Library of Congress 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The United States Copyright Office (``Office'') seeks comments on proposals to exempt certain classes of works from the prohibition on circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. The Office has initiated a rulemaking proceeding in accordance with provisions added by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (``DMCA'') which provide that the Librarian of Congress (``Librarian''), upon the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, may exempt certain classes of works from the prohibition against circumvention. The purpose of this proceeding is to determine whether there are particular classes of works as to which users are, or are likely to be, adversely affected in their ability to make noninfringing uses due to the prohibition on circumvention. This notice publishes the classes of works received by the Office, which were proposed by several parties in the comment period that ended on December 1, 2011.

The Copyright Royalty Judges announce a cost of living adjustment (``COLA'') of 3.5% in the royalty rates paid by satellite carriers under the satellite carrier compulsory license of the Copyright Act. The COLA is based on the change in the Consumer Price Index from October 2010 to October 2011.

Periodically, the Copyright Office (``Office'') seeks to update its list of specialty stations related to the use of the cable compulsory license. In response to the publication of an initial list of specialty stations for this purpose in April of this year, the Office received objections filed by the Motion Picture Association of America to the identification of certain stations as being entitled to specialty station status in accordance with the Federal Communications Commission's (``FCC'') definition of specialty station in effect on June 24, 1981. Consequently, before compiling the final list, the Office is providing an opportunity for response to the filed objections. The Office is also publishing for comment a new list of television stations reported in filed affidavits received after publication of the initial list in which the owner or licensee of the television station attests that the station qualifies as a specialty station under the FCC's former rules.

The United States Copyright Office is proposing to amend its regulations to discontinue use of the Form CO application as an option for applying for copyright registration; and remove the references to CON 1 and CON 2 sheets. Form CO applications comprise only a small percentage of all applications submitted but they contain a significant number of errors, thus requiring a disproportionate amount of the Office's time, effort and resources to process. The proposed amendments would remove references to Form CO and would instead allow applicants a choice to file an application for registration either by filing the application electronically or by using the appropriate printed application form that relates to the subject matter of the application (i.e., Form TX for nondramatic literary works, Form PA for works of the performing arts, Form VA for works of visual art, Form SR for sound recordings, and Form SE for serials). Additionally, the proposed amendment would remove the references to CON 1 and CON 2 sheets, which were never developed or made available to the public, and would instead refer only to the continuation sheets currently available for applicants filing paper applications.

The Copyright Office is issuing this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to solicit public comment on proposals to update its interim regulations governing the designation by online service providers of agents to receive notifications of claimed copyright infringement as provided for in the Copyright Act.

The Copyright Royalty Judges are soliciting comments on a motion of Phase I claimants for partial distribution in connection with the 2009 satellite royalty funds. The Judges are also requesting comments as to the existence of Phase I and Phase II controversies with respect to the distribution of 2009 satellite royalty funds.

The Copyright Royalty Judges are amending their regulations to authorize the use of proxy reports of use to permit distribution of royalties collected for the period April 1, 2004, through December 31, 2009, for the public performance of sound recordings by means of digital audio transmissions pursuant to statutory license. Proxy reports of use will be used for those services for which no reports of use were submitted or for which the reports of use were unusable.

The Copyright Office is extending for one year the interim rule relating to fees for special handling of registration claims that have been pending for at least six months. Currently, the interim rule is set to expire on July 1, 2011, and this extension will change the expiration date to July 1, 2012.

The Copyright Office is making non-substantive amendments to its regulations to reflect a reorganization that has moved the Recordation function from the Visual Arts and Recordation Division of the Registration and Recordation Program to the Information and Records Division. As a result of this reorganization, the name of the Registration and Recordation Program has been changed to the Registration Program.

The Copyright Office will host a public meeting to discuss the desirability and means of bringing sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972 under Federal jurisdiction. The meeting will provide a forum, in the form of a roundtable discussion, for interested parties to address the legal, policy, and factual questions raised so far regarding pre-1972 sound recordings. It will take place on June 2 and 3, 2011 at the Copyright Office in Washington, DC. In order to participate in the meeting, interested parties should submit a request via the Copyright Office Web site.

The Copyright Royalty Judges are proposing to amend their regulations to provide reporting of uses of sound recordings performed by means of digital audio transmissions pursuant to statutory license for the period April 1, 2004, through December 1, 2009.

In Section 302 of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (``STELA''), Congress directed the Copyright Office (``Office'') to prepare a report addressing possible mechanisms, methods, and recommendations for phasing out the statutory licensing requirements set forth in Sections 111, 119, and 122 of the Copyright Act. The Office published a Notice of Inquiry (``NOI'') in the Federal Register on March 3, 2011, seeking comment on issues related to Section 302. (76 FR 11816). This notice is extending the time in which comments and reply comments can be filed in this proceeding.

The Copyright Office published in the Federal Register of March 3, 2011, a Notice of Inquiry seeking comments for a report to Congress addressing possible recommendations for phasing out the statutory licensing requirements in Section 111, 119, and 122 of the Copyright Act.

The Copyright Royalty Judges are soliciting comments on a motion for partial distribution in connection with 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 DART Musical Works Fund royalties.

The Copyright Office is amending its regulations to set the minimum level of activity required to hold a deposit account at 12 transactions per year; require deposit account holders to maintain a minimum balance in that account; require the closure of a deposit account the second time it is overdrawn within any 12-month period; and offer deposit account holders the option of automatic replenishment of their account via their bank account or credit card.

The Copyright Office is proposing to amend its regulations, including the recently published interim regulations regarding electronic registration of automated databases that consist predominantly of photographs and group registration of published photographs (the ``Interim Regulations''), governing the deposit requirements for applications for automated databases that consist predominantly of photographs. The proposed amendments would require that, in addition to providing material relating to claimed compilation authorship, the deposits for such databases include the image of each photograph in which copyright is claimed. The Office believes that this amendment will align the deposit requirements for such databases with the deposit requirements for published or unpublished photographs as a single work or group registration of published photographs and provide a better public record identifying the scope of the copyright claim.

The Copyright Office is adopting interim regulations governing the electronic submission of applications for registration of automated databases that predominantly consist of photographs, and applications for group registration of published photographs. This interim rule establishes a testing period and pilot program during which the Copyright Office will assess the desirability and feasibility of permanently allowing such applications to be submitted through the Copyright Office's electronic filing system (``eCO''). Persons wishing to submit electronic applications to register copyrights of such photographic databases or of groups of published photographs should contact the Visual Arts Division for permission and guidance on electronic registration. Notwithstanding the ordinary deposit requirements for group registration of automated databases, an electronic application for group registration of an automated database that consists predominantly of photographic authorship must include the image of each claimed photograph in the database. The interim regulations also allow applicants to use forms other than Form TX, as appropriate, when submitting paper applications to register group automated databases.

The Copyright Royalty Judges are announcing the commencement of the proceeding \1\ to determine the reasonable rates and terms for preexisting subscription and satellite digital audio radio services for the digital performance of sound recordings and the making of ephemeral recordings for the period beginning January 1, 2013, and ending December 31, 2017. 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.