 by revising
paragraph (e) to read as follows:
§ 201.33 Procedures for filing Notices of
Intent to Enforce a restored copyright under
the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.
*
*
*
*
*
(e) Fee. The filing fee for recording
Notices of Intent to Enforce is
prescribed in § 201.3(c).
*
*
*
*
*
§ 201.39
[Amended]
4. Amend § 201.39 by removing
paragraph (g)(3).
■
PART 202—PREREGISTRATION AND
REGISTRATION OF CLAIMS TO
COPYRIGHT
5. The authority citation for part 202
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 17 U.S.C. 408(f), 702.
§ 202.3
[Amended]
6. Amend § 202.3 by removing
paragraph (b)(2)(i)(C) and redesignating
paragraph (b)(2)(i)(D) as paragraph
(b)(2)(i)(C) and removing the
parenthetical authority citation at the
end of the section.
■ 7. Amend § 202.12 by revising
paragraph (c)(2) to read as follows:
■
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§ 202.12
Restored copyrights.
*
*
*
*
*
(c) * * *
(2) Fee. The filing fee for registering
a copyright claim in a restored work is
prescribed in § 201.3(c) of this chapter.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 8. Amend § 202.16 by revising
paragraph (c)(5) to read as follows:
§ 202.16
Preregistration of copyrights.
*
*
*
*
*
(c) * * *
(5) Fee. The filing fee for
preregistration is prescribed in
§ 201.3(c) of this chapter.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 9. Amend § 202.23 by revising
paragraph (e)(2) to read as follows:
§ 202.23 Full term retention of copyright
deposits.
*
*
*
*
*
(e) * * *
(2) Payment in the amount prescribed
in § 201.3(d) of this chapter payable to
the U.S. Copyright Office, must be
received in the Copyright Office within
60 calendar days from the date of
mailing of the Copyright Office’s
notification to the requestor that fullterm retention has been granted for a
particular copyright deposit.
*
*
*
*
*
Dated: September 22, 2022.
Shira Perlmutter,
Register of Copyrights and Director of the
U.S. Copyright Office.
Approved by:
Carla D. Hayden,
Librarian of Congress.
[FR Doc. 2022–21294 Filed 9–29–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410–30–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R04–OAR–2017–0391; FRL–10080–
02–R4]
on behalf of the Louisville Metro Air
Pollution Control District (District or
Jefferson County), which has
jurisdiction over Jefferson County,
Kentucky. The revision removes from
the SIP several source-specific permits
for a facility, which were previously
incorporated by reference, and replaces
them with a Board Order with emissions
controls that are at least as stringent as
those in the permits.
DATES: This rule is effective October 31,
2022.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a
docket for this action under Docket ID
No. EPA–R04–OAR–2017–0391. All
documents in the docket are listed on
the www.regulations.gov website.
Although listed in the index, some
information may not be publicly
available, i.e., Confidential Business
Information 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 either electronically through
www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at
the Air Regulatory Management Section,
Air Planning and Implementation
Branch, Air and Radiation Division,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta,
Georgia 30303–8960. EPA requests that
if at all possible, you contact the person
listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section to schedule your
inspection. The Regional Office’s
official hours of business are Monday
through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,
excluding Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joel
Huey, Air Planning and Implementation
Branch, Air and Radiation Division,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta,
Georgia 30303–8960. Mr. Huey can be
reached by telephone at (404) 562–9104
or via electronic mail at huey.joel@
epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Air Plan Approval; Kentucky; Source
Specific Revision for Jefferson County
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is finalizing the approval
of a revision to the Kentucky State
Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted
by the Commonwealth of Kentucky,
through the Kentucky Division for Air
Quality (KDAQ), on March 29, 2021.
The revision was submitted by KDAQ
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I. Background
In 1990, EPA approved a revision to
the Kentucky SIP that added an
emission reduction plan in the form of
a ‘‘bubble rule’’ for the Alcan Foil
Products 1 (now LL Flex) plant in
Louisville, Kentucky. See 55 FR 20268
(May 16, 1990). That revision allowed
the facility to average, or ‘‘bubble,’’
volatile organic compound (VOC)
1 The company, originally named Alcan Foil
Products, later became Reynolds Metals Company,
then LL Flex, LLC.
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59309
emissions from nine rotogravure
printing/coating machines in lieu of
achieving compliance with Jefferson
County’s SIP-approved reasonably
available control technology (RACT)
regulation—Regulation 6.29, ‘‘Standard
of Performance for Existing Graphic Arts
Facilities Using Rotogravure and
Flexography’’—which limits VOC
emissions from graphic arts facilities on
a line-by-line 2 basis. The revision
treated the nine machines as one
affected facility and required the facility
to achieve a VOC emissions reduction
equivalent to at least 20 percent of the
baseline emissions from the affected
units.3 Jefferson County included these
provisions in various permits issued by
the District to Alcan Foil Products (now
LL Flex), and those permits were
incorporated by reference into the
Kentucky SIP. Specifically, the May 16,
1990, approval incorporated into the SIP
the Air Pollution Control District of
Jefferson County’s (APCDJC’s) Permits
103–74, 104–74, 105–74, 106–74, 110–
74, and 111–74, as effective on February
28, 1990.
Subsequently, in 1998, EPA approved
a revision to the Kentucky SIP that
provided additional flexibilities to the
plant operations of Reynolds Metals
Company (now LL Flex) so that
customer printing demands could be
satisfied. See 63 FR 1927 (January 13,
1998). The revision lowered the daily
maximum VOC emissions allowed from
the facility’s nine rotogravure printing/
coating machines but retained the tons
per year limit for the facility while
increasing the number of operating days
allowed. Additionally, the revision
removed the maximum operating speeds
for the nine machines. Jefferson County
included these provisions in permits
issued by the District to Reynolds
Metals Company, and those permits
were incorporated by reference into the
Kentucky SIP. Specifically, the January
13, 1998, approval incorporated into the
SIP updates to the previously approved
APCDJC Permits 103–74, 104–74, 105–
74, 106–74, 110–74, and 111–74, as
effective on April 16, 1997.
On March 29, 2021, Jefferson County
submitted a new SIP revision to remove
the permits previously incorporated by
2 ‘‘Line’’ refers to ‘‘printing line,’’ which is
defined, in part, as ‘‘a series of processes, and the
associated process equipment, used to apply, dry,
and cure an ink containing a VOC.’’ See Definition
1.8 of Regulation 6.29, Section 1.
3 As described in the notice of proposed
rulemaking for the 1990 action, ‘‘Baseline emissions
were determined using the lowest of actual, SIPallowable or RACT-allowable emissions for each
source involved in the bubble, with values for the
actual quantity of VOC content of coatings used
based on the most recent two-year period.’’ See 55
FR 2842 (January 29, 1990).
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 189 (Friday, September 30, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59306-59309]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21294]
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Office
37 CFR Parts 201 and 202
[Docket No. 2020-1]
Remitter Payment Options and Deposit Account Requirements
AGENCY: U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Copyright Office is amending certain regulations
related to remitter payments for its services and requirements for
maintaining a deposit account. This final rule adopts regulatory
language set forth in the Office's February 2022 notice of proposed
rulemaking with some modifications in response to public comments.
These amendments consolidate regulatory provisions related to payment
options and update existing regulations to articulate current Office
practices. They also simplify requirements for maintaining a deposit
account and clarify procedures related to noncompliant accounts.
DATES: Effective October 31, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Megan Efthimiadis, Assistant to the
General Counsel, by email at [email protected] or telephone at (202)
707-8350.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On February 4, 2022, the Office published a notice of proposed
rulemaking (``NPRM'') to amend its regulations governing remitter
payments for its services and requirements for maintaining a deposit
account.\1\ Specifically, the Office proposed to consolidate all
regulations related to the types of payment methods it will accept for
services into a single set of provisions to ensure consistency as it
moves to an integrated enterprise information technology (IT)
system.\2\ The proposed rule enumerated three methods accepted for
remitting a payment: (1) Electronic payments through Pay.gov; (2)
mailed payments by check or money order; and (3) in-person payments by
check, money order, credit or debit card, or currency, by appointment
at the Office's Public Information Office.\3\
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\1\ 87 FR 6452 (Feb. 4, 2022).
\2\ Id. at 6454.
\3\ Id. at 6454.
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Next, the Office proposed simplifying requirements to maintain a
deposit account, and set forth rules establishing the procedures for
account closures. The proposed rule set forth five substantive
amendments. First, the Office recommended eliminating the requirement
that a deposit account holder engage in a minimum number of
transactions per year.\4\ Second, the Office proposed imposing a
service charge of $25 for each month a deposit account balance fell
below $450.\5\ Third, the NPRM provided for the inactivation of deposit
accounts if (1) there has been no activity in the account for 24
months; (2) the account holder overdraws the account; or (3) the
account has insufficient funds at the end of the month to pay the
service charge for an account balance below $450.\6\ Fourth, the Office
proposed codifying its procedures for closing noncompliant
[[Page 59307]]
and inactivated deposit accounts, including the circumstances for
closure and the process for returning any remaining funds to the
account holder.\7\ Finally, the Office recommended eliminating from the
regulations references to automatic replenishment of deposit accounts,
based on its understanding at the time the NPRM was prepared that
Pay.gov lacked the ability to provide such an automatic replenishment
feature.\8\
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\4\ Id. at 6454.
\5\ Id. at 6454.
\6\ Id. at 6454-55.
\7\ Id. at 6455.
\8\ 87 FR 6455.
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The Office received four relevant comments in response to the NPRM.
Author Services, Inc. endorsed the proposed amendments in full, and had
no further suggestions.\9\ The Motion Picture Association, Inc.
(``MPA''), expressing no objection to the proposed rules regarding
deposit accounts, noted that its members valued the automatic-
replenishment feature available in other areas of the Office (e.g., the
eCo system for registrations), and ``urge[d] the Office to ensure that
the payment systems in any updated versions of the registration and
recordation systems include an automatic replenishment feature as
well.'' \10\ Finally, Copyright Alliance and Marilyn D. Cameron
submitted comments that were generally supportive of the amendments in
the proposed rule, but contained several concerns that are addressed in
more detail below.\11\
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\9\ Author Services, Inc. Comments at 1.
\10\ MPA Comments at 2.
\11\ Copyright Alliance Comments at 1-4; Marilyn D. Cameron
Comments at 1.
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II. Discussion
A. Remitter Payment Options
Most commenters supported the provisions of the proposed rule that
consolidate the regulations governing the types of payment methods the
Office will accept for services.\12\ Accordingly, those provisions are
adopted in the final rule without alteration.
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\12\ See e.g., Copyright Alliance Comments at 1. Marilyn D.
Cameron requested that ``all other rules attached to the
announcement and do not have any relevance to Remitter Payment
Options and Deposit Account Requirements, for example Section
201.33, be removed from this round of comments and a new Federal
Register proposal written for a later date.'' Marilyn D. Cameron
Comments at 1. Because each of the proposed amendments, including
the amendment proposed to Sec. 201.33(e) regarding the fee and
method of payment, relate to payment options available to remitters,
the Office declines to remove the rule.
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In addition to ``applaud[ing] the Office's efforts to modernize and
consolidate regulations regarding payment options for Copyright Office
services,'' Copyright Alliance encouraged the Office to ``accommodate
the diversity of copyright owners engaging with the Office's systems''
by permitting payment using ``prepaid cards and other widely accepted
online payment options, like PayPal, Zelle, Venmo, and CashApp.'' \13\
The Office appreciates Copyright Alliance's concern and shares its aim
to broaden participation in the copyright system. While payment using
prepaid cards is not currently supported by Pay.gov, the Office will
enable the Pay.gov feature to accept Paypal and Amazon digital wallet
options to better accommodate a broader range of stakeholders. The
Office will continue to consider additional options to improve
accessibility as Pay.gov expands its capabilities.
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\13\ Copyright Alliance Comments at 1-2.
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B. Deposit Accounts
With respect to the proposed rule simplifying requirements for
maintaining deposit accounts, commenters universally endorsed the
Office's amendment to eliminate the minimum-transaction-per-year
requirement.\14\ Copyright Alliance expressed appreciation for the
``Office's decision to continue allowing stakeholders to use deposit
accounts, as well as the decision to eliminate the requirement for a
minimum number of transactions per year.'' \15\
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\14\ See e.g., id. at 2.
\15\ Id.
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However, some commenters disagreed with the Office's proposal to
assess a service charge of $25 for each month a deposit account balance
fell below $450. One commenter opposed the fee outright, calling it
``[t]oo much'' as ``many individuals find a minimum deposit amount a
challenge, especially during the pandemic.'' \16\ Copyright Alliance
argued that imposing a service charge ``without first notifying the
account holder that the account has fallen below the minimum balance''
``will only exacerbate a problem . . . that might otherwise be easily
resolved.'' \17\ Commenters encouraged the Office to ``notify the
account holder so that they can add the necessary funds'' before
assessing any service charge \18\ and before any account
inactivation.\19\ Finally, Copyright Alliance probed whether the Office
could permit automatic replenishment, advising, ``rather than assessing
a $25 service charge if an account falls below the minimum balance, the
regulations should permit automatic replenishment of those deposit
accounts.'' \20\
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\16\ Marilyn D. Cameron Comments at 1.
\17\ Copyright Alliance Comments at 2-3.
\18\ Id. at 3.
\19\ Marilyn D. Cameron Comments at 1.
\20\ Copyright Alliance Comments at 3.
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As an initial matter, it has been and will remain the Office's
practice to send automatic notifications to account holders when their
balances drop below the minimum balance. Similarly, notifications are
and will be provided before the Office takes any action to inactivate
or close an account. To ensure that these notifications are received,
the Office encourages account holders to keep their contact information
current.
Regarding the service charge, the Office proposed the fee to
incentivize deposit account holders to maintain sufficient funds in
deposit accounts and avoid any overdraft of the account, which is
subject to a penalty (currently $285). Ultimately, the Office's goal is
to help account holders maintain sufficient balances to prevent
additional penalties and delays. Copyright Alliance's comment led the
Office to consider again the availability of an automatic replenishment
option. While our initial inquiry had suggested that this option was
not available,\21\ further investigation has determined that an
automatic recurring payment option (via ACH transactions) can be used
to automatically replenish deposit accounts through Pay.gov. Therefore,
the Office will test the practical application of such a feature for
deposit accounts. Once confirmed operable, the Office will announce
details on how this feature can be used.
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\21\ 87 FR 6454.
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In addition, given commenters' concern regarding the potential
financial burden for those account holders who find the minimum balance
amount difficult to maintain, we will pause the implementation of any
service charge to further assess whether there is a need for measures
to incentivize balance maintenance. Accordingly, the final rule omits
any reference to the proposed service charge, and instead provides that
the Office will automatically notify account holders when their
accounts fall below a minimum balance of $450, as the previous rule
prescribed.
Finally, while commenters did not raise specific concerns regarding
the NPRM's inactivation and closure procedures beyond objecting to
inactivation or closure based on a failure to pay the proposed service
charge, the Office acknowledges their general desire for more
communication regarding account status issues. Thus, in addition to
removing references to the previously proposed service charge, the
[[Page 59308]]
final rule explains that the Office will automatically notify account
holders when their accounts are made inactive due to prolonged
inactivity or overdrawal of the account. Reflecting current procedures,
the final rule further provides that an inactive deposit account will
only be closed 30 days from the date of the inactivation notice if
there continues to be no activity or if insufficient funds remain in
the account.
C. Technical Changes
Lastly, the final rule includes a few non-substantive technical
revisions to clarify certain phrases and terms.
List of Subjects
37 CFR Part 201
Copyright, General provisions.
37 CFR Part 202
Copyright, Preregistration and registration of claims to copyright.
Final Regulations
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Copyright Office
amends 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.
Section 201.10 also issued under 17 U.S.C. 304.
0
2. Amend Sec. 201.6 by:
0
a. Revising paragraphs (a) and (b); and
0
b. Removing the parenthetical authority citation at the end of the
section.
The revisions read as follows:
Sec. 201.6 Payment and refund of Copyright Office fees.
(a) In general--(1) Electronic payments. All fees for online
applications and services must be paid by electronic payment through
Pay.gov.
(2) Mailed payments. All fees mailed to the Copyright Office should
be in the form of a money order or check payable to the U.S. Copyright
Office. Currency will not be accepted; any payment received in currency
will be refunded via check, and the registration or other service
request will not be processed. Where the statutory fee is submitted in
the form of a check, the registration of the copyright claim or other
record made by the Office is provisional until the funds associated
with the check are received. In the event the fee is not paid, the
provisional registration or other record shall be expunged.
(3) In-person payments. All fees for services rendered in person at
the Copyright Office Public Information Office must be paid by cash,
money order, check, or credit or debit card.
(4) Foreign remittances. Foreign remittances must be redeemable
without service or exchange fees through a United States institution,
must be payable in United States dollars, and must be imprinted with
American Banking Association routing numbers. Postal money orders that
are negotiable only at a post office are not acceptable. International
checks and money orders must be drawn from a United States bank and
payable in United States dollars for the full amount of the fee
required. Uncertified checks are accepted subject to collection.
(5) Other. In addition to the payment options in paragraphs (a)(1)
through (3) of this section, payment for any application or service can
be made using a Copyright Office deposit account.
(b) Deposit accounts--(1) Establishment. Persons or firms may
prepay copyright expenses by establishing a deposit account.
(2) Minimum balance. The Office will automatically notify the
deposit account holder when the account goes below a minimum balance of
$450.
(3) Contact information. (i) Deposit account holders are
responsible for keeping contact information with the Copyright Office
current.
(ii) If the Copyright Office is unable to correspond with the
deposit account holder (e.g., due to returned/undeliverable postal or
email), the Office will deem the deposit account undeliverable.
(4) Inactivation. (i) The Copyright Office will inactivate a
deposit account if there has been no activity in the account for 24
months.
(ii) The Copyright Office will inactivate a deposit account if the
deposit account holder overdraws his or her account.
(iii) The Copyright Office will automatically notify the deposit
account holder when the account has been inactivated.
(5) Closure. (i) An inactive deposit account will be closed no
sooner than 30 days from the date of the inactivation notice if there
continues to be no activity in the account or if insufficient funds
remain in the deposit account after the deposit account holder
overdraws the account.
(ii) The Copyright Office may permanently close a deposit account
if the deposit account holder overdraws his or her account twice in any
calendar year.
(iii) An undeliverable deposit account as defined in paragraph
(b)(3)(ii) of this section will be closed after the Copyright Office
has made at least three unsuccessful attempts, including at least one
attempt by phone if a deposit account holder provided a telephone
number, to correspond with the deposit account holder. Attempts at
corresponding with the deposit account holder may be considered
unsuccessful if the postal or email correspondence is returned as
undeliverable.
(iv) Any funds remaining in a closed deposit account will be
applied to any pending or processed service request(s) for which
payment is due. If there are insufficient funds to cover the total of
all fees due for any service, the service request(s) will not be
processed.
(v) Any balance remaining in a closed deposit account will be
refunded to the account holder in accordance with Copyright Office
policies. Unredeemed refunds will be handled in accordance with Library
of Congress and U.S. Treasury rules and policies.
(vi) The Copyright Office may refer any overdraft in a closed
deposit account for collections.
(6) Further information. For information on deposit accounts, see
Circular 5 on the Copyright Office's website, or request a copy at the
address specified in Sec. 201.1(b).
* * * * *
0
3. Amend Sec. 201.33 by revising paragraph (e) to read as follows:
Sec. 201.33 Procedures for filing Notices of Intent to Enforce a
restored copyright under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.
* * * * *
(e) Fee. The filing fee for recording Notices of Intent to Enforce
is prescribed in Sec. 201.3(c).
* * * * *
Sec. 201.39 [Amended]
0
4. Amend Sec. 201.39 by removing paragraph (g)(3).
PART 202--PREREGISTRATION AND REGISTRATION OF CLAIMS TO COPYRIGHT
0
5. The authority citation for part 202 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 17 U.S.C. 408(f), 702.
Sec. 202.3 [Amended]
0
6. Amend Sec. 202.3 by removing paragraph (b)(2)(i)(C) and
redesignating paragraph (b)(2)(i)(D) as paragraph (b)(2)(i)(C) and
removing the parenthetical authority citation at the end of the
section.
0
7. Amend Sec. 202.12 by revising paragraph (c)(2) to read as follows:
[[Page 59309]]
Sec. 202.12 Restored copyrights.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(2) Fee. The filing fee for registering a copyright claim in a
restored work is prescribed in Sec. 201.3(c) of this chapter.
* * * * *
0
8. Amend Sec. 202.16 by revising paragraph (c)(5) to read as follows:
Sec. 202.16 Preregistration of copyrights.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(5) Fee. The filing fee for preregistration is prescribed in Sec.
201.3(c) of this chapter.
* * * * *
0
9. Amend Sec. 202.23 by revising paragraph (e)(2) to read as follows:
Sec. 202.23 Full term retention of copyright deposits.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
(2) Payment in the amount prescribed in Sec. 201.3(d) of this
chapter payable to the U.S. Copyright Office, must be received in the
Copyright Office within 60 calendar days from the date of mailing of
the Copyright Office's notification to the requestor that full-term
retention has been granted for a particular copyright deposit.
* * * * *
Dated: September 22, 2022.
Shira Perlmutter,
Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office.
Approved by:
Carla D. Hayden,
Librarian of Congress.
[FR Doc. 2022-21294 Filed 9-29-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-30-P
