Copyright Office, Library of Congress – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with Sec. 103(c)(6) of the Presidio Trust Act, 16 U.S.C. 460bb appendix, and in accordance with the Presidio Trust's bylaws, notice is hereby given that a public meeting of the Presidio Trust Board of Directors will be held commencing 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 8, 2015, at the Officers' Club, 50 Moraga Avenue, Presidio of San Francisco, California. The Presidio Trust was created by Congress in 1996 to manage approximately eighty percent of the former U.S. Army base known as the Presidio, in San Francisco, California. The purposes of this meeting are to take action on the minutes of a previous Board meeting; to provide the Chairperson's report; to provide the Interim Leadership Team's report; to provide partners' reports; to provide committee reports; to take action on the formation and composition of Board committees; to take action on the Audit, Finance, Governance and Human Resources, Planning and Real Estate, and Programs and Communications committee charters; and to receive public comment in accordance with the Trust's Public Outreach Policy. Individuals requiring special accommodation at this meeting, such as needing a sign language interpreter, should contact Mollie Matull at 415.561.5300 prior to October 1, 2015. Time: The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 8, 2015.

The U.S. Copyright Office is undertaking a study at the request of Congress to assess whether and, if so, how the current legal system hinders or prevents copyright owners from pursuing copyright infringement claims that have a relatively small economic value (``small copyright claims''); and recommend potential changes in administrative, regulatory, and statutory authority to improve the adjudication of these small copyright claims. The Office thus seeks comment on how copyright owners have handled small copyright claims and the obstacles they have encountered, as well as potential alternatives to the current legal system that could better accommodate such claims. This is a general inquiry and the Office will publish additional notices on this topic.

The United States Copyright Office is preparing to conduct proceedings in accordance with provisions added by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act which provide that the Librarian of Congress, upon the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, 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 requests 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 evidence on whether noninfringing uses of certain classes of works are, or are likely to be, adversely affected by this prohibition on the circumvention of measures that control access to copyrighted works.

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 of the Library of Congress is extending the time in which comments and reply comments can be filed in response to its Notice of Inquiry requesting public input on the desirability and means of bringing sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972, under Federal jurisdiction.

The Copyright Office is proposing to amend 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; mandate the closure of a deposit account the second time it is overdrawn; and offer deposit account holders the option of automatic replenishment of their account via their bank account or credit card.

The Copyright Office amends its rules governing statements of account for cable systems and satellite carriers to reflect changes resulting from the recent enactment of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010.

The Copyright Office makes a nonsubstantial correction to its regulation announcing the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that effectively control access to copyrighted works shall not apply to persons who engage in noninfringing uses of six classes of copyrighted works.

Two material questions of substantive law were referred to the Register of Copyrights concerning the authority of the Register of Copyrights and the Copyright Royalty Judges to determine the constitutionality of 17 U.S.C. 114(f)(5). The Register of Copyrights responded by delivering a Memorandum Opinion to the Copyright Royalty Board on April 30, 2010.

The Copyright Office is seeking comments regarding the application of Title 17 to the termination of certain grants of transfers or licenses of copyright, specifically those for which execution of the grant occurred prior to January 1, 1978 and creation of the work occurred on or after January 1, 1978. The Copyright Office is seeking comments at this time because the deadlines for serving notices of termination for 1978 grants will begin to expire in 2011 and some stakeholders have raised questions with the Office and some Congressional Offices.

The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is adopting an interim regulation governing mandatory deposit of electronic works published in the United States and available only online. The regulation establishes that online-only works are exempt from mandatory deposit until a demand for deposit of copies or phonorecords of such works is issued by the Copyright Office. It also states that categories of online-only works subject to demand will first be identified in the regulations, and names electronic serials as the first such category for which demands will issue. In addition, the regulation sets forth the process for issuing and responding to a demand for deposit, amends the definition of a ``complete copy'' of a work for purposes of mandatory deposit of online-only works, and establishes new best edition criteria for electronic serials available only online.

The United States Copyright Office (Copyright Office) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) seek comment on possible solutions to enhance the accessibility of copyrighted works for the benefit of the blind or other persons with disabilities,\1\ including specifically the objectives and text of a draft treaty prepared under the auspices of the World Blind Union and proposed formally at the May 2009 session of the World Intellectual Property Organization's Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights. Interested parties are invited to submit comments on the topics outlined in the supplementary information section of this notice.

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 Office is publishing an agreement which sets rates and terms for the reproduction and performance of sound recordings made by certain specified 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 agreement published herein rather than the rates and terms of any determination by the Copyright Royalty Judges.

The Copyright Office is proposing to amend its regulations to require that applications for registration paid for by deposit account debits be submitted electronically using the electronic Copyright Office (eCO) registration system (eService). The Copyright Office is also requesting comment as to whether deposit accounts offer sufficient efficiencies to continue offering this service.

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 United States Copyright Office (Copyright Office) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) seek comment on the topic of facilitating access to copyrighted works for ``blind or persons with other disabilities'' \1\ in connection with a forthcoming meeting of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights of the World Intellectual Property Organization. Interested parties are invited to submit comments on the topics outlined in the supplementary information section of this notice. The Copyright Office and USPTO also announce a public meeting on the same topic.

The Copyright Office makes royalty rate adjustments for satellite carriers based upon changes in the Consumer Price Index. This year, the change in the Consumer Price Index for the relevant time period was 0.03%, a change so small that the rates remain unaffected for the 2009 licensing period.

The Copyright Office is publishing three agreements which set rates and terms for the reproduction and performance of sound recordings made by certain specified 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 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 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.

The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is preparing to conduct proceedings in accordance with provisions added by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act which provide 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 requests 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 evidence on whether noninfringing uses of certain classes of works are, or are likely to be, adversely affected by this prohibition on the circumvention of measures that control access to copyrighted works.