Library of Congress – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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.

The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is conducting 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. The purpose of this rulemaking 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 that the Office will consider for exemption, which were proposed in the comment period that ended on December 2, 2008. This Notice further reiterates the previously published request for responsive written comments from all interested parties, including representatives of copyright owners, educational institutions, libraries and archives, scholars, researchers and members of the public, in order to elicit additional evidence either supporting or opposing the classes of works proposed for exemption.

The Copyright Office is announcing an interim regulation to clarify the scope and application of the Section 115 compulsory license to make and distribute phonorecords of a musical work by means of digital phonorecord deliveries. The Office seeks comments on the interim regulation.

This notice of proposed rulemaking is issued to inform the public that the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is considering adoption of new fees for registration of claims, special services and Licensing Division services, and that the Office intends to submit a schedule of proposed new statutory fees and fees for certain other services to Congress. The proposed fees would recover a significant part of the costs to the Office of registering claims and provide full cost recovery for many 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 new electronic processing of most claims implemented in the Copyright Office in 2007.

The Copyright Royalty Judges are publishing for comment proposed regulations that set the rates and terms for the use of musical works in limited downloads, interactive streaming and incidental digital phonorecord deliveries.

The Copyright Royalty Judges, acting pursuant to statute, referred material questions of substantive law to the Register of Copyrights concerning the division of authority between the Judges and the Register of Copyrights under the section 115 statutory license. Specifically, the Copyright Royalty Board requested a decision by the Register of Copyrights regarding whether the Judges' authority to adopt terms under the section 115 license is solely limited to late payment, notice of use and recordkeeping regulations; and if the answer is no, what other categories or types of terms may the Judges prescribe by regulation. The Register of Copyrights responded in a timely fashion by delivering a Memorandum Opinion to the Copyright Royalty Board on August 8, 2008.

The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is proposing to amend its regulations to clarify the scope and application of the Section 115 compulsory license to make and distribute phonorecords of a musical work by means of digital phonorecord deliveries.

The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is announcing receipt of six notices of intent to audit various eligible nonsubscription and new subscription services that transmit sound recordings under statutory licenses. The audits intend to verify statements of account for the year 2005.

The Copyright Office is making non-substantive housekeeping amendments to its regulations to update them and to correct minor errors.

The Copyright Office is amending its rules governing the payment of interest on late or underpaid royalty fees under the Copyright Act to clarify when interest for late and underpayments is due in light of the Copyright Office's electronic funds transfer requirement. In addition, the Copyright Office amends the rules to add text that was inadvertently deleted by a previous rulemaking action. The Copyright Office also makes a technical correction to its satellite carrier requirements to recognize changes made to Section 119 in 2004.

The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is proposing to amend its regulations governing the registration options which allow grouping of individual works to be registered using one application to require online submission for these options.

The Copyright Royalty Judges are publishing final regulations that set the rates and terms for the making of an ephemeral recording of a sound recording by a business establishment service for the period 2009-2013.

The Copyright Office makes royalty rate adjustments for satellite carriers based upon changes in the Consumer Price Index.