Library of Congress November 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Copyright Office is amending its regulations for filing Notices of Intention to obtain a Section 115 compulsory license with the Copyright Office to provide an option for electronically filing notices. By law, such notices may be filed in the Office only when the public records of the Copyright Office do not identify the copyright owner of the musical work and include an address at which notice can be served. In addition, the Copyright Office is amending its regulations to clarify the rules for filing physical Notices of Intention, to clarify that it does not examine Notices of Intention filed with the Office for legal sufficiency, and to include a Privacy Act Advisory Statement.

The Copyright Royalty Judges announce a cost of living adjustment (``COLA'') of 2.2% 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 2011 to October 2012.

The Copyright Office is adopting interim regulations that allow groups of related serial issues to be filed through the Office's electronic registration system. This interim rule will also allow applicants for groups of related serials, in certain circumstances, to mail physical deposit copies of the serial issues upon submitting an electronic application and payment, when electronic deposit copies do not exist. Regardless of the registration option chosen, applicants must still send two complimentary subscription copies of the serial promptly to the Library of Congress as a condition of eligibility unless directed otherwise by the Office. While filing electronically is not mandatory, the Copyright Office strongly urges applicants to use the electronic filing option since it is more efficient for both the user and the agency.