Library of Congress 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Copyright Royalty Judges are publishing for comment proposed regulations governing the rates for the satellite digital audio radio services' use of the ephemeral recordings statutory license under the Copyright Act for the period 2007 through 2012.

The Copyright Royalty Judges are announcing receipt of a notice of intent to audit the 2006, 2007 and 2008 statements of account submitted by AOL LLC concerning the royalty payments made under two statutory licenses.

The Copyright Royalty Judges are issuing final regulations for the delivery and format of reports of use of sound recordings for the statutory licenses set forth in sections 112 and 114 of the Copyright Act.

The Copyright Office is extending the time in which reply comments may be filed in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding amendments to regulations governing mandatory deposit of electronic works published in the United States and available only online.

The Copyright Office is publishing four agreements which set rates and terms for the reproduction and performance of sound recordings made by certain webcasters under two statutory licenses. Webcasters who meet the eligibility requirements may choose to operate under the statutory licenses in accordance with the rates and terms set forth in the agreements published herein rather than the rates and terms of any determination by the Copyright Royalty Judges.

The Copyright Royalty Board is issuing an interim regulation to amend its procedural regulations to include a provision governing remands of final determinations pursuant to the Copyright Act, which sets forth in significant detail the procedural structure to be followed by the Copyright Royalty Judges in making determinations to distribute royalty fees and establish royalty rates and terms under the various statutory licenses of the Copyright Act. The Judges have adopted regulations governing the conduct of these proceedings.

The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is proposing to amend its regulations governing mandatory deposit of electronic works published in the United States and available only online. The amendments would establish that such works are exempt from mandatory deposit until a demand for deposit of copies or phonorecords of such works is issued by the Copyright Office. They would also set forth the process for issuing and responding to a demand for deposit, amend the definition of a ``complete copy'' of a work for purposes of mandatory deposit of online-only works, and establish new best edition criteria for electronic serials available only online. The Copyright Office seeks public comment on these proposed revisions.

The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is publishing a final rule establishing adjusted fees for its services. The adjusted fees will recover a significant part of the costs to the Office of registering claims and provide full cost recovery for many other services provided by the Office which benefit only or primarily the user of that service. The new fees are based on reliable information regarding the costs of providing services, and reflect cost savings associated with the implementation of electronic processing in the Copyright Office in 2007. Under the new fee structure, the fee for online registration of a basic claim will remain $35. The registration fee for Form CO will be raised from $45 to $50 and the registration fee for paper filings of Forms PA, SR, TX, VA, SE and faulty CO will be raised from $45 to $65. In a few instances, fees have been adjusted downward from the fees published in the notice of proposed rulemaking in light of comments received from the public.

The United States Copyright Office (Copyright Office) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) are extending the time in which comments and reply comments may be filed on the topic of facilitating access to copyrighted works for ``blind or other persons with disabilities'' \1\ in connection with a forthcoming meeting of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights of the World Intellectual Property Organization.

The Copyright Royalty Judges are seeking written comments from interested parties to questions relating to the costs of census versus sample reporting to assist the Judges in the revision of the interim regulations for filing notices of use and the delivery of records of use of sound recordings under two statutory licenses of the Copyright Act.

The Copyright Office is adopting amendments to its regulations governing the recordation of notices of termination and certain related provisions.

The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress will be holding public hearings on the possible exemptions to the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. In accordance with the Copyright Act, as amended by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Office is conducting its triennial rulemaking proceeding to determine whether there are particular ``classes of works`` as to which users are, or are likely to be, adversely affected in their ability to make noninfringing uses if they are prohibited from circumventing such technological measures.

The Copyright Royalty Judges are announcing receipt of notices of intent to audit the 2007 and 2008 statements of account submitted by Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio, Inc.

The Register of Copyrights issues the following decision identifying and correcting erroneous resolutions of material questions of substantive law under title 17 that underlie or are contained in the Copyright Royalty Judges' final determination regarding adjustment of reasonable rates and terms of royalty payments for the making and distribution of phonorecords of musical works, Docket No. 2006-3 CRB DPRA. The Register concludes that the Copyright Royalty Judges erroneously did not refer two novel questions of law as required under the statute; that they were in error in their conclusions regarding both their and the Register's authority to review regulations submitted to them under an agreement by the participants; and that their conclusion that they could not review the agreement submitted by the participants led to the inclusion of regulations that constitute erroneous resolution by the CRJs of material questions of substantive law under title 17. This decision corrects such errors and shall be made part of the record of the proceeding (Docket No. 2006-3 CRB DPRA).

The Copyright Office published in the Federal Register on December 29, 2008, a notice pertaining to its triennial rulemaking proceeding in accordance with a provision of the Copyright Act which was added by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and which provides that the Librarian of Congress may exempt certain classes of works from the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. This document makes technical corrections to clarify the record of the proposed rulemaking.

The Copyright Royalty Judges are announcing the commencement of the proceeding to determine the reasonable rates and terms for two statutory licenses, permitting certain digital performances of sound recordings and the making of ephemeral recordings for the period beginning January 1, 2011, and ending on December 31, 2015. The Copyright Royalty Judges also are announcing the date by which a party who wishes to participate in the rate determination proceeding must file its Petition to Participate and the accompanying $150 filing fee.