Library of Congress 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Copyright Office is issuing an interim rule regarding the Musical Works Modernization Act, title I of the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act. The law establishes a new blanket compulsory license that will be administered by a mechanical licensing collective, which will make available a public musical works database as part of its statutory duties. Having solicited public comments through previous notifications of inquiry and a notice of proposed rulemaking, the Office is issuing interim regulations prescribing categories of information to be included in the public musical works database, as well as rules related to the usability, interoperability, and usage restrictions of the database. The Office is also issuing interim regulations related to ensuring appropriate transparency of the mechanical licensing collective itself.

The Copyright Royalty Judges announce a cost of living adjustment (COLA) to the royalty rate that noncommercial radio stations at certain colleges, universities, and other educational institutions that are not affiliated with National Public Radio must pay for the use in 2021 of published nondramatic musical compositions in the SESAC repertory pursuant to the statutory license under the Copyright Act for noncommercial broadcasting.

The U.S. Copyright Office is conducting a study to evaluate the degree to which copyright owners are experiencing infringement by state entities without adequate remedies under state law, as well as the extent to which such infringements appear to be based on intentional or reckless conduct. To aid its analysis, the Office is announcing public roundtables to provide the opportunity for members of the public to address the following topics: Evidence of actual or threatened copyright infringement by states; state policies and practices for minimizing copyright infringement and addressing infringement claims; and alternative remedies under state law for copyright infringement.

The United States Copyright Office is conducting the eighth triennial rulemaking proceeding under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (``DMCA''), concerning possible temporary exemptions to the DMCA's prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. In this proceeding, the Copyright Office is considering petitions for the renewal of exemptions that were granted during the seventh triennial rulemaking along with petitions for new exemptions to engage in activities not currently permitted by existing exemptions. On June 22, 2020, the Office published a notification of inquiry requesting petitions to renew existing exemptions and comments in response to those petitions, as well as petitions for new exemptions. Having carefully considered the comments received in response to that notification, in this notice of proposed rulemaking (``NPRM''), the Office announces its intention to recommend each of the existing exemptions for readoption. This NPRM also initiates three rounds of public comment on the newly-proposed exemptions. Interested parties are invited to make full legal and evidentiary submissions in support of or in opposition to the proposed exemptions, in accordance with the requirements set forth below.

The U.S. Copyright Office is issuing an interim rule regarding the obligations of the mechanical licensing collective to report and distribute royalties paid by digital music providers under the blanket license to musical work copyright owners under title I of the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act. After soliciting public comments through a notice of proposed rulemaking, the Office is now issuing regulations establishing the timing, form, and delivery of statements accompanying royalty distributions to musical work copyright owners. These regulations concern only royalty statements and distributions regarding matched uses of musical works embodied in sound recordings and do not address issues related to the distribution of unclaimed, accrued royalties.

The U.S. Copyright Office is issuing an interim rule regarding information to be provided by digital music providers pursuant to the new compulsory blanket license to make and deliver digital phonorecords of musical works established by title I of the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act. The law establishes a new blanket license, to be administered by a mechanical licensing collective, and to become available on the January 1, 2021 license availability date. Having solicited multiple rounds of public comments through a notification of inquiry and notice of proposed rulemaking, the Office is adopting interim regulations concerning notices of license, data collection and delivery efforts, and reports of usage and payment by digital music providers. The Office is also adopting interim regulations concerning notices of nonblanket activity and reports of usage by significant nonblanket licensees and data collection efforts by musical work copyright owners.

The U.S. Copyright Office is issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding digital music providers' obligations to transfer and report accrued royalties for unmatched musical works (or shares) to the mechanical licensing collective for purposes of being eligible for the limitation on liability for prior unlicensed uses under title I of the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act. Having solicited public comments through multiple prior notices, the Office is now proposing an update to regulations concerning the transfer and reporting of such royalties, namely the content, format, and delivery of cumulative statements of account to be submitted by digital music providers to the mechanical licensing collective at the conclusion of the statutory transition period.

The Copyright Office is issuing a revised proposed rule to make electronic-only books published in the United States subject to the Copyright Act's mandatory deposit provisions if they are affirmatively demanded by the Office. In response to comments received in response to the Office's April 16, 2018 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the revised proposed rule makes additional clarifying edits to the definition of an ``electronic-only book'' and adjusts the requirements related to employment of technological protection measures. This document also updates the public on developments subsequently announced by the Library of Congress related to certain questions raised in public comments with respect to its digital collection strategy and information technology security matters.

The Copyright Royalty Judges (Judges) adopt amendments to regulations governing the filing of claims to royalty fees collected under compulsory license to require that all claims be filed electronically through the Copyright Royalty Board's (CRB) electronic filing system (eCRB).

The U.S. Copyright Office is amending its regulations to establish a new group registration option for short online literary works. This final rule largely adopts the eligibility requirements set forth in the Office's December 2018 notice of proposed rulemaking, with certain updates. To qualify for this option, each work must contain at least 50 but no more than 17,500 words. The works must be created by the same individual, or jointly by the same individuals, and each creator must be named as the copyright claimant or claimants for each work. The works must all be published online within a three-calendar- month period. If these requirements have been met, the applicant may submit up to 50 works with one application and one filing fee. The applicant must complete an online application designated for a group of ``Short Online Literary Works'' and upload a .ZIP file containing a separate digital file for each work. The Office will examine each work to determine if it contains a sufficient amount of creative authorship, and if the Office registers the claim, the registration will cover each work as a separate work of authorship.

The United States Copyright Office is proposing to amend certain regulations governing the recordation of notices of termination. Along with a parallel rulemaking focused on modernizing document recordation in conjunction with development of the Office's online recordation system, the proposed amendments are intended to improve efficiency in the processing of such notices and to provide additional guidance to the public in this area. In addition, the Office is providing notice of changes to its examination practices for certain notices of termination that pertain to multiple grants, and soliciting public comment on two additional subjects of inquiry relating to notices of termination.

The U.S. Copyright Office is undertaking a study as directed by the Music Modernization Act to evaluate best practices that the newly-established mechanical licensing collective (``MLC'') may implement to: Identify and locate musical work copyright owners and unclaimed accrued royalties held by the collective; encourage musical work copyright owners to claim their royalties; and reduce the incidence of unclaimed royalties. The MLC is expected to carefully consider, and give substantial weight to, the Office's recommendations when establishing procedures for the identification and location of musical work copyright owners and the distribution of unclaimed royalties. The Office is soliciting input from music industry participants and other interested members of the public on these issues to aid its study.

The U.S. Copyright Office is amending its regulation governing the group registration option for newsletter issues. The final rule eliminates the requirement that newsletters must be published at least two days each week to qualify for a group registration. In addition, the final rule updates the address where complimentary subscriptions should be sent for purposes of satisfying the mandatory deposit requirement for newsletters and other serials.

The Copyright Royalty Judges solicit comments on a motion of Allocation Phase claimants for partial distribution of 2018 satellite royalty funds.

The Copyright Royalty Judges propose to amend regulations governing the filing of claims to royalty fees collected under compulsory license to require that all claims be filed electronically through the Copyright Royalty Board's (CRB) electronic filing system (eCRB). The Judges solicit comments on the proposed rule.

The U.S. Copyright Office is issuing a notification of inquiry regarding the Musical Works Modernization Act, title I of the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act. Title I establishes a blanket compulsory license, which digital music providers may obtain to make and deliver digital phonorecords of musical works. By statute, the blanket license, which will be administered by a mechanical licensing collective, will become available on January 1, 2021. The MMA specifically directs the Copyright Office to adopt a number of regulations to govern the new blanket licensing regime, including prescribing categories of information to be included in the mechanical licensing collective's musical works database, as well as rules related to the usability, interoperability, and usage restrictions of the database. Congress has indicated that the Office should exercise its general regulatory authority to, among other things, help ensure that the collective's policies and practices are transparent and accountable. The Office seeks public comment regarding the subjects of inquiry discussed in this notification, namely, issues related to ensuring appropriate transparency of the mechanical licensing collective itself, as well as the contents of the collective's public musical work database, database access, and database use. This notification is being published concurrently with a related notice of proposed rulemaking related to confidentiality considerations with respect to the operation and records of the collective.

The U.S. Copyright Office is issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the protection of confidential information by the mechanical licensing collective and digital licensee coordinator under title I of the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act. After soliciting public comments through a notification of inquiry, the Office is now proposing regulations identifying appropriate procedures to ensure that confidential, private, proprietary, or privileged information contained in the records of the mechanical licensing collective and digital licensee coordinator is not improperly disclosed or used. The Office solicits additional public comments on the proposed rule, including regarding the use of confidentiality designations and nondisclosure agreements.

The U.S. Copyright Office is adopting technical amendments to allow electronic submission of materials in connection with certain Office services, and to allow the Office to respond to submitters electronically. These amendments are intended to facilitate the public's ability to access Office services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Copyright Royalty Judges announce their final determination of the distribution of the digital audio recording technology (DART) royalty fees in the 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 Sound Recordings Funds.

In conjunction with the development of new technological infrastructure for the copyright registration system, on October 17, 2018, the U.S. Copyright Office solicited public input regarding potential regulatory and practice updates to improve the system's efficiency for both users and the Office. The Office sought and received public comment on three main areas of proposed reform: The administration and substance of the application for registration, the utility of the public record, and the deposit requirements for registration. After reviewing the comments, the Office is announcing intended practice updates, to be adopted in conjunction with the deployment of the new technological system that the Library of Congress is building for the Office. The Office also seeks further comment on two proposals to permit post-registration edits to rights and permissions information, and to permit voluntary submission of additional deposit information to be included in the public record.

The Copyright Royalty Judges announce receipt of a notice from SoundExchange of SoundExchange's intent to audit the various services, including Commercial Webcaster services, Preexisting Subscription Service(s), New Subscription Service(s), and Business Establishment Service, of Mood Media Corporation and its affiliates for 2017, 2018, and 2019 pursuant to four statutory licenses.

This final rule makes non-substantive technical amendments to the U.S. Copyright Office's regulations governing the submission of designated agent and service provider information to the Office pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (``DMCA'').

The U.S. Copyright Office is proposing to amend its regulation governing the group registration option for newsletter issues. The proposed rule eliminates the requirement that newsletters must be published at least two days each week to qualify for a group registration. This will let a broader range of newsletter publishers register a month of issues, without imposing an administrative burden on the Office. In addition, the proposed rule updates the address where complimentary subscriptions should be sent for purposes of satisfying the mandatory deposit requirement for newsletters and other serials.

The Copyright Office is publishing a final rule establishing adjusted fees for its services. The adjusted fees will recover a significant portion of the costs to the Office of registering copyright claims and provide greater cost recovery for certain other services provided by the Office. The new fee schedule reflects some increased and decreased fees, as well as some fees that the Office determined did not require adjustment. For example, under the new fee structure, the online Standard Application registration fee will increase from $55 to $65; the fee to register a group of published or unpublished photographs, however, will remain at $55. In addition to fees for registration and recordation, this final rule establishes adjusted fees for special services and Licensing Division services.

The Copyright Royalty Judges extend the comment period regarding the notice of inquiry regarding categorization of claims for cable or satellite royalty funds and treatment of royalties associated with invalid claims from January 29, 2020, to March 15, 2020.