(a) General purpose addresses. Members of the public must use the correct address in order to facilitate timely receipt by the U.S. Copyright Office division or section to which an inquiry should be directed. The address set forth in paragraph (b) may be used for general inquiries made to a particular division or section of the U.S. Copyright Office. Addresses for special, limited purposes are provided below in paragraph (c) of this section. Please note that the Library of Congress no longer accepts direct deliveries from commercial couriers and messengers. 1 For additional address information, including information on courier delivery, mail delays, or disruptions, please visit the “Contact us” section on the Office's website (http://www.copyright.gov). General questions may also be directed to the U.S. Copyright Office website submission form at: http://www.copyright.gov/help/general-form.html.

1 See 69 FR 5371 (Feb. 4, 2004) and 68 FR 70039 (Dec. 16, 2003).

(b) General purpose address. (1) Mail and other communications that do not come under the areas listed in paragraph (b)(2) of this section shall be addressed to the Library of Congress, U.S. Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20559-6000, or as otherwise indicated in instructions on the Copyright Office's website or forms provided by the Office.

(2) Codes to facilitate the routing of mail. To assure that postal mail is routed correctly within the U.S. Copyright Office, applicants should indicate, by the appropriate code, the general subject matter of the correspondence. Such correspondence should be addressed to the Office in the following manner: Library of Congress, U.S. Copyright Office—(Insert appropriate code listed below), 101 Independence Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20559-6000.

(c) Limited purpose addresses. The following addresses may be used only in the special, limited circumstances given for a particular U.S. Copyright Office service:

(1) Time Sensitive Notices and Requests. Other than notices served on the Register of Copyrights submitted pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 411(a), 411(b)(2), and 508, all time sensitive correspondence to the Office of the General Counsel and the Office of Policy and International Affairs, and requests for expedited service from the Records Research and Certification Section of the Office of Public Information and Education to meet the needs of pending or prospective litigation, customs matters, or contract or publishing deadlines should be addressed to: U.S. Copyright Office, P.O. Box 70400, Washington, DC 20024-0400. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and FOIA appeals must also be mailed to: P.O. Box 70400, Washington, DC 20024-0400, but clearly labeled “Freedom of Information Act Request” or “Freedom of Information Act Appeal” as appropriate. Notices and requests served on the Register of Copyrights submitted pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 411(a) or 411(b)(2) should be submitted via email in accordance with 37 CFR 205.13 (for section 411(a) notices) and § 205.14 (for section 411(b)(2) notices). Notices served on the Register of Copyrights submitted pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 508 should be submitted via email in accordance with 37 CFR 205.15.

(2) Notices of Termination. Notices of Termination of transfers and licenses under sections 203 and 304 of the Copyright Act should be addressed to: U.S. Copyright Office, Notices of Termination, and submitted either electronically in the form and manner prescribed in instructions on the Office's website or by mail to P.O. Box 71537, Washington, DC 20024-1537.

(3) Reconsiderations of Refusals to Register and Requests for Cancellation. First and second requests for reconsideration of refusal to register a copyright, mask work, or vessel design claim, and requests to cancel registered works should be addressed to: U.S. Copyright Office, MCA Division, and submitted either electronically in the form and manner prescribed in instructions on the Office's website or by mail to P.O. Box 71380, Washington, DC 20024-1380.

(4) Searches and Copies of Records or Deposits. Requests for searches of registrations and recordations in the completed catalogs, indexes, and/or other records of the U.S. Copyright Office as well as requests for copies of records or deposits for use in litigation or other authorized purposes should be addressed to: U.S. Copyright Office, Records Research and Certification Section, and submitted either electronically in the form and manner prescribed in instructions on the Office's website or by mail to P.O. Box 70400, Washington, DC 20559-0400.

(5) Inquiries to Licensing Section. Filings or inquiries to the Licensing Section may be submitted either electronically in the form and manner prescribed in instructions on the Office's website or by mail. If sending by mail, notices related to statutory licenses under 17 U.S.C. 112, 114, and 115 should be addressed to: U.S. Copyright Office, P.O. Box 70977, Washington, DC 20024-0400. Statements of account related to statutory licenses under 17 U.S.C. 119 and chapter 10 should be addressed to: U.S. Copyright Office, SOA, P.O. Box 70400, Washington, DC 20024-0400. Filings or inquiries related to section 111 licenses should be sent to Library of Congress, U.S. Copyright Office, Attn: 111 Licenses, 101 Independence Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20559.

(6) Mandatory deposit copies. Mandatory deposit copies of published works submitted for the Library of Congress under 17 U.S.C. 407 and § 202.19 of this chapter (including serial publications that are not being registered) should be addressed to: Library of Congress, U.S. Copyright Office, Attn: 407 Deposits, 101 Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20559-6600, except that mandatory deposit copies submitted as complimentary subscriptions for serial publications that are being registered should be addressed to: Library of Congress, Group Serials Registration, Washington, DC 20540-4161.

(7) Requests to remove PII from registration records. Requests to remove personally identifiable information from registration records pursuant to §§ 201.2(e) and (f) should be addressed to: U.S. Copyright Office, Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of the Office of Public Information and Education. Requests may be submitted either electronically in the form and manner prescribed in instructions on the Office's website or by mail to P.O. Box 70400, Washington, DC 20024-0400, and clearly labeled “Request to Remove Requested PII,” “Request for Reconsideration Following Denial of Request to Remove Requested PII,” or “Request to Remove Extraneous PII,” as appropriate.

(d) Requests for an ex parte meeting. The rules governing ex parte communications in informal rulemakings, including methods to request ex parte meetings, are found in 37 CFR 205.24.

[78 FR 42873, July 18, 2013, as amended at 82 FR 9007, Feb. 2, 2017; 82 FR 9355, Feb. 6, 2017; 82 FR 21697, May 10, 2017; 83 FR 4145, Jan. 30, 2018; 83 FR 61549, Nov. 30, 2018; 84 FR 60918, Nov. 12, 2019; 85 FR 19667, Apr. 8, 2020; 85 FR 10604, Feb. 25, 2020; 85 FR 31982, May 28, 2020; 86 FR 32641, June 22, 2021; 88 FR 54493, Aug. 11, 2023]

(a) In general. (1) Information relative to the operations of the Copyright Office is supplied without charge. A search of the records, indexes, and deposits will be made for such information as they may contain relative to copyright claims upon application and payment of the statutory fee. The Copyright Office, however, does not undertake the making of comparisons of copyright deposits to determine similarity between works.

(2) The Copyright Office does not furnish the names of copyright attorneys, publishers, agents, or other similar information to the public, except that it may provide a directory of pro bono representation available to participants in proceedings before the Copyright Claims Board.

(3) In the administration of the Copyright Act in general, the Copyright Office interprets the Act. The Copyright Office, however, does not give specific legal advice on the rights of persons, whether in connection with particular uses of copyrighted works, cases of alleged foreign or domestic copyright infringement, contracts between authors and publishers, or other matters of a similar nature.

(b) Inspection and copying of records. (1) Inspection and copying of completed records and indexes relating to a registration or a recorded document, and inspection of copies or identifying material deposited in connection with a completed copyright registration may be undertaken in the Records Research and Certification Section. Since some of these materials are not stored on the immediate premises of the Copyright Office, it is advisable to consult the Records Research and Certification Section to determine the length of time necessary to produce the requested materials.

(2) It is the general policy of the Copyright Office to deny direct public access to in-process files and to any work (or other) areas where they are kept. However, direct public use of computers intended to access the automated equivalent of limited portions of these files is permitted on a specified terminal in the Records Management Section, LM B-14, Monday through Friday, upon payment of applicable fees.

(3) Information contained in Copyright Office in-process files may be obtained by anyone upon payment of applicable fees and request to the Office of Public Information and Education, in accordance with the following procedures:

(i) In general, all requests by the public for information in the in-process and open unfinished business files should be made to the Records Research and Certification Section, which upon receipt of applicable fees will give a report that provides the following for each request:

(A) The date(s) of receipt of:

(1) The application(s) for registration that may have been submitted and is (are) in process;

(2) The document(s) that may have been submitted for recordation and is (are) in process;

(3) The copy or copies (or phonorecords) that may have been submitted;

(B) The title of the work(s); and

(C) The name of the applicant or remitter.

(ii) Such searches of the in-process files will be given priority to the extent permitted by the demands of normal work flow of the affected sections of the Copyright Office.

(4)(i) Access will be afforded as follows to pending applications for registration, the deposit material accompanying them, and pending documents for recordation:

(A) In the case of applications for registration and deposits accompanying them, upon the request of the copyright claimant or his/her authorized representative, and

(B) In the case of documents, upon the request of at least one of the persons who executed the document or by an authorized representative of that person.

(ii) These requests should be made to the Records Research and Certification Section, and the review of the materials will be permitted there. No charge will be made for reviewing these materials; the appropriate search fee identified in § 201.3(c) or § 201.3(d) will be assessed, and the appropriate copying fee identified in § 201.3(c) or § 201.3(d) will be assessed if the claimant wants and is entitled to a copy of the material.

(5) In exceptional circumstances, the Register of Copyrights may allow inspection of pending applications and open correspondence files by someone other than the copyright claimant, upon submission of a written request which is deemed by the Register to show good cause for such access and establishes that the person making the request is one properly and directly concerned. The written request should be mailed to the address specified in § 201.1(c).

(6) Direct public access will not be permitted to any financial or accounting records, including records maintained on Deposit Accounts.

(7) The Register of Copyrights has issued an administrative manual known as the Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition. The Compendium explains many of the practices and procedures concerning the Office's mandate and statutory duties under title 17 of the United States Code. It is both a technical manual for the Copyright Office's staff, as well as a guidebook for authors, copyright licensees, practitioners, scholars, the courts, and members of the general public. The Third Edition and prior editions of the Compendium may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from the Office's website. They are also available for public inspection and copying in the Records Research and Certification Section.

(c) Correspondence. (1) Official correspondence, including preliminary applications, between copyright claimants or their agents and the Copyright Office, and directly relating to a completed registration, a recorded document, a rejected application for registration, or a document for which recordation was refused is available for public inspection. Included in the correspondence available for public inspection is that portion of the file directly relating to a completed registration, recorded document, a rejected application for registration, or a document for which recordation was refused which was once open to public inspection as a closed case, even if the case is subsequently reopened. Public inspection is available only for the correspondence contained in the file during the time it was closed because of one of the aforementioned actions. Correspondence relating to the reopening of the file and reconsideration of the case is considered part of an in-process file until final action is taken, and public inspection of that correspondence is governed by § 201.2(b). Requests for reproductions of the correspondence shall be made pursuant to paragraph (d) of this section.

(2) Correspondence, application forms, and any accompanying material forming a part of a pending application are considered in-process files and access to them is governed by paragraph (b) of this section.

(3) Correspondence, memoranda, reports, opinions, and similar material relating to internal matters of personnel and procedures, office administration, security matters, and internal consideration of policy and decisional matters including the work product of an attorney, are not open to public inspection.

(4) The Copyright Office will not respond to any abusive or scurrilous correspondence or correspondence where the intent is unknown.

(d) Requests for copies. (1) Requests for copies of records should include the following:

(i) A clear identification of the type of records desired (for example, additional certificates of registration, copies of correspondence, copies of deposits).

(ii) A specification of whether the copies are to be certified or uncertified.

(iii) A clear identification of the specific records to be copied. Requests should include the following specific information, if possible:

(A) The type of work involved (for example, novel, lyrics, photograph);

(B) The registration number;

(C) The year date or approximate year date of registration;

(D) The complete title of the work;

(E) The author(s) including any pseudonym by which the author may be known; and

(F) The claimant(s); and

(G) If the requested copy is of an assignment, license, contract, or other recorded document, the volume and page number of the recorded document.

(iv) If the copy requested is an additional certificate of registration, include the fee. The Records Research and Certification Section will review requests for copies of other records and quote fees for each.

(v) The telephone number and address of the requestor.

(2) Requests for certified or uncertified reproductions of the copies, phonorecords, or identifying material deposited in connection with a copyright registration of published or unpublished works in the custody of the Copyright Office will be granted only when one of the following three conditions has been met:

(i) The Copyright Office receives written authorization from the copyright claimant of record or his or her designated agent, or from the owner of any of the exclusive rights in the copyright as long as this ownership can be demonstrated by written documentation of the transfer of ownership.

(ii) The Copyright Office receives a written request from an attorney on behalf of either the plaintiff or defendant in connection with litigation, actual or prospective, involving the copyrighted work. The following information must be included in such a request:

(A) The names of all the parties involved and the nature of the controversy;

(B) The name of the court in which the actual case is pending or, in the case of a prospective proceeding, a full statement of the facts of the controversy in which the copyrighted work is involved; and

(C) Satisfactory assurance that the requested reproduction will be used only in connection with the specified litigation.

(iii) The Copyright Office receives a court order for reproduction of the deposited copies, phonorecords, or identifying material of a registered work which is the subject of litigation. The order must be issued by a court having jurisdiction of the case in which the reproduction is to be submitted as evidence.

(3) When a request is made for a reproduction of a phonorecord, such as an audiotape or cassette, in which either a sound recording or the underlying musical, dramatic, or literary work is embodied, the Copyright Office will provide proximate reproduction. The Copyright Office reserves the right to substitute a monaural reproduction for a stereo, quadraphonic, or any other type of fixation of the work accepted for deposit.

(e) Requests for removal of requested personally identifiable information from the online public catalog. (1) In general, an author, claimant of record, or the authorized representative of the author or claimant of record may submit a request to remove certain categories of personally identifiable information (“PII”) described in paragraph (e)(2) of this section from the Copyright Office's online public catalog by following the procedure set forth in paragraph (e)(3) of this section. Where the requester provides verifiable, non-personally identifiable substitute information to replace the PII being removed, the Office will grant the request unless it determines that the need to maintain the original information in the public record substantially outweighs the safety, privacy, or other stated concern. If the requester does not provide verifiable, non-personally-identifiable substitute information, the Office will grant the request only if the safety, privacy, or other stated concern substantially outweighs the need for the information to remain in the public record. The Office will review requests by joint authors or claimants on a case-by-case basis.

(2) Categories of personally identifiable information that may be removed from the online public catalog include names, home addresses, personal telephone and fax numbers, personal email addresses, and other information that is requested by the Office as part the copyright registration application except that:

(i) Requests for removal of driver's license numbers, social security numbers, banking information, credit card information and other extraneous PII covered by paragraph (f) of this section are governed by the provisions of that paragraph.

(ii) Requests to remove the address of a copyright claimant must be accompanied by a verifiable substitute address. The Office will not remove the address of a copyright claimant unless such a verifiable substitute address is provided.

(iii) Names of authors or claimants may not be removed or replaced with a pseudonym. Requests to substitute the prior name of the author or claimant with the current legal name of the author or claimant must be accompanied by official documentation of the legal name change.

(3) Requests for removal of PII from the online catalog must be in the form of an affidavit, must be accompanied by the non-refundable fee listed in § 201.3(c), and must include the following information:

(i) The copyright registration number(s).

(ii) The name of the author and/or claimant of record on whose behalf the request is made.

(iii) Identification of the specific PII that is to be removed.

(iv) If applicable, verifiable non-personally-identifiable substitute information that should replace the PII to be removed.

(v) In the case of requests to replace the names of authors or claimants, the request must be accompanied by a court order granting a legal name change.

(vi) A statement providing the reasons supporting the request. If the requester is not providing verifiable, non-personally-identifiable substitute information to replace the PII to be removed, this statement must explain in detail the specific threat to the individual's personal safety or personal security, or other circumstances, supporting the request.

(vii) The statement, “I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.”

(viii) If the submission is by an authorized representative of the author or claimant of record, an additional statement, “I am authorized to make this request on behalf of [name of author or claimant of record].”

(ix) The signature of the author, claimant of record, or the authorized representative of the author or claimant of record.

(x) The date on which the request was signed.

(xi) A physical mailing address to which the Office's response may be sent (if no email is provided).

(xii) A telephone number.

(xiii) An email address (if available).

(4) Requests under this paragraph (e) must be sent to the Office as prescribed in § 201.1(c).

(5) A properly submitted request will be reviewed by the Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of the Office Public Information and Education or his or her designee(s) to determine whether the request should be granted or denied. The Office will send its decision to either grant or deny the request to the physical mail address or email address indicated in the request.

(6) If the request is granted, the Office will remove the information from the online public catalog. Where substitute information has been provided, the Office will add that information to the online public catalog. In addition, a note indicating that the online record has been modified will be added to the online registration record. A new certificate of registration will be issued that reflects the modified information. The Office will maintain a copy of the original registration record on file in the Copyright Office, and such records shall be open to public inspection and copying pursuant to paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of this section. The Office will also maintain in its offline records the correspondence related to the request to remove PII.

(7) Requests for reconsideration of denied requests to remove PII from the online public catalog must be made in writing within 30 days from the date of the denial letter. The request for reconsideration, and a non-refundable fee in the amount specified in § 201.3(c), must be sent to the Office as prescribed in § 201.1(c). The request must specifically address the grounds for denial of the initial request. Only one request for reconsideration will be considered per denial.

(f) Requests for removal of extraneous PII from the public record. Upon written request, the Office will remove driver's license numbers, social security numbers, banking information, credit card information, and other extraneous PII that was erroneously included on a registration application from the public record. There is no fee for this service. To make a request, the author, claimant, or the authorized representative of the author or claimant, must submit the request in writing using the contact information listed in § 201.1(c). Such a request must name the author and/or claimant, provide the registration number(s) associated for the record in question, and give a description of the extraneous PII that is to be removed. Once the request is received, the Office will remove the extraneous information from both its online and offline public records. The Office will not include any notation of this action in its records.

[50 FR 30170, July 24, 1985, as amended at 51 FR 30062, Aug. 22, 1986; 62 FR 35421, July 1, 1997; 64 FR 29520, June 1, 1999; 69 FR 39332, June 30, 2004; 69 FR 70377, Dec. 6, 2004; 73 FR 37838, July 2, 2008; 78 FR 42873, July 18, 2013; 82 FR 9007, Feb. 2, 2017; 82 FR 9355, Feb. 6, 2017; 82 FR 21697, May 10, 2017; 85 FR 19667, Apr. 8, 2020; 87 FR 20713, Apr. 8, 2022]

(a) General. This section prescribes the fees for registration, recordation, and related services, special services, and services performed by the Licensing Section.

(b) Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) Registration, recordation, and related service fee. This is the fee for a registration or recordation service that the Office is required to perform under 17 U.S.C., or a directly related service. It includes those services described in section 708(a)(1)-(9) and authorized by Pub. L. 105-80.

(2) Special service fee. This is a fee for a special service not specified in title 17, which the Register of Copyrights may fix at any time on the basis of the cost of providing the service, as provided by 17 U.S.C. 708(a).

(3) Licensing Section service fee. This is a fee for a service performed by the Licensing Section.

(c) Registration, recordation, and related service fees. The Copyright Office has established fees for these services. To calculate the fee specified by paragraph (c)(20) of this section, for each work identified in a document: The first title and/or first registration number provided for that particular work constitutes a work; and each additional title and registration number provided for that particular work beyond the first constitutes an alternate identifier. The fees are as follows:

(d) Special service fees. The Copyright Office has established the following fees for special services of the Office:

(e) Licensing Section service fees. The Copyright Office has established the following fees for specific services of the Licensing Section:

(f) Fees for travel in connection with educational activities. For travel expenses in connection with Copyright Office educational activities when participation by Copyright Office personnel has been requested by another organization or person and that organization or person has agreed to pay such expenses, collection of the fee shall be subject to, and the amount of the fee shall be no greater than, the amount authorized under the Federal Travel Regulations found in Chapters 300 through 304 of Title 41.

(g) Copyright Claims Board fees. The Copyright Office has established the following fees for specific services related to the Copyright Claims Board:

[64 FR 29520, June 1, 1999, as amended at 64 FR 36574, July 7, 1999; 65 FR 39819, June 28, 2000; 67 FR 38005, May 31, 2002; 71 FR 31090, June 1, 2006; 71 FR 46402, Aug. 14, 2006; 72 FR 33691, June 19, 2007; 74 FR 12556, Mar. 25, 2009, 74 FR 32807, July 9, 2009; 77 FR 18705, Mar. 28, 2012; 77 FR 18707, Mar. 28, 2012; 78 FR 71501, Nov. 29, 2013; 79 FR 15918, Mar. 24, 2014; 79 FR 24334, Apr. 30, 2014; 79 FR 68623, Nov. 18, 2014; 81 FR 75707, Nov. 1, 2016; 82 FR 9008, Feb. 2, 2017; 82 FR 9356, Feb. 6, 2017; 82 FR 26853, June 12, 2017; 82 FR 29413, June 29, 2017; 82 FR 52223, Nov. 13, 2017; 83 FR 2547, Jan. 18, 2018; 83 FR 4146, Jan. 30, 2018; 83 FR 52153, Oct. 16, 2018; 83 FR 61549, Nov. 30, 2018; 83 FR 66628, Dec. 27, 2018; 84 FR 3697, Feb. 13, 2019; 84 FR 10684, Mar. 22, 2019; 84 FR 14255, Apr. 9, 2019; 84 FR 20273, May 9, 2019; 85 FR 9386, Feb. 19, 2020; 85 FR 37346, June 22, 2020; 86 FR 10825, Feb. 23, 2021; 86 FR 32641, June 22, 2021; 86 FR 46122, Aug. 18, 2021; 87 FR 12865, Mar. 8, 2022; 87 FR 17000, Mar. 25, 2022; 87 FR 24056, 24058, Apr. 22, 2022; 87 FR 30075, May 17, 2022; 89 FR 58999, July 22, 2024; 89 FR 80744, Oct. 4, 2024]

(a) General. This section prescribes conditions for the recordation of transfers of copyright ownership and other documents pertaining to a copyright under 17 U.S.C. 205. Except as otherwise provided pursuant to paragraph (h) of this section, a document is eligible for recordation under this section if it meets the requirements of paragraph (d) of this section, if it is submitted in accordance with the submission procedure described in paragraph (e) of this section, and if it is accompanied by the fee specified in § 201.3(c). The date of recordation is the date when all of the elements required for recordation, including a proper document, fee, and any additional required information, are received in the Copyright Office. After recordation the document is returned to the sender with a certificate of recordation. The Office may reject any document submitted for recordation that fails to comply with 17 U.S.C. 205, the requirements of this section, or any relevant instructions or guidance provided by the Office.

(b) Documents not recordable under this section. This section does not govern the filing or recordation of the following documents:

(1) Certain contracts entered into by cable systems located outside of the 48 contiguous States (17 U.S.C. 111(e); see § 201.12);

(2) Notices of identity and signal carriage complement, and statements of account of cable systems and satellite carriers and for digital audio recording devices and media (17 U.S.C. 111(d), 119(b), and 1003(c); see §§ 201.11, 201.17, 201.28);

(3) Notices of use of sound recordings under statutory license and notices of intention to obtain a compulsory license to make and distribute phonorecords of nondramatic musical works (17 U.S.C. 112(e), 114, and 115(b); see §§ 201.18 and 370.2);

(4) Notices of termination (17 U.S.C. 203, 304(c) and (d); see § 201.10);

(5) Statements regarding the identity of authors of anonymous and pseudonymous works, and statements relating to the death of authors (17 U.S.C. 302);

(6) Documents pertaining to computer shareware and donation of public domain software (Pub. L. 101-650, sec. 805; see § 201.26);

(7) Notifications from the clerks of the courts of the United States concerning actions brought under title 17, United States Code (17 U.S.C. 508);

(8) Notices to libraries and archives of normal commercial exploitation or availability at reasonable prices (17 U.S.C. 108(h)(2)(C); see § 201.39);

(9) Submission of Visual Arts Registry Statements (17 U.S.C. 113; see § 201.25);

(10) Notices and correction notices of intent to enforce restored copyrights (17 U.S.C. 104A(e); see §§ 201.33, 201.34);

(11) Designations of agents to receive notifications of claimed infringement (17 U.S.C. 512(c)(2); see § 201.38);

(12) Notices of contact information for transmitting entities publicly performing pre-1972 sound recordings by means of digital audio transmission (17 U.S.C. 1401(f)(5)(B); see § 201.36);

(13) Schedules of pre-1972 sound recordings (17 U.S.C. 1401(f)(5)(A); see § 201.35);

(14) Notices of noncommercial use of pre-1972 sound recordings (17 U.S.C. 1401(c)(1)(B); see § 201.37); and

(15) Opt-out notices of noncommercial use of pre-1972 sound recordings (17 U.S.C. 1401(c)(1)(C); see § 201.37).

(c) Definitions. For purposes of this section:

(1) A transfer of copyright ownership has the meaning set forth in 17 U.S.C. 101.

(2) A document pertaining to a copyright is any document that has a direct or indirect relationship to the existence, scope, duration, or identification of a copyright, or to the ownership, division, allocation, licensing, or exercise of rights under a copyright. That relationship may be past, present, future, or potential.

(3) An actual signature is any legally binding signature, including an electronic signature as defined in 15 U.S.C. 7006.

(4) A sworn certification is a statement made in accordance with 28 U.S.C. 1746 that the copy of the document submitted for recordation is, to the best of the certifier's knowledge, a true copy of the original, signed document. A sworn certification must be signed by one of the parties to the signed document, a successor-in-interest to one of the parties to the signed document, or the authorized representative of such a party or successor. Authorized representatives must state who they represent and successors-in-interest must describe their relationship to the document or the original parties to the document. An authorized representative of a successor-in-interest must describe the successor's relationship to the document or the original parties to the document. A sworn certification may be signed electronically.

(5) An official certification is a certification, by the appropriate governmental official, that the original of the document is on file in a public office and that the copy of the document submitted for recordation is a true copy of the original. An official certification may be signed electronically.

(d) Document requirements—(1) Original or certified copy. The remitter must submit either the original document that bears the actual signature(s) of the person(s) who executed it, or a copy of the original, signed document accompanied by a sworn certification or an official certification. Each document submitted for recordation must be certified to either have the actual signature(s) (if it is an original document) or reproduce the actual signature(s) (in the case of a copy of the original document). All documents lacking a handwritten, wet signature (including all documents bearing an electronic signature) are considered to be copies of the original, signed document, and must be accompanied by a sworn certification or an official certification. Where an actual signature on the relevant document is not a handwritten or typewritten name, such as when an individual clicks a button on a Web site or application to indicate agreement to contractual terms, the remitter must submit a description of the nature of the signature and documentation evidencing the existence of the signature (e.g., a database entry or confirmation email showing that a particular user agreed to the terms by clicking “yes” on a particular date). Where such description and evidence are provided, the Office will make them available for public inspection and may presume that the signature requirement for recordation has been satisfied, without prejudice to any party claiming otherwise, including before a court of competent jurisdiction.

(2) Completeness. Each document submitted for recordation must be, and be certified to be, complete by its terms, but need only include referenced schedules, appendices, exhibits, addenda, or other material essential to understanding the copyright-related aspects of the document.

(3) Legibility. Each document submitted for recordation must be, and be certified to be, legible.

(4) Redactions. The Office will accept and make available for public inspection redacted documents certified to be redacted in accordance with this paragraph (d)(4), provided that all of the following conditions are satisfied:

(i) The redactions must be limited to financial terms, trade secret information, Social Security or taxpayer-identification numbers, and financial account numbers. Additional types of information may be redacted on a case-by-case basis if the need for any such redactions is justified to the Office in writing and approved by the Office; such written requests should be included in the remitter's recordation submission to the Office.

(ii) The blank or blocked-out portions of the document must be labeled “redacted” or the equivalent.

(iii) Each portion of the document required by paragraph (d)(2) of this section must be included.

(5) English language requirement. The Office will accept and record non-English language documents and indexing information only if accompanied by an English translation that is either signed by the individual making the translation or, if a publicly available commercial or consumer translation software product or automated service is used, by the individual using such product or service and accompanied by the name of the product or service. All translations will be made available for public inspection and may be redacted in accordance with paragraph (d)(4) of this section.

(e) Paper submission procedure—(1) Process. A document may be submitted for recordation by sending it to the appropriate address in § 201.1(b) or to such other address as the Office may specify, accompanied by a cover sheet, the proper fee, and, if applicable, any electronic title list. Absent special arrangement with the Office, the Office reserves the right to not process the submission unless all of the items necessary for processing are received together.

(2) Cover sheet required. Submission of a document must include a completed Recordation Document Cover Sheet (Form DCS), available on the Copyright Office Web site. Remitters must follow all instructions provided by the Office in completing Form DCS, including by providing all requested indexing information. Form DCS may be used to provide a sworn certification, if appropriate, and to make any of the other certifications required by this section. Form DCS will not be considered part of the recorded document, but will be used by the Office for examination, indexing, and other administrative purposes. The Office may reject any document submitted for recordation that includes an improperly prepared cover sheet.

(3) Electronic title list. (i) In addition to identifying the works to which a document pertains in the paper submission, the remitter may also submit an electronic list setting forth each such work. The electronic list will not be considered part of the recorded document, but will be used by the Office for indexing purposes. Absent special arrangement with the Office, the electronic list must be included in the same package as the paper document to be recorded. The electronic list must be prepared and submitted to the Office in the manner specified by the Copyright Office in instructions made available on its Web site. The Office may reject any document submitted for recordation that includes an improperly prepared electronic title list.

(ii) If a remitter of a recorded document finds that an error or omission in an electronic title list has led to the inaccurate indexing of the document in the public catalog, the remitter may request that the record be corrected by following the instructions provided by the Office on its Web site. Upon receipt of a properly prepared corrective filing and the appropriate fee, the Office will proceed to correct the information in the public catalog, and will make a note in the record indicating that the corrections were made and the date they were made.

(4) Return receipt. If a remitter includes two copies of a properly completed Form DCS indicating that a return receipt is requested, as well as a self-addressed, postage-paid envelope, the remitter will receive a date-stamped return receipt attached to the extra copy acknowledging the Copyright Office's receipt of the enclosed submission. The completed copies of Form DCS and the self-addressed, postage-paid envelope must be included in the same package as the submitted document. A return receipt confirms the Office's receipt of the submission as of the date indicated, but does not establish eligibility for, or the date of, recordation.

(5) Remitter certification. The remitter must certify that he or she has appropriate authority to submit the document for recordation and that all information submitted to the Office by the remitter is true, accurate, and complete to the best of the remitter's knowledge.

(f) Reliance on remitter-provided information. The Copyright Office will rely on the certifications submitted with a document and the information provided by the remitter on Form DCS and, if provided, in an accompanying electronic title list. The Office will not necessarily confirm the accuracy of such certifications or information against the submitted document.

(g) Effect of recordation. The fact that the Office has recorded a document is not a determination by the Office of the document's validity or legal effect. Recordation of a document by the Copyright Office is without prejudice to any party claiming that the legal or formal requirements for recordation have not been met, including before a court of competent jurisdiction.

(h) Pilot program for electronic submission. The Copyright Office is implementing a limited pilot program through which certain types of documents may be electronically submitted for recordation online by certain remitters (“pilot remitters”). This paragraph (h) shall govern such submissions to the extent they are permitted under the pilot program.

(1) Electronic submission. Pilot remitters may submit permitted types of documents for recordation using the Copyright Office's electronic system pursuant to this section and special pilot program rules provided to pilot remitters by the Office.

(2) Participation. No remitter may participate in the pilot program without the permission of the Copyright Office. Participation in the pilot program is optional and pilot remitters may continue to submit documents for recordation pursuant to paragraph (e) of this section.

(3) Conflicting rules. To the extent any special pilot program rule conflicts with this section or any other regulation, rule, instruction, or guidance issued by the Copyright Office, such pilot program rule shall govern submissions made pursuant to the pilot program.

(4) Reliance on remitter-provided information. Paragraph (f) of this section shall apply to all certifications and information provided to the Office through the electronic system.

(5) Date of recordation. In any situation where the date of recordation for a submission cannot be established or, if established, would ordinarily be changed, if due to an issue with the electronic system, the Office may assign an equitable date as the date of recordation.

[82 FR 52219, Nov. 13, 2017, as amended at 83 FR 52153, Oct. 16, 2018; 84 FR 14255, Apr. 9, 2019; 85 FR 3855, Jan. 23, 2020]

(a) In general—(1) Electronic payments. All fees for online applications and services must be paid by electronic payment through Pay.gov.

(2) Mailed payments. All fees mailed to the Copyright Office should be in the form of a money order or check payable to the U.S. Copyright Office. Currency will not be accepted; any payment received in currency will be refunded via check, and the registration or other service request will not be processed. Where the statutory fee is submitted in the form of a check, the registration of the copyright claim or other record made by the Office is provisional until the funds associated with the check are received. In the event the fee is not paid, the provisional registration or other record shall be expunged.

(3) In-person payments. All fees for services rendered in person at the Copyright Office Public Information Office must be paid by cash, money order, check, or credit or debit card.

(4) Foreign remittances. Foreign remittances must be redeemable without service or exchange fees through a United States institution, must be payable in United States dollars, and must be imprinted with American Banking Association routing numbers. Postal money orders that are negotiable only at a post office are not acceptable. International checks and money orders must be drawn from a United States bank and payable in United States dollars for the full amount of the fee required. Uncertified checks are accepted subject to collection.

(5) Other. In addition to the payment options in paragraphs (a)(1) through (3) of this section, payment for any application or service can be made using a Copyright Office deposit account.

(b) Deposit accounts—(1) Establishment. Persons or firms may prepay copyright expenses by establishing a deposit account.

(2) Minimum balance. The Office will automatically notify the deposit account holder when the account goes below a minimum balance of $450.

(3) Contact information. (i) Deposit account holders are responsible for keeping contact information with the Copyright Office current.

(ii) If the Copyright Office is unable to correspond with the deposit account holder (e.g., due to returned/undeliverable postal or email), the Office will deem the deposit account undeliverable.

(4) Inactivation. (i) The Copyright Office will inactivate a deposit account if there has been no activity in the account for 24 months.

(ii) The Copyright Office will inactivate a deposit account if the deposit account holder overdraws his or her account.

(iii) The Copyright Office will automatically notify the deposit account holder when the account has been inactivated.

(5) Closure. (i) An inactive deposit account will be closed no sooner than 30 days from the date of the inactivation notice if there continues to be no activity in the account or if insufficient funds remain in the deposit account after the deposit account holder overdraws the account.

(ii) The Copyright Office may permanently close a deposit account if the deposit account holder overdraws his or her account twice in any calendar year.

(iii) An undeliverable deposit account as defined in paragraph (b)(3)(ii) of this section will be closed after the Copyright Office has made at least three unsuccessful attempts, including at least one attempt by phone if a deposit account holder provided a telephone number, to correspond with the deposit account holder. Attempts at corresponding with the deposit account holder may be considered unsuccessful if the postal or email correspondence is returned as undeliverable.

(iv) Any funds remaining in a closed deposit account will be applied to any pending or processed service request(s) for which payment is due. If there are insufficient funds to cover the total of all fees due for any service, the service request(s) will not be processed.

(v) Any balance remaining in a closed deposit account will be refunded to the account holder in accordance with Copyright Office policies. Unredeemed refunds will be handled in accordance with Library of Congress and U.S. Treasury rules and policies.

(vi) The Copyright Office may refer any overdraft in a closed deposit account for collections.

(6) Further information. For information on deposit accounts, see Circular 5 on the Copyright Office's website, or request a copy at the address specified in § 201.1(b).

(c) Refunds. (1) Money remitted to the Copyright Office for basic, supplementary or renewal registration, including mask works and vessel designs, will not be refunded if the claim is rejected because the material deposited does not constitute copyrightable subject matter or because the claim is invalid for any other reason. Payments made by mistake or in excess of the fee will be refunded, but amounts of $50 or less will not be refunded unless specifically requested. Except for services specified in paragraphs (c)(2) and (3) of this section, before making any refund for fees remitted in relation to non-registration copyright services, the Copyright Office shall deduct an administrative processing fee in an amount equivalent to one hour of the requested service, or the minimum charge for the service.

(2) In instances where money has been remitted to pay for recordation of a document, and it is determined that the document cannot be recorded, the basic recordation fee covering one title will be retained as a filing fee. Any additional money over the basic fee for one title will be refunded, but amounts of $50 or less will not be refunded unless specifically requested.

(3) For services where fees are calculated on an hourly basis, such as preparation of a search report, certification of certain Copyright Office records, or location and retrieval of records, in instances where the request is withdrawn before work is begun by the staff member responsible for providing the service, the Copyright Office will retain half of the hourly charge for administrative expenses, and refund the remaining portion of the fee subject to paragraph (c)(1) of this section. In addition, the fee for an estimate of a search fee is non-refundable. This policy applies to requests to the Records Research and Certification Section, and requests to the Licensing Section.

(d) Return of deposit copies. Copies of works deposited in the Copyright Office pursuant to law are either retained in the Copyright Office, transferred for use in the permanent collections or other uses of the Library of Congress, or disposed of according to law. When an application is rejected, the Copyright Office reserves the right to retain the deposited copies.

[24 FR 4955, June 18, 1959, as amended at 46 FR 25442, May 7, 1981; 56 FR 7813, Feb. 26, 1991; 59 FR 38371, July 28, 1994; 74 FR 32809, July 9, 2009; 76 FR 9231, Feb. 17, 2011; 82 FR 9356, Feb. 6, 2017; 86 FR 32642, June 22, 2021; 87 FR 59308, Sept. 30, 2022]

(a) Definition. Cancellation is an action taken by the Copyright Office whereby either the registration is eliminated on the ground that the registration is invalid under the applicable law and regulations, or the registration number is eliminated and a new registration is made under a different class and number.

(b) General policy. The Copyright Office will cancel a completed registration only in those cases where:

(1) It is clear that no registration should have been made because the work does not constitute copyrightable subject matter or fails to satisfy the other legal and formal requirements for obtaining copyright;

(2) Registration may be authorized but the application, deposit material, or fee does not meet the requirements of the law and Copyright Office regulations, and the Office is unable to get the defect corrected; or

(3) An existing registration in the wrong class is to be replaced by a new registration in the correct class.

(c) Circumstances under which a registration will be cancelled. (1) Where the Copyright Office becomes aware after registration that a work is not copyrightable, either because the authorship is insufficiently creative or the work does not contain authorship subject to copyright, the registration will be cancelled. The copyright claimant will be notified by correspondence of the proposed cancellation and the reasons therefor, and be given 30 days, from the date the Copyright Office letter is sent, to show cause in writing why the cancellation should not be made. If the claimant fails to respond within the 30 day period, or if the Office after considering the response, determines that the registration was made in error and not in accordance with U.S. copyright law, the registration will be cancelled.

(2) When a check received in payment of a registration fee is returned to the Copyright Office marked “insufficient funds” or is otherwise uncollectible the Copyright Office will immediately cancel any registration(s) for which the dishonored check was submitted and will notify the applicant the registration has been cancelled because the check was returned as uncollectible.

(3) Where registration is made in the wrong class, the Copyright Office will cancel the first registration, replace it with a new registration in the correct class, and issue a corrected certificate.

(4) Where registration has been made for a work which appears to be copyrightable but after registration the Copyright Office becomes aware that, on the administrative record before the Office, the statutory requirements have apparently not been satisfied, or that information essential to registration has been omitted entirely from the application or is questionable, or correct deposit material has not been deposited, the Office will correspond with the copyright claimant in an attempt to secure the required information or deposit material or to clarify the information previously given on the application. If the Copyright Office receives no reply to its correspondence within 30 days of the date the letter is sent, or the response does not resolve the substantive defect, the registration will be cancelled. The correspondence will include the reason for the cancellation. The following are examples of instances where a completed registration will be cancelled unless the substantive defect in the registration can be cured:

(i) Eligibility for registration has not been established.

(ii) A work published before March 1, 1989 was registered more than 5 years after the date of first publication and the deposit copy or phonorecord does not contain a statutory copyright notice.

(iii) The deposit copies or phonorecords of a work published before January 1, 1978 do not contain a copyright notice or the notice is defective.

(iv) A renewal claim was registered after the statutory time limits for registration had apparently expired.

(v) The application and copy(s) or phonorecord(s) do not match each other and the Office cannot locate a copy or phonorecord as described in the application elsewhere in the Copyright Office or the Library of Congress.

(vi) The application for registration does not identify a copyright claimant or it appears from the transfer statement on the application or elsewhere that the “claimant” named in the application does not have the right to claim copyright.

(vii) A claim to copyright is based on material added to a preexisting work and a reading of the application in its totality indicates that there is no copyrightable new material on which to base a claim.

(viii) A work subject to the manufacturing provisions of the Act of 1909 was apparently published in violation of those provisions.

(ix) A work is not anonymous or pseudonymous and statements on the application and/or copy vary so much that the author cannot be identified.

(x) Statements on the application conflict or are so unclear that the claimant cannot be adequately identified.

(xi) The requirements for registering a group of related works under section 408(c) of title 17 of the United States Code have not been met.

(d) Minor substantive errors. Where a registration includes minor substantive errors or omissions which would generally have been rectified before registration, the Copyright Office will attempt to rectify the error through correspondence with the applicant. Except in those cases enumerated in paragraph (c) of this section, if the Office is unable for any reason to obtain the correct information or deposit copy, the registration record will be annotated to state the nature of the informality and show that the Copyright Office attempted to correct the registration.

[50 FR 40835, Oct. 7, 1985, as amended at 60 FR 34168, June 30, 1995; 65 FR 39819, June 28, 2000; 66 FR 34372, June 28, 2001; 82 FR 9356, Feb. 6, 2017; 82 FR 29413, June 29, 2017; 85 FR 19667, Apr. 8, 2020]

(a) Declaration of disruption. For purposes of 17 U.S.C. 709, when the Register has determined that there is or has been a general disruption or suspension of postal or other transportation or communications services, including a disruption or suspension of a Copyright Office electronic system, that has delayed the receipt by the Copyright Office of applications, fees, deposits, or any other materials, the Register shall publish an announcement of that determination, stating the date on which the disruption or suspension commenced. The announcement may, if appropriate, limit the means of delivery that are subject to relief pursuant to section 709. Following the cessation of the disruption or suspension of services, the Register shall publish an announcement stating the date on which the disruption or suspension has terminated, and may provide specific instructions on how to make a request under paragraph (b)(1) of this section.

(b) Request for earlier filing date due to disruption—(1) When the Register has declared a disruption. When the Register has made a declaration of disruption under paragraph (a) of this section, any person who, in compliance with any instructions provided by the Register, provides satisfactory evidence as described in paragraph (e) of this section that he or she attempted to deliver an application, fee, deposit, or other material to the Copyright Office, but that receipt by the Copyright Office was delayed due to a general disruption or suspension of postal or other transportation or communications services announced under paragraph (a), shall be assigned, as the date of receipt of the application, fee, deposit, or other material, the date on which the Register determines the material would have been received but for the disruption or suspension of services, so long as the application, fee, deposit, or other material was actually received in the Copyright Office within one month after the date the Register identifies pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section that disruption or suspension of services has terminated. Such requests should be mailed to the address specified in § 201.1(c)(1), or through any other delivery method the Register specifies in a published announcement under paragraph (a) of this section.

(2) With respect to disruption affecting specific submission. In the absence of a declaration of disruption under paragraph (a) of this section, any person who provides satisfactory evidence as described in paragraph (e) of this section that he or she physically delivered or attempted to physically deliver an application, fee, deposit, or other material to the Copyright Office, but that the Office did not receive that material or that it was lost or misplaced by the Office after its delivery to the Office, shall be assigned, as the date of receipt, the date that the Register determines that the material was received or would have been received. Such requests may be mailed to the address specified in § 201.1(c)(1), or through any other delivery method specified by the Copyright Office.

(c) Timing. (1) A request under paragraph (b)(1) of this section shall be made no earlier than the date on which the Register publishes the announcement under paragraph (a) of this section declaring that the disruption or suspension has terminated, and no later than one year after the publication of that announcement.

(2) A request under paragraph (b)(2) of this section shall be made no later than one year after the person physically delivered or attempted to physically deliver the application, fee, deposit, or other material to the Copyright Office.

(d) Return of certificate. In cases where a certificate of registration or a certificate of recordation has already been issued, the original certificate must be returned to the Copyright Office along with the request under paragraph (b) of this section.

(e) Satisfactory evidence. In all cases the Register shall have discretion in determining whether materials submitted with a request under paragraph (b) of this section constitute satisfactory evidence. For purposes of paragraph (b) of this section, satisfactory evidence may include:

(1) A receipt from the United States Postal Service indicating the date on which the United States Postal Service received material for delivery to the Copyright Office by means of first class mail, Priority Mail, or Express Mail;

(2) A receipt from a delivery service such as, or comparable to, United Parcel Service, Federal Express, or Airborne Express, indicating the date on which the delivery service received material for delivery to the Copyright Office; and

(i) The date on which delivery was to be made to the Copyright Office, or

(ii) The period of time (e.g., overnight, or two days) from receipt by the delivery service to the date on which delivery was to be made to the Copyright Office;

(3) A statement under penalty of perjury, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1746, from a person with actual knowledge of the facts relating to the attempt to deliver the material to the Copyright Office, setting forth with particularity facts which satisfy the Register that in the absence of the general disruption or suspension of postal or other transportation or communications services, including a disruption or suspension of a Copyright Office electronic system, or but for the misdelivery, misplacement, or loss of materials sent to the Copyright Office, the material would have been received by the Copyright Office by a particular date; or

(4) Other documentary evidence which the Register deems equivalent to the evidence set forth in paragraphs (e)(1) and (2) of this section.

(f) Presumption of receipt. For purposes of paragraph (b) of this section, the Register shall presume that but for the general disruption or suspension of postal or other transportation or communications services, including a disruption or suspension of a Copyright Office electronic system, or but for the misdelivery, misplacement, or loss of materials sent to the Copyright Office:

(1) Materials deposited with the United States Postal Service for delivery by means of first class mail would have been received in the Copyright Office seven days after deposit with the United States Postal Service;

(2) Materials deposited with the United States Postal Service for delivery by means of Priority Mail would have been received in the Copyright Office three days after deposit with the United States Postal Service;

(3) Materials deposited with the United States Postal Service for delivery by means of Express Mail would have been received in the Copyright Office one day after deposit with the United States Postal Service;

(4) Materials deposited with a delivery service such as, or comparable to, United Parcel Service, Federal Express, or Airborne Express, would have been received in the Copyright Office on the date indicated on the receipt from the delivery service;

(5) Materials submitted or attempted to be submitted through a Copyright Office electronic system would have been received in the Copyright Office on the date the attempt was made. If it is unclear when an attempt was made, the Register will determine the effective date of receipt on a case-by-case basis.

[66 FR 62944, Dec. 4, 2001; 66 FR 63920, Dec. 11, 2001; 73 FR 37838, July 2, 2008; 78 FR 42874, July 18, 2013; 82 FR 9356, Feb. 6, 2017; 82 FR 22887, May 19, 2017]

This section covers notices of termination of transfers and licenses under 17 U.S.C. 203, 304(c), and 304(d). A termination under section 304(d) is possible only if no termination was made under section 304(c), and federal copyright was originally secured on or between January 1, 1923, and October 26, 1939.

(a) Form. The Copyright Office does not provide printed forms for the use of persons serving notices of termination.

(b) Contents. (1) A notice of termination covering the extended renewal term under 17 U.S.C. 304(c) and 304(d) must include a clear identification of each of the following:

(i) Whether the termination is made under section 304(c) or under section 304(d);

(ii) The name of each grantee whose rights are being terminated, or the grantee's successor in title, and each address at which service of the notice is being made;

(iii) The title and the name of at least one author of, and the date copyright was originally secured in, each work to which the notice of termination applies; and, if possible and practicable, the original copyright registration number;

(iv) A brief statement reasonably identifying the grant to which the notice of termination applies;

(v) The effective date of termination;

(vi) If termination is made under section 304(d), a statement that termination of renewal term rights under section 304(c) has not been previously exercised; and

(vii) In the case of a termination of a grant executed by a person or persons other than the author, a listing of the surviving person or persons who executed the grant. In the case of a termination of a grant executed by one or more of the authors of the work where the termination is exercised by the successors of a deceased author, a listing of the names and relationships to that deceased author of all of the following, together with specific indication of the person or persons executing the notice who constitute more than one-half of that author's termination interest: That author's surviving widow or widower; and all of that author's surviving children; and, where any of that author's children are dead, all of the surviving children of any such deceased child of that author; however, instead of the information required by this paragraph (vii), the notice may contain both of the following:

(A) A statement of as much of such information as is currently available to the person or persons signing the notice, with a brief explanation of the reasons why full information is or may be lacking; together with

(B) A statement that, to the best knowledge and belief of the person or persons signing the notice, the notice has been signed by all persons whose signature is necessary to terminate the grant under 17 U.S.C. 304, or by their duly authorized agents.

(2) A notice of termination of an exclusive or nonexclusive grant of a transfer or license of copyright or of any right under a copyright, executed by the author on or after January 1, 1978, under 17 U.S.C. 203, must include a clear identification of each of the following:

(i) A statement that the termination is made under section 203;

(ii) The name of each grantee whose rights are being terminated, or the grantee's successor in title, and each address at which service of the notice is being made;

(iii) The date of execution of the grant being terminated and, if the grant covered the right of publication of a work, the date of publication of the work under the grant;

(iv) For each work to which the notice of termination applies, the title of the work and the name of the author or, in the case of a joint work, the authors who executed the grant being terminated; and, if possible and practicable, the original copyright registration number;

(v) A brief statement reasonably identifying the grant to which the notice of termination applies;

(vi) The effective date of termination; and

(vii) In the case of a termination of a grant executed by one or more of the authors of the work where the termination is exercised by the successors of a deceased author, a listing of the names and relationships to that deceased author of all of the following, together with specific indication of the person or persons executing the notice who constitute more than one-half of that author's termination interest: That author's surviving widow or widower; and all of that author's surviving children; and, where any of that author's children are dead, all of the surviving children of any such deceased child of that author; however, instead of the information required by this paragraph (b)(2)(vii), the notice may contain both of the following:

(A) A statement of as much of such information as is currently available to the person or persons signing the notice, with a brief explanation of the reasons why full information is or may be lacking; together with

(B) A statement that, to the best knowledge and belief of the person or persons signing the notice, the notice has been signed by all persons whose signature is necessary to terminate the grant under 17 U.S.C. 203, or by their duly authorized agents.

(3) Clear identification of the information specified by paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2) of this section requires a complete and unambiguous statement of facts in the notice itself, without incorporation by reference of information in other documents or records.

(c) Signature. (1) In the case of a termination of a grant under section 304(c) or section 304(d) executed by a person or persons other than the author, the notice shall be signed by all of the surviving person or persons who executed the grant, or by their duly authorized agents.

(2) In the case of a termination of a grant under section 304(c) or section 304(d) executed by one or more of the authors of the work, the notice as to any one author's share shall be signed by that author or by his or her duly authorized agent. If that author is dead, the notice shall be signed by the number and proportion of the owners of that author's termination interest required under 17 U.S.C. 304(c) or 304(d), whichever applies, or by their duly authorized agents, and shall contain a brief statement of their relationship or relationships to that author.

(3) In the case of a termination of a grant under section 203 executed by one or more of the authors of the work, the notice shall be signed by each author who is terminating the grant or by his or her duly authorized agent. If that author is dead, the notice shall be signed by the number and proportion of the owners of that author's termination interest required under 17 U.S.C. 203, or by their duly authorized agents, and shall contain a brief statement of their relationship or relationships to that author.

(4) Where a signature is by a duly authorized agent, it shall clearly identify the person or persons on whose behalf the agent is acting.

(5) The handwritten signature of each person effecting the termination shall either be accompanied by a statement of the full name and address of that person, typewritten or printed legibly by hand, or shall clearly correspond to such a statement elsewhere in the notice.

(d) Service. (1) The notice of termination shall be served upon each grantee whose rights are being terminated, or the grantee's successor in title, by:

(i) Personal service;

(ii) First class mail sent or by reputable courier service delivered to an address which, after a reasonable investigation, is found to be the last known address of the grantee or successor in title; or

(iii) Means of electronic transmission to:

(A) An email address designated for service of notices of termination and/or legal process that is listed as such on the website of the grantee or successor in title in a location accessible to the public;

(B) An email address provided to the terminating party by the grantee or successor in title, provided that the grantee, successor in title, or an agent thereof who is duly authorized to accept service on behalf of the grantee or successor in title expressly consents in writing to accept service at the address provided within thirty days before such service is made; or

(C) An email address for the grantee or successor in title provided in accordance with instructions provided on the Office's website in a public directory that the Office in its discretion may establish and maintain.

(2) The service provision of 17 U.S.C. 203, 304(c), or 304(d), whichever applies, will be satisfied if, before the notice of termination is served, a reasonable investigation is made by the person or persons executing the notice as to the current ownership of the rights being terminated, and based on such investigation:

(i) If there is no reason to believe that such rights have been transferred by the grantee to a successor in title, the notice is served on the grantee; or

(ii) If there is reason to believe that such rights have been transferred by the grantee to a particular successor in title, the notice is served on such successor in title.

(3) For purposes of paragraph (d)(2) of this section, a reasonable investigation includes, but is not limited to, a search of the records in the Copyright Office; in the case of a musical composition with respect to which performing rights are licensed by a performing rights society, a reasonable investigation also includes a report from that performing rights society identifying the person or persons claiming current ownership of the rights being terminated.

(4) Compliance with the provisions of paragraphs (d)(2) and (d)(3) of this section will satisfy the service requirements of 17 U.S.C. 203, 304(c), or 304(d), whichever applies. However, as long as the statutory requirements have been met, the failure to comply with the regulatory provisions of paragraph (d)(2) or (d)(3) of this section will not affect the validity of the service.

(e) Harmless errors. (1) Harmless errors in a notice, statement of service, or indexing information provided electronically or in a cover sheet shall not render the notice invalid. For purposes of this paragraph, an error is “harmless” if it does not materially affect the adequacy of the information required to serve the purposes of 17 U.S.C. 203, 304(c), or 304(d), whichever applies.

(2) Without prejudice to the general rule provided by paragraph (e)(1) of this section, errors made in giving the date or registration number referred to in paragraph (b)(1)(iii), (b)(2)(iii), or (b)(2)(iv) of this section, or in complying with the provisions of paragraph (b)(1)(vii) or (b)(2)(vii) of this section, or in describing the precise relationships under paragraph (c)(2) or (c)(3) of this section, shall not affect the validity of the notice if the errors were made in good faith and without any intention to deceive, mislead, or conceal relevant information.

(f) Recordation. Except as otherwise provided pursuant to paragraph (f)(6) of this section, a copy of a notice of termination shall be recorded in the Copyright Office as required by 17 U.S.C. 203(a)(4)(A), 17 U.S.C. 304(c)(4)(A), or 17 U.S.C. 304(d)(1) if it meets the requirements of paragraph (f)(1) of this section, is submitted in compliance with paragraph (f)(2) of this section, and is accompanied by the fee specified in § 201.3(c). The Office may reject any notice submitted for recordation that fails to comply with 17 U.S.C. 203(a), 17 U.S.C. 304(c), 17 U.S.C. 304(d), the requirements of this section, or any relevant instructions or guidance provided by the Office.

(1) Requirements. The following requirements must be met before a copy of a notice of termination may be recorded in the Copyright Office.

(i) What must be submitted—(A) Copy of notice of termination. A copy of a notice of termination submitted for recordation must be, and be certified to be, a true, correct, complete, and legible copy of the signed notice of termination as served. Where separate copies of the same notice were served on more than one grantee or successor-in-title, only one copy need be submitted for recordation.

(B) Statement of service. The copy submitted for recordation must be accompanied by a statement setting forth the date on which the notice was served and the manner of service, unless such information is contained in the notice. In instances where service is made by first class mail, the date of service shall be the day the notice of termination was deposited with the United States Postal Service.

(ii) Timeliness. (A) The Copyright Office may refuse recordation of a notice of termination as such if, in the judgment of the Copyright Office, such notice of termination is untimely. Conditions under which a notice of termination may be considered untimely include: the effective date of termination does not fall within the five-year period described in section 203(a)(3) or section 304(c)(3), as applicable, of title 17, United States Code; the documents submitted indicate that the notice of termination was served less than two or more than ten years before the effective date of termination; or the date of recordation is on or after the effective date of termination.

(B) If a notice of termination is untimely, the Office will offer to record the document as a “document pertaining to a copyright” pursuant to § 201.4, but the Office will not index the document as a notice of termination.

(C) In any case where an author agreed, prior to January 1, 1978, to a grant of a transfer or license of rights in a work that was not created until on or after January 1, 1978, a notice of termination of a grant under section 203 of title 17 may be recorded if it recites, as the date of execution, the date on which the work was created.

(2) Paper submission procedure—(i) Process. A copy of a notice of termination may be submitted for recordation by sending it to the appropriate address in § 201.1(c) or to such other address as the Office may specify, accompanied by a cover sheet, the statement of service, and the proper fee.

(ii) Cover sheet required. Submission of a copy of a notice of termination must be accompanied by a completed Recordation Notice of Termination Cover Sheet (Form TCS), available on the Copyright Office Web site. Remitters must follow all instructions provided by the Office in completing Form TCS, including by providing all requested indexing information. Form TCS may be used to provide the statement of service and to make any of the certifications required by this paragraph (f). Form TCS will not be considered part of the recorded notice, but will be used by the Office for examination, indexing, and other administrative purposes. The Office may reject any notice submitted for recordation that includes an improperly prepared cover sheet.

(iii) Return receipt. If a remitter includes two copies of a properly completed Form TCS indicating that a return receipt is requested, as well as a self-addressed, postage-paid envelope, the remitter will receive a date-stamped return receipt attached to the extra copy acknowledging the Copyright Office's receipt of the enclosed submission. The completed copies of Form TCS and the self-addressed, postage-paid envelope must be included in the same package as the submitted notice. A return receipt confirms the Office's receipt of the submission as of the date indicated, but does not establish eligibility for, or the date of, recordation.

(iv) Remitter certification. The remitter must certify that he or she has appropriate authority to submit the notice for recordation and that all information submitted to the Office by the remitter is true, accurate, and complete to the best of the remitter's knowledge.

(3) Date of recordation. The date of recordation is the date when a copy of the notice of termination is received in the Copyright Office. After recordation, the notice, including any accompanying statement, is returned to the sender with a certificate of recordation.

(4) Effect of recordation. The fact that the Office has recorded a notice is not a determination by the Office of the notice's validity or legal effect. Recordation of a notice of termination by the Copyright Office is without prejudice to any party claiming that the legal or formal requirements for effectuating termination (including the requirements pertaining to service and recordation of the notice of termination) have not been met, including before a court of competent jurisdiction.

(5) Reliance on remitter-provided information. The Copyright Office will rely on the certifications submitted with a notice and the information provided by the remitter on Form TCS and, if provided, in an accompanying statement of service. The Office will not necessarily confirm the accuracy of such certifications or information against the submitted notice.

(6) Pilot program for electronic submission. The Copyright Office is implementing a limited pilot program through which certain types of documents may be electronically submitted for recordation online by certain remitters (“pilot remitters”). This paragraph (f)(6) shall govern such submissions for notices of termination to the extent they are permitted under the pilot program.

(i) Electronic submission. Pilot remitters may submit permitted types of notices for recordation using the Copyright Office's electronic system pursuant to this section and special pilot program rules provided to pilot remitters by the Office.

(ii) Participation. No remitter may participate in the pilot program without the permission of the Copyright Office. Participation in the pilot program is optional and pilot remitters may continue to submit notices for recordation pursuant to paragraph (f)(2) of this section.

(iii) Conflicting rules. To the extent any special pilot program rule conflicts with this section or any other regulation, rule, instruction, or guidance issued by the Copyright Office, such pilot program rule shall govern submissions made pursuant to the pilot program.

(iv) Reliance on remitter-provided information. Paragraph (f)(5) of this section shall apply to all certifications and information provided to the Office through the electronic system.

(v) Date of recordation. In any situation where the date of recordation for a submission cannot be established or, if established, would ordinarily be changed, if due to an issue with the electronic system, the Office may assign an equitable date as the date of recordation.

(Pub. L. 94-553; 17 U.S.C. 304(c), 702, 708(11)) [42 FR 45920, Sept. 13, 1977, as amended at 56 FR 59885, Nov. 26, 1991; 60 FR 34168, June 30, 1995; 64 FR 29521, June 1, 1999; 64 FR 36574, July 7, 1999; 66 FR 34372, June 28, 2001; 67 FR 69136, Nov. 15, 2002; 67 FR 78176, Dec. 23, 2002; 68 FR 16959, Apr. 8, 2003; 71 FR 36486, June 27, 2006; 74 FR 12556, Mar. 25, 2009; 76 FR 32320, June 6, 2011; 78 FR 42874, July 18, 2013; 82 FR 9356, Feb. 6, 2017; 82 FR 52220, Nov. 13, 2017; 85 FR 3855, Jan. 23, 2020; 86 FR 11641, Feb. 26, 2021]

(a) General. This section prescribes rules pertaining to the deposit of Statements of Account and royalty fees in the Copyright Office as required by the satellite carrier license of 17 U.S.C. 119(b)(1), as amended by Public Law 111-175, in order for certain secondary transmissions by satellite carriers for private home viewing to be subject to statutory licensing.

(b) Definitions. (1) The terms distributor, network station, private home viewing, satellite carrier, subscribe, subscriber, non-network station, unserved household, primary stream, and multicast stream, have the meanings set forth in 17 U.S.C. 119(d), as amended by Public Law 111-175.

(2) The terms primary transmission and secondary transmission have the meanings set forth in section 111(f) of title 17 of the United States Code.

(c) Accounting periods and deposit. (1) Statements of Account shall cover semiannual accounting periods of January 1 through June 30, and July 1 through December 31, and shall be deposited in the Copyright Office, together with the total statutory royalty fee or the confirmed arbitration royalty fee for such accounting periods as prescribed by 17 U.S.C. 119(b)(1)(B), by no later than July 30, if the Statement of Account covers the January 1 through June 30 accounting period, and by no later than the immediately following January 30, if the Statement of Account covers the July 1 through December 31 accounting period.

(2) Upon receiving a Statement of Account and royalty fee, the Copyright Office will make an official record of the actual date when such statement and fee were physically received in the Copyright Office. Thereafter, the Licensing Section of the Copyright Office will examine the statement and fee for obvious errors or omissions appearing on the face of the documents, and will require that any such obvious errors or omissions be corrected before final processing of the documents is completed. If, as the result of communications between the Copyright Office and the satellite carrier, an additional fee is deposited or changes or additions are made in the Statement of Account, the date that additional deposit or information was actually received in the Office will be added to the official record of the case. However, completion by the Copyright Office of the final processing of a Statement of Account and royalty fee deposit shall establish only the fact of such completion and the date or dates of receipt shown in the official record. It shall in no case be considered a determination that the Statement of Account was, in fact, properly prepared and accurate, that the correct amount of the royalty fee had been deposited, that the statutory time limits for filing had been met, or that any other requirements to qualify for a statutory license have been satisfied.

(3) Statements of Account and royalty fees received before the end of the particular accounting period they purport to cover will not be processed by the Copyright Office. Statements of Account and royalty fees received after the filing deadlines of July 30 or January 30, respectively, will be accepted for whatever legal effect they may have, if any.

(4) In the Register's discretion, four years after the close of any calendar year, the Register may close out the royalty payments account for that calendar year, and may treat any funds remaining in such account and any subsequent deposits that would otherwise be attributable to that calendar year as attributable to the succeeding calendar year.

(d) Forms. (1) Each Statement of Account shall be furnished on an appropriate form prescribed by the Copyright Office, and shall contain the information required by that form and its accompanying instructions. Computation of the copyright royalty fee shall be in accordance with the procedures set forth in the forms. Copies of Statement of Account forms are available free from the Copyright Office website.

(2) The form prescribed by the Copyright Office is designated “ Form SC (Statement of Account for Secondary Transmissions by Satellite Carriers of Distant Television Signals).”

(e) Contents. Each Statement of Account shall contain the following information:

(1) A clear designation of the accounting period covered by the Statement.

(2) The designation “Owner” followed by:

(i) The full legal name of the satellite carrier. If the owner is a partnership, the name of the partnership is to be followed by the name of at least one individual partner;

(ii) Any other name or names under which the owner conducts the business of the satellite carrier; and

(iii) The full mailing address of the owner. Ownership, other names under which the owner conducts the business of the satellite carrier, and the owner's mailing address shall reflect facts existing on the last day of the accounting period covered by the Statement of Account.

(3) The designation “Primary Transmitters,” followed by the call signs, broadcast channel numbers, station locations (city and state of license), and a notation whether that primary transmitter is a “non-network station” or “network station” transmitted to any or all of the subscribers of the satellite carrier during any portion of the period covered by the Statement of Account.

(4) The designation “non-network station,” followed by:

(i) The call sign of each non-network station signal carried for each month of the period covered by the Statement, and

(ii) The total number of subscribers to each non-network station for each month of the period covered by the Statement. This number is the number of subscribers to each non-network station receiving the retransmission on the last day of each month.

(5) The designation “Network Stations,” followed by:

(i) The call sign of each network station carried for each month of the period covered by the Statement, and

(ii) The total number of subscribers to each network station for each month of the period covered by the Statement. This number is the number of subscribers to each network station receiving the retransmission on the last day of each month.

(6) The total number of subscribers to each non-network station for the six-month period covered by the Statement multiplied by the statutory royalty rate prescribed in § 386.2 of this chapter.

(7) The total number of subscribers to each network station for the six-month period covered by the Statement multiplied by the statutory royalty rate prescribed in § 386.2 of this chapter.

(8) The name, address, business title, and telephone number of the individual or individuals to be contacted for information or questions concerning the content of the Statement of Account.

(9) A legally binding signature, including an electronic signature as defined in 15 U.S.C. 7006, of:

(i) The owner of the satellite carrier or a duly authorized agent of the owner, if the owner is not a partnership or a corporation; or

(ii) A partner, if the owner is a partnership; or

(iii) An officer of the corporation, if the owner is a corporation. The signature shall be accompanied by:

(A) The printed or typewritten name of the person signing the Statement of Account;

(B) The date of signature;

(C) If the owner of the satellite carrier is a partnership or a corporation, by the title or official position held in the partnership or corporation by the person signing the Statement of Account;

(D) A certification of the capacity of the person signing; and

(E) The following statement:

I, the undersigned Owner or Agent of the Satellite Carrier, or Officer or Partner, if the Satellite Carrier is a Corporation or Partnership, have examined this Statement of Account and hereby declare under penalty of law that all statements of fact contained herein are true, complete, and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief, and are made in good faith.

(18 U.S.C., section 1001 (1986))

(f) Royalty fee payment. (1) All royalty fees shall be paid by electronic funds transfer and payment must be received in the designated bank by the filing deadline for the relevant accounting period. The following information shall be provided as part of the EFT and/or as part of the remittance advice as provided for in circulars issued by the Copyright Office:

(i) Remitter's name and address;

(ii) Name of a contact person, telephone number and extension, and email address;

(iii) The actual or anticipated date that the EFT will be transmitted;

(iv) Type of royalty payment (i.e., satellite);

(v) Total amount submitted via the EFT;

(vi) Total amount to be paid by year and period;

(vii) Number of Statements of Account that the EFT covers;

(viii) ID numbers assigned by the Licensing Section;

(ix) Legal name of the owner for each Statement of Account.

(2) The remittance advice shall be attached to the Statement(s) of Account. In addition, a copy of the remittance advice shall be emailed or sent by facsimile to the Licensing Section.

(3) The Office may waive the requirement for payment by electronic funds transfer as set forth in paragraph (f)(1) of this section. To obtain a waiver, the remitter shall submit to the Licensing Section at least 60 days prior to the royalty fee due date a certified statement setting forth the reasons explaining why payment by an electronic funds transfer would be virtually impossible or, alternatively, why it would impose a financial or other hardship on the remitter. The certified statement must be signed by a duly authorized representative of the entity making the payment. A waiver shall cover only a single payment period. Failure to obtain a waiver may result in the remittance being returned to the remitter.

(g) Copies of statements of account. A licensee shall file an original and one copy of the statement of account with the Licensing Section of the Copyright Office.

(h) Corrections, supplemental payments, and refunds. (1) Upon compliance with the procedures and within the time limits set forth in paragraph (h)(3) of this section, corrections to Statements of Account will be placed on record, supplemental royalty fee payments will be received for deposit, or refunds will be issued, in the following cases:

(i) Where, with respect to the accounting period covered by a Statement of Account, any of the information given in the Statement filed in the Copyright Office is incorrect or incomplete; or

(ii) Where calculation of the royalty fee payable for a particular accounting period was incorrect, and the amount deposited in the Copyright Office for that period was either too high or too low.

(2) Corrections to Statements of Account will not be placed on record, supplemental royalty fee payments will not be received for deposit, and refunds will not be issued, where the information in the Statements of Account, the royalty fee calculations, or the payments were correct as of the date on which the accounting period ended, but changes (for example, addition or deletion of a signal) took place later.

(3) Requests that corrections to a Statement of Account be placed on record, that fee payments be accepted, or requests for the issuance of refunds, shall be made only in the cases mentioned in paragraph (h)(1) of this section. Such requests shall be addressed to the Licensing Section of the Copyright Office, and shall meet the following conditions:

(i) The request must be in writing, must clearly identify its purpose, and, in the case of a request for a refund, must be received in the Copyright Office before the expiration of 30 days from the last day of the applicable Statement of Account filing period, or before the expiration of 30 days from the date of receipt at the Copyright Office of the royalty payment that is the subject of the request, whichever time period is longer. Telephone or similar unsigned requests that meet these conditions may be permitted, where a follow-up written request detailing the same information is received by the Copyright Office within fourteen days after the required thirty-day period.

(ii) The Statement of Account to which the request pertains must be sufficiently identified in the request (by inclusion of the name of the owner of the satellite carrier and the accounting period in question) so that it can be readily located in the records of the Copyright Office.

(iii) The request must contain a clear statement of the facts on which it is based and provide a clear basis on which a refund may be granted, in accordance with the following procedures:

(A) In the case of a request filed under paragraph (h)(1)(i) of this section, where the information given in the Statement of Account is incorrect or incomplete, the request must clearly identify the erroneous or incomplete information and provide the correct or additional information; or

(B) In the case of a request filed under paragraph (h)(1)(ii) of this section, where the royalty fee was miscalculated and the amount deposited in the Copyright Office was either too high or too low, the request must be accompanied by an affidavit under the official seal of any officer authorized to administer oaths within the United States, or a statement in accordance with section 1746 of title 28 of the United States Code, made and signed in accordance with paragraph (e)(9) of this section. The affidavit or statement shall describe the reasons why the royalty fee was improperly calculated and include a detailed analysis of the proper royalty calculation.

(iv)(A) All requests filed under this paragraph (h) must be accompanied by a filing fee in the amount prescribed in § 201.3(e) of this part for each Statement of Account involved. Payment of this fee may be in the form of a personal or company check, or of a certified check, cashier's check or money order, payable to: Register of Copyrights. No request will be processed until the appropriate filing fees are received.

(B) All requests that a supplemental royalty fee payment be received for deposit under this paragraph (h) must be accompanied by a remittance in the full amount of such fee. Payment of the supplemental royalty fee must be in the form of certified check, cashier's check, or money order, payable to: Register of Copyrights; or electronic payment. No such request will be processed until an acceptable remittance in the full amount of the supplemental royalty fee has been received.

(v) All requests submitted under this paragraph (h) must be signed by the satellite carrier owner named in the Statement of Account, or the duly authorized agent of the owner, in accordance with paragraph (e)(9) of this section.

(vi) A request for a refund is not necessary where the Licensing Section, during its examination of a Statement of Account or related document, discovers an error that has resulted in a royalty overpayment. In this case, the Licensing Section will forward the royalty refund to the satellite carrier owner named in the Statement of Account without regard to the time limitations provided for in paragraph (h)(3)(i) of this section.

(4) Following final processing, all requests submitted under this paragraph (h) will be filed with the original Statement of Account in the records of the Copyright Office. Nothing contained in this paragraph shall be considered to relieve satellite carriers from their full obligations under title 17 of the United States Code, and the filing of a correction or supplemental payment shall have only such effect as may be attributed to it by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(i) Interest. (1) Royalty fee payments submitted as a result of late or amended filings will include interest. Interest will begin to accrue beginning on the first day after the close of the period for filing statements of account for all underpayments or late payments of royalties for the satellite carrier statutory license for secondary transmissions for private home viewing and viewing in commercial establishments occurring within that accounting period. The accrual period shall end on the date the electronic payment submitted by a satellite carrier is received by the Copyright Office. In cases where a waiver of the electronic funds transfer requirement is approved by the Copyright Office, and royalties payments are either late or underpaid, the accrual period shall end on the date the payment is postmarked. If the payment is not received by the Copyright Office within five business days of its date, then the accrual period shall end on the date of the actual receipt by the Copyright Office.

(2)(i) The interest rate applicable to a specific accounting period beginning with the 1992/2 period shall be the Current Value of Funds Rate, as established by section 8025.40 of the Treasury Financial Manual and published in the Federal Register, in effect on the first business day after the close of the filing deadline for that accounting period. Satellite carriers wishing to obtain the interest rate for a specific accounting period may do so by consulting the Federal Register for the applicable Current Value of Funds Rate, or by contacting the Licensing Section of the Copyright Office.

(ii) The interest rate applicable to a specific accounting period earlier than the 1992/2 period shall be the rate fixed by the Licensing Section of the Copyright Office pursuant to 37 CFR 201.11(h) in effect on June 30, 1992.

(3) Interest is not required to be paid on any royalty underpayment or late payment from a particular accounting period if the interest charge is less than or equal to five dollars ($5.00).

[54 FR 27877, July 3, 1989, as amended at 55 FR 49998, Dec. 4, 1990; 56 FR 29589, June 28, 1991; 57 FR 61834, Dec. 29, 1992; 59 FR 67635, Dec. 30, 1994; 60 FR 34168, June 30, 1995; 60 FR 57937, Nov. 24, 1995; 63 FR 30635, June 5, 1998; 64 FR 36574, July 7, 1999; 70 FR 30366, May 26, 2005; 70 FR 38022, July 1, 2005; 71 FR 45739, Aug. 10, 2006; 72 FR 33691, June 19, 2007; 73 FR 29072, May 20, 2008; 75 FR 56872, Sept. 17, 2010; 78 FR 42874, July 18, 2013; 82 FR 9357, Feb. 6, 2017; 83 FR 51841, Oct. 15, 2018; 85 FR 19667, Apr. 8, 2020; 86 FR 32642, June 22, 2021]

(a) Written, nonprofit contracts providing for the equitable sharing of costs of videotapes and their transfer, as identified in 17 U.S.C. 111(e)(2), will be filed in the Copyright Office Licensing Section by recordation upon payment of the prescribed fee. The document submitted for recordation shall meet the following requirements:

(1) It shall be an original instrument of contract; or it shall be a copy of an original, accompanied by a certification that shall include a legally binding signature, including an electronic signature as defined in 15 U.S.C. 7006, of at least one of the parties to the contract, or an authorized representative of that party, that the reproduction is a true copy;

(2) It shall bear the signatures of all persons identified as parties to the contract, or of their authorized agents or representatives;

(3) It shall be complete on its face, and shall include any schedules, appendixes, or other attachments referred to in the instrument as being part of it; and

(4) It shall be clearly identified, in its body or a covering transmittal letter, as being submitted for recordation under 17 U.S.C. 111(e).

(b) The fee for recordation of a document is prescribed in § 201.3(e).

(c) The date of recordation is the date when all of the elements required for recordation, including the prescribed fee, have been received in the Copyright Office. A document is filed in the Copyright Office and a filing in the Copyright Office takes place on the date of recordation. After recordation the document is returned to the sender with a certificate of recordation.

(Pub. L. 94-553; 17 U.S.C. 111, 702, 708(11)) [42 FR 53961, Oct. 4, 1977, as amended at 56 FR 59885, Nov. 26, 1991; 64 FR 29521, June 1, 1999; 82 FR 9357, Feb. 6, 2017; 85 FR 19667, Apr. 8, 2020; 86 FR 32642, June 22, 2021]

(a) Definitions. (1) A Notice of Objection is a notice, as required by 17 U.S.C. 110(4), to be served as a condition of preventing the noncommercial performance of a nondramatic literary or musical work under certain circumstances.

(2) For purposes of this section, the copyright owner of a nondramatic literary or musical work is the author of the work (including, in the case of a work made for hire, the employer or other person for whom the work was prepared), or a person or organization that has obtained ownership of the exclusive right, initially owned by the author of performance of the type referred to in 17 U.S.C. 110(4). If the other requirements of this section are met, a Notice of Objection may cover the works of more than one copyright owner.

(b) Form. The Copyright Office does not provide printed forms for the use of persons serving Notices of Objection.

(c) Contents. (1) A Notice of Objection must clearly state that the copyright owner objects to the performance, and must include all of the following:

(i) Reference to the statutory authority on which the Notice of Objection is based, either by citation of 17 U.S.C. 110(4) or by a more general characterization or description of that statutory provision;

(ii) The date and place of the performance to which an objection is being made; however, if the exact date or place of a particular performance, or both, are not known to the copyright owner, it is sufficient if the Notice describes whatever information the copyright owner has about the date and place of a particular performance, and the source of that information unless the source was considered private or confidential;

(iii) Clear identification, by title and at least one author, of the particular nondramatic literary or musical work or works, to the performance of which the copyright owner thereof is lodging objection; a Notice may cover any number of separately identified copyrighted works owned by the copyright owner or owners serving the objection. Alternatively, a blanket notice, with or without separate identification of certain copyrighted works, and purporting to cover one or more groups of copyrighted works not separately identified by title and author, shall have effect if the conditions specified in paragraph (c)(2) of this section are met; and

(iv) A concise statement of the reasons for the objection.

(2) A blanket notice purporting to cover one or more groups of copyrighted works not separately identified by title and author shall be valid only if all of the following conditions are met:

(i) The Notice shall identify each group of works covered by the blanket notice by a description of any common characteristics distinguishing them from other copyrighted works, such as common author, common copyright owner, common publisher, or common licensing agent;

(ii) The Notice shall identify a particular individual whom the person responsible for the performance can contact for more detailed information about the works covered by the blanket notice and to determine whether a particular work planned for performance is in fact covered by the Notice. Such identification shall include the full name and business and residence addresses of the individual, telephone numbers at which the individual can be reached throughout the period between service of the notice and the performance, and name, addresses, and telephone numbers of another individual to contact during that period in case the first cannot be reached.

(iii) If the copyright owner or owners of all works covered by the blanket notice is not identified in the Notice, the Notice shall include an offer to identify, by name and last known address, the owner or owners of any and all such works, upon request made to the individual referred to in paragraph (c)(2)(ii) of this section.

(3) A Notice of Objection must also include clear and prominent statements explaining that:

(i) A failure to exclude the works identified in the Notice from the performance in question may subject the person responsible for the performance to liability for copyright infringement; and

(ii) The objection is without legal effect if there is no direct or indirect admission charge for the performance, and if the other conditions of 17 U.S.C. 110(4) are met.

(d) Signature and identification. (1) A Notice of Objection shall be in writing and signed by each copyright owner, or such owner's duly authorized agent, as required by 17 U.S.C. 110(4)(B)(i).

(2) The signature of each owner or agent shall be an actual handwritten signature of an individual, accompanied by the date of signature and the full name, address, and telephone number of that person, typewritten or printed legibly by hand.

(3) If a Notice of Objection is initially served in the form of an email, fax, or similar communication, as provided by paragraph (e) of this section, the requirement for an individual's handwritten signature shall be considered waived if the further conditions of paragraph (e) are met.

(e) Service. (1) A Notice of Objection shall be served on the person responsible for the performance at least seven days before the date of the performance, as provided by 17 U.S.C. 110 (4)(B)(ii).

(2) Service of the Notice may be effected by any of the following methods:

(i) Personal service;

(ii) First-class mail;

(iii) Email, fax, or similar form of communication, if:

(A) The Notice meets all of the other conditions provided by this section; and

(B) Before the performance takes place, the person responsible for the performance receives written confirmation of the Notice, bearing the actual handwritten signature of each copyright owner or duly authorized agent.

(3) The date of service is the date the Notice of Objection is received by the person responsible for the performance or any agent or employee of that person.

(Pub. L. 94-553; 17 U.S.C. 110(4), 702) [42 FR 64684, Dec. 28, 1977, as amended at 82 FR 9357, Feb. 6, 2017]

(a) Definitions. (1) A Display Warning of Copyright is a notice under paragraphs (d)(2) and (e)(2) of section 108 of title 17 of the United States Code. As required by those sections the “Display Warning of Copyright” is to be displayed at the place where orders for copies or phonorecords are accepted by certain libraries and archives.

(2) An Order Warning of Copyright is a notice under paragraphs (d)(2) and (e)(2) of section 108 of title 17 of the United States Code. As required by those sections the “Order Warning of Copyright” is to be included on printed forms supplied by certain libraries and archives and used by their patrons for ordering copies or phonorecords.

(b) Contents. A Display Warning of Copyright and an Order Warning of Copyright shall consist of a verbatim reproduction of the following notice, printed in such size and form and displayed in such manner as to comply with paragraph (c) of this section:

notice warning concerning copyright restrictions

The copyright law of the United States (title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

(c) Form and manner of use. (1) A Display Warning of Copyright shall be printed on heavy paper or other durable material in type at least 18 points in size, and shall be displayed prominently, in such manner and location as to be clearly visible, legible, and comprehensible to a casual observer within the immediate vicinity of the place where orders are accepted.

(2) An Order Warning of Copyright shall be printed within a box located prominently on the order form itself, either on the front side of the form or immediately adjacent to the space calling for the name or signature of the person using the form. The notice shall be printed in type size no smaller than that used predominantly throughout the form, and in no case shall the type size be smaller than eight points. The notice shall be printed in such manner as to be clearly legible, comprehensible, and readily apparent to a casual reader of the form.

(Pub. L. 94-553; 17 U.S.C. 108, 702) [42 FR 59265, Nov. 16, 1977, as amended at 82 FR 9357, Feb. 6, 2017]

(a) General. This section prescribes procedures pertaining to the verification of a Statement of Account filed with the Copyright Office pursuant to sections 111(d)(1) or 119(b)(1) of title 17 of the United States Code.

(b) Definitions. As used in this section:

(1) The term cable system has the meaning set forth in § 201.17(b)(2).

(2) Copyright owner means any person or entity that owns the copyright in a work embodied in a secondary transmission made by a statutory licensee that filed a Statement of Account with the Copyright Office for an accounting period beginning on or after January 1, 2010, or a designated agent or representative of such person or entity.

(3) Multiple system operator or MSO means an entity that owns, controls, or operates more than one cable system.

(4) Net aggregate underpayment means the aggregate amount of underpayments found by the auditor less the aggregate amount of any overpayments found by the auditor, as measured against the total amount of royalties reflected on the Statements of Account examined by the auditor.

(5) Participating copyright owner means a copyright owner that filed a notice of intent to audit a Statement of Account pursuant to paragraph (c)(1) or (2) of this section and any other copyright owner that has given notice of its intent to participate in such audit pursuant to paragraph (c)(3) of this section.

(6) The term satellite carrier has the meaning set forth in 17 U.S.C. 119(d)(6).

(7) The term secondary transmission has the meaning set forth in 17 U.S.C. 111(f)(2).

(8) Statement of Account or Statement means a semiannual Statement of Account filed with the Copyright Office under 17 U.S.C. 111(d)(1) or 119(b)(1) or an amended Statement of Account filed with the Office pursuant to §§ 201.11(h) or 201.17(m).

(9) Statutory licensee or licensee means a cable system or satellite carrier that filed a Statement of Account with the Office under 17 U.S.C. 111(d)(1) or 119(b)(1).

(c) Notice of intent to audit. (1) Any copyright owner that intends to audit a Statement of Account for an accounting period beginning on or after January 1, 2010 must provide written notice to the Register of Copyrights no later than three years after the last day of the year in which the Statement was filed with the Office. The notice must be received in the Office on or after December 1st and no later than December 31st, and a copy of the notice must be provided to the statutory licensee on the same day that it is filed with the Office. Between January 1st and January 31st of the next calendar year the Office will publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing the receipt of the notice of intent to audit. A notice of intent to audit may be filed by an individual copyright owner or a designated agent that represents a group or multiple groups of copyright owners. The notice shall include a statement indicating that it is a “notice of intent to audit” and it shall contain the following information:

(i) It shall identify the licensee that filed the Statement(s) with the Office, and the Statement(s) and accounting period(s) that will be subject to the audit.

(ii) It shall identify the party that filed the notice, including its name, address, telephone number, and email address, and it shall include a statement that the party owns or represents one or more copyright owners that own a work that was embodied in a secondary transmission made by the statutory licensee during one or more of the accounting period(s) specified in the Statement(s) that will be subject to the audit.

(2) Notwithstanding the schedule set forth in paragraph (c)(1) of this section, any copyright owner that intends to audit a Statement of Account pursuant to an expanded audit under paragraph (n) of this section may provide written notice of such to the Register of Copyrights during any month, but no later than three years after the last day of the year in which the Statement was filed with the Office. A copy of the notice must be provided to the licensee on the same day that the notice is filed with the Office. Within thirty days after the notice has been received, the Office will publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing the receipt of the notice of intent to conduct an expanded audit. A notice given pursuant to this paragraph may be provided by an individual copyright owner or a designated agent that represents a group or multiple groups of copyright owners. The notice shall include a statement indicating that it is a “notice of intent to conduct an expanded audit” and it shall contain the information specified in paragraphs (c)(1)(i) and (ii) of this section.

(3) Within thirty days after a notice is published in the Federal Register pursuant to paragraphs (c)(1) or (2) of this section, any other copyright owner that owns a work that was embodied in a secondary transmission made by that statutory licensee during an accounting period covered by the Statement(s) of Account referenced in the Federal Register notice and that wishes to participate in the audit of such Statement(s) must provide written notice of such participation to the Copyright Office as well as to the licensee and party that filed the notice of intent to audit. A notice given pursuant to this paragraph may be provided by an individual copyright owner or a designated agent that represents a group or multiple groups of copyright owners, and shall include the information specified in paragraphs (c)(1)(i) and (ii) of this section.

(4) Notices submitted to the Office under paragraphs (c)(1) through (3) of this section should be addressed to the “U.S. Copyright Office, Office of the General Counsel” and should be sent to the address for time-sensitive requests set forth in § 201.1(c)(1).

(5) Once the Office has received a notice of intent to audit a Statement of Account under paragraphs (c)(1) or (2) of this section, a notice of intent to audit that same Statement will not be accepted for publication in the Federal Register.

(6) Once the Office has received a notice of intent to audit two Statements of Account filed by a particular satellite carrier or a particular cable system, a notice of intent to audit that same carrier or that same system under paragraph (c)(1) of this section will not be accepted for publication in the Federal Register until the following calendar year.

(d) Selection of the auditor. (1) Within forty-five days after a notice is published in the Federal Register pursuant to paragraph (c)(1) of this section, the participating copyright owners shall provide the statutory licensee with a list of three independent and qualified auditors, along with information reasonably sufficient for the licensee to evaluate the proposed auditors' independence and qualifications, including:

(i) The auditor's curriculum vitae and a list of audits that the auditor has conducted pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 111(d)(6) or 119(b)(2);

(ii) A list and, subject to any confidentiality or other legal restrictions, a brief description of any other work the auditor has performed for any of the participating copyright owners during the prior two calendar years;

(iii) A list identifying the participating copyright owners for whom the auditor's firm has been engaged during the prior two calendar years; and,

(iv) A copy of the engagement letter that would govern the auditor's performance of the audit and that provides for the auditor to be compensated on a non-contingent flat fee or hourly basis that does not take into account the results of the audit.

(2) Within five business days after receiving the list of auditors from the participating copyright owners, the licensee shall select one of the proposed auditors and shall notify the participating copyright owners of its selection. That auditor shall be retained by the participating copyright owners and shall conduct the audit on behalf of all copyright owners who own a work that was embodied in a secondary transmission made by the licensee during the accounting period(s) specified in the Statement(s) of Account identified in the notice of intent to audit.

(3) The auditor shall be independent and qualified as defined in this section. An auditor shall be considered independent and qualified if:

(i) He or she is a certified public accountant and a member in good standing with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (“AICPA”) and the licensing authority for the jurisdiction(s) where the auditor is licensed to practice;

(ii) He or she is not, for any purpose other than the audit, an officer, employee, or agent of any participating copyright owner;

(iii) He or she is independent as that term is used in the Code of Professional Conduct of the AICPA, including the Principles, Rules, and Interpretations of such Code; and

(iv) He or she is independent as that term is used in the Statements on Auditing Standards promulgated by the Auditing Standards Board of the AICPA and Interpretations thereof issued by the Auditing Standards Division of the AICPA.

(e) Commencement of the audit. (1) Within ten days after the selection of the auditor, the auditor shall meet by telephone or in person with designated representatives of the participating copyright owners and the statutory licensee to review the scope of the audit, audit methodology, applicable auditing standard, and schedule for conducting and completing the audit.

(2) Within thirty days after the selection of the auditor, the licensee shall provide the auditor and a representative of the participating copyright owners with a list of all broadcast signals retransmitted pursuant to the statutory license in each community covered by each of the Statements of Account subject to the audit, including the call sign for each broadcast signal and each multicast signal. In the case of an audit involving a cable system or MSO, the list must include the classification of each signal on a community-by-community basis pursuant to § 201.17(e)(9)(iv) through (v) and 201.17(h). The list shall be signed by a duly authorized agent of the licensee and the signature shall be accompanied by the following statement “I, the undersigned agent of the statutory licensee, hereby declare under penalty of law that all statements of fact contained herein are true, complete, and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief, and are made in good faith.”

(f) Failure to proceed with a noticed audit. If the participating copyright owners fail to provide the statutory licensee with a list of auditors or fail to retain the auditor selected by the licensee pursuant to paragraph (d)(2) of this section, the Statement(s) of Account identified in the notice of intent to audit shall not be subject to audit under this section.

(g) Ex parte communications. Following the initial consultation pursuant to paragraph (e)(1) of this section and until the distribution of the auditor's final report to the participating copyright owners pursuant to paragraph (i)(3) of this section, there shall be no ex parte communications regarding the audit between the auditor and the participating copyright owners or their representatives; provided, however, that the auditor may engage in such ex parte communications where either:

(1) Subject to paragraph (i)(4) of this section, the auditor has a reasonable basis to suspect fraud and that participation by the licensee in communications regarding the suspected fraud would, in the reasonable opinion of the auditor, prejudice the investigation of such suspected fraud; or

(2) The auditor provides the licensee with a reasonable opportunity to participate in communications with the participating copyright owners or their representatives and the licensee declines to do so.

(h) Auditor's authority and access. (1) The auditor shall have exclusive authority to verify all of the information reported on the Statement(s) of Account subject to the audit in order to confirm the correctness of the calculations and royalty payments reported therein; provided, however, that the auditor shall not determine whether any cable system properly classified any broadcast signal as required by § 201.17(e)(9)(iv) through (v) and 201.17(h) or whether a satellite carrier properly determined that any subscriber or group of subscribers is eligible to receive any broadcast signals under 17 U.S.C. 119(a).

(2) The statutory licensee shall provide the auditor with reasonable access to the licensee's books and records and any other information that the auditor needs in order to conduct the audit. The licensee shall provide the auditor with any information the auditor reasonably requests promptly after receiving such a request.

(3) The audit shall be conducted during regular business hours at a location designated by the licensee with consideration given to minimizing the costs and burdens associated with the audit. If the auditor and the licensee agree, the audit may be conducted in whole or in part by means of electronic communication.

(4) With the exception of its obligations under paragraphs (d) and (e) of this section, a licensee may suspend its participation in an audit for no more than sixty days before the semi-annual due dates for filing Statements of Account by providing advance written notice to the auditor and a representative of the participating copyright owners, provided however, that if the participating copyright owners notify the licensee within ten days of receiving such notice of their good-faith belief that the suspension could prevent the auditor from delivering his or her final report to the participating copyright owners before the statute of limitations may expire on any claims under the Copyright Act related to a Statement of Account covered by that audit, the licensee may not suspend its participation in the audit unless it first executes a tolling agreement to extend the statute of limitations by a period of time equal to the period of the suspension.

(i) Audit report. (1) After reviewing the books, records, and any other information received from the statutory licensee, the auditor shall prepare a draft written report setting forth his or her initial conclusions and shall deliver a copy of that draft report to the licensee. The auditor shall then consult with a representative of the licensee regarding the conclusions set forth in the draft report for up to thirty days. If, upon consulting with the licensee, the auditor concludes that there are errors in the facts or conclusions set forth in the draft report, the auditor shall correct those errors.

(2) Within thirty days after the date that the auditor delivered the draft report to the licensee pursuant to paragraph (i)(1) of this section, the auditor shall prepare a final version of the written report setting forth his or her ultimate conclusions and shall deliver a copy of that final version to the licensee. Within fourteen days thereafter, the licensee may provide the auditor with a written rebuttal setting forth its good faith objections to the facts or conclusions set forth in the final version of the report.

(3) Subject to the confidentiality provisions set forth in paragraph (l) of this section, the auditor shall attach a copy of any written rebuttal timely received from the licensee to the final version of the report and shall deliver a copy of the complete final report to the participating copyright owners and the licensee. The final report must be delivered by November 1st of the year in which the notice was published in the Federal Register pursuant to paragraph (c)(1) of this section and within five business days after the last day on which the licensee may provide the auditor with a written rebuttal pursuant to paragraph (i)(2) of this section. Upon delivery of the complete and final report, the auditor shall notify the Office that the audit has been completed. The notice to the Office shall specify the date that the auditor delivered the final report to the parties; whether, with respect to each statement examined, the auditor has discovered any underpayment or overpayment; and whether the auditor has received a written rebuttal from the licensee. The notice should be addressed to the “U.S. Copyright Office, Office of the General Counsel” and should be sent to the address for time-sensitive requests specified in § 201.1(c)(1).

(4) Prior to the delivery of the final report pursuant to paragraph (i)(3) of this section the auditor shall not provide any draft of his or her report to the participating copyright owners or their representatives; provided, however, that the auditor may deliver a draft report simultaneously to the licensee and the participating copyright owners if the auditor has a reasonable basis to suspect fraud.

(j) Corrections, supplemental payments, and refunds. (1) If the auditor concludes in his or her final report that any of the information reported on a Statement of Account is incorrect or incomplete, that the calculation of the royalty fee payable for a particular accounting period was incorrect, or that the amount deposited in the Office for that period was too low, a statutory licensee may cure such incorrect or incomplete information or underpayment by filing an amendment to the Statement and, in case of a deficiency in payment, by depositing supplemental royalty fee payments with the Office using the procedures set forth in §§ 201.11(h) or 201.17(m); provided, however, that the amendment and/or payments are received within sixty days after the delivery of the final report to the participating copyright owners and the licensee or in the case of an audit of an MSO, within ninety days after the delivery of such report; and further provided that the licensee has reimbursed the participating copyright owners for the licensee's share of the audit costs, if any, determined to be owing pursuant to paragraph (k)(3) of this section. While reimbursement of audit costs shall be paid to a representative of the participating copyright owners, supplemental royalty fee payments made pursuant to this paragraph shall be delivered to the Office and not to the participating copyright owners or their representatives.

(2) Notwithstanding §§ 201.11(h)(3)(i) and 201.17(m)(4)(i), if the auditor concludes in his or her final report that there was an overpayment on a particular Statement, the licensee may request a refund from the Office using the procedures set forth in §§ 201.11(h)(3) or 201.17(m)(4), provided that the request is received within sixty days after the delivery of the final report to the participating copyright owners and the licensee or within ninety days after the delivery of the final report in the case of an audit of an MSO.

(k) Costs of the audit. (1) No later than the fifteenth day of each month during the course of the audit, the auditor shall provide the participating copyright owners with an itemized statement of the costs incurred by the auditor during the previous month, and shall provide a copy to the licensee that is the subject of the audit.

(2) If the auditor concludes in his or her final report that there was no net aggregate underpayment or a net aggregate underpayment of five percent or less, the participating copyright owners shall pay for the full costs of the auditor. If the auditor concludes in his or her final report that there was a net aggregate underpayment of more than five percent but less than ten percent, the costs of the auditor are to be split evenly between the participating copyright owners and the licensee that is the subject of the audit. If the auditor concludes in his or her final report that there was a net aggregate underpayment of ten percent or more, the licensee will be responsible for the full costs of the auditor.

(3) If a licensee is responsible for any portion of the costs of the auditor, a representative of the participating copyright owners shall provide the licensee with an itemized accounting of the auditor's total costs, the appropriate share of which should be paid by the licensee to such representative no later than sixty days after the delivery of the final report to the participating copyright owners and licensee or within ninety days after the delivery of such report in the case of an audit of an MSO.

(4) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in paragraph (k) of this section, no portion of the auditor's costs that exceed the amount of the net aggregate underpayment may be recovered from the licensee.

(l) Confidentiality. (1) For purposes of this section, confidential information shall include any non-public financial or business information pertaining to a Statement of Account that is the subject of an audit under 17 U.S.C. 111(d)(6) or 119(b)(2).

(2) Access to confidential information under this section shall be limited to:

(i) The auditor; and

(ii) Subject to the execution of a reasonable confidentiality agreement, outside counsel for the participating copyright owners and any third party consultants retained by outside counsel, and any employees, agents, consultants, or independent contractors of the auditor who are not employees, officers, or agents of a participating copyright owner for any purpose other than the audit, who are engaged in the audit of a Statement or activities directly related hereto, and who require access to the confidential information for the purpose of performing such duties during the ordinary course of their employment.

(3) The auditor and any person identified in paragraph (l)(2)(ii) of this section shall implement procedures to safeguard all confidential information received from any third party in connection with an audit, using a reasonable standard of care, but no less than the same degree of security used to protect confidential financial and business information or similarly sensitive information belonging to the auditor or such person.

(m) Frequency and scope of the audit. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (n)(2) of this section with respect to expanded audits, a cable system, MSO, or satellite carrier shall be subject to no more than one audit per calendar year.

(2) Except as provided in paragraph (n)(1) of this section, the audit of a particular cable system or satellite carrier shall include no more than two of the Statements of Account filed by that cable system or satellite carrier that may be timely noticed for audit under paragraph (c)(1) of this section.

(3) Except as provided in paragraph (n)(3)(ii) of this section, an audit of an MSO shall be limited to a sample of no more than ten percent of the MSO's Form 3 cable systems and no more than ten percent of the MSO's Form 2 systems.

(n) Expanded audits. (1) If the auditor concludes in his or her final report that there was a net aggregate underpayment of five percent or more on the Statements of Account examined in an initial audit involving a cable system or satellite carrier, a copyright owner may expand the audit to include all previous Statements filed by that cable system or satellite carrier that may be timely noticed for audit under paragraph (c)(2) of this section. The expanded audit shall be conducted using the procedures set forth in paragraphs (d) through (l) of this section, with the following exceptions:

(i) The expanded audit may be conducted by the same auditor that performed the initial audit, provided that the participating copyright owners provide the licensee with updated information reasonably sufficient to allow the licensee to determine that there has been no material change in the auditor's independence and qualifications. In the alternative, the expanded audit may be conducted by an auditor selected by the licensee using the procedure set forth in paragraph (d) of this section.

(ii) The auditor shall deliver his or her final report to the participating copyright owners and the licensee within five business days following the last day on which the licensee may provide the auditor with a written rebuttal pursuant to paragraph (i)(2) of this section, but shall not be required to deliver the report by November 1st of the year in which the notice was published in the Federal Register pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section.

(2) An expanded audit of a cable system or a satellite carrier that is conducted pursuant to paragraph (n)(1) of this section may be conducted concurrently with another audit involving that same licensee.

(3) If the auditor concludes in his or her final report that there was a net aggregate underpayment of five percent or more on the Statements of Account examined in an initial audit involving an MSO:

(i) The cable systems included in the initial audit of that MSO shall be subject to an expanded audit in accordance with paragraph (n)(1) of this section; and

(ii) The MSO shall be subject to a new initial audit involving a sample of no more than thirty percent of its Form 3 cable systems and no more than thirty percent of its Form 2 cable systems, provided that the notice of intent to conduct that audit is filed in the same calendar year as the delivery of such final report.

(o) Retention of records. For each Statement of Account or amended Statement that a statutory licensee files with the Office for accounting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2010, the licensee shall maintain all records necessary to confirm the correctness of the calculations and royalty payments reported in each Statement or amended Statement for at least three and one-half years after the last day of the year in which that Statement or amended Statement was filed with the Office and, in the event that such Statement or amended Statement is the subject of an audit conducted pursuant to this section, shall continue to maintain those records until three years after the auditor delivers the final report to the participating copyright owners and the licensee pursuant to paragraph (i)(3) of this section.

[79 FR 68628, Nov. 18, 2014, as amended at 82 FR 9357, Feb. 6, 2017]

(a) General. This section prescribes rules pertaining to the deposit of Statements of Account and royalty fees in the Copyright Office as required by 17 U.S.C. 111(d)(1) in order for secondary transmissions of cable systems to be subject to compulsory licensing.

(b) Definitions. (1) Gross receipts for the “basic service of providing secondary transmissions of primary broadcast transmitters” include the full amount of monthly (or other periodic) service fees for any and all services or tiers of services which include one or more secondary transmissions of television or radio broadcast signals, for additional set fees, and for converter fees. In no case shall gross receipts be less than the cost of obtaining the signals of primary broadcast transmitters for subsequent retransmission. All such gross receipts shall be aggregated and the distant signal equivalent (DSE) calculations shall be made against the aggregated amount. Gross receipts for secondary transmission services do not include installation (including connection, relocation, disconnection, or reconnection) fees, separate charges for security, alarm or facsimile services, charges for late payments, or charges for pay cable or other program origination services: Provided That, the origination services are not offered in combination with secondary transmission service for a single fee.

(2) A cable system is a facility, located in any State, Territory, Trust Territory, or Possession, that in whole or in part receives signals transmitted or programs broadcast by one or more television broadcast stations licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, and makes secondary transmissions of such signals or programs by wires, cables, microwave, or other communications channels to subscribing members of the public who pay for such service. A system that meets this definition is considered a “cable system” for copyright purposes, even if the FCC excludes it from being considered a “cable system” because of the number or nature of its subscribers or the nature of its secondary transmissions. The Statements of Account and royalty fees to be deposited under this section shall be recorded and deposited by each individual cable system desiring its secondary transmissions to be subject to compulsory licensing. The owner of each individual cable system on the last day of the accounting period covered by a Statement of Account is responsible for depositing the Statement of Account and remitting the copyright royalty fees. For these purposes, and the purpose of this section, an “individual” cable system is each cable system recognized as a distinct entity under the rules, regulations, and practices of the Federal Communications Commission in effect on the last day of the accounting period covered by a Statement of Account, in the case of the preparation and deposit of a Statement of Account and copyright royalty fee. For these purposes, two or more cable facilities are considered as one individual cable system if the facilities are either:

(i) In contiguous communities under common ownership or control or

(ii) Operating from one headend.

(3) FCC means the Federal Communications Commission.

(4) In the case of cable systems which make secondary transmissions of all available FM radio signals, which signals are not electronically processed by the system as separate and discrete signals, an FM radio signal is “generally receivable” if:

(i) It is usually carried by the system whenever it is received at the system's headend, and

(ii) As a result of monitoring at reasonable times and intervals, it can be expected to be received at the system's headend, with the system's FM antenna, at least three consecutive hours each day at the same time each day, five or more days a week, for four or more weeks during any calendar quarter, with a strength of not less than fifty microvolts per meter measured at the foot of the tower or pole to which the antenna is attached.

(5) The terms primary transmission, secondary transmission, local service area of a primary transmitter, distant signal equivalent, network station, independent station, noncommercial educational station, primary stream, multicast stream, simulcast, primary transmitter, subscriber, and subscribe have the meanings set forth in 17 U.S.C. 111(f), as amended by Public Laws 94-553, 103-369, and 111-175.

(6) A primary transmitter is a “distant” station, for purposes of this section, if the programming of such transmitter is carried by the cable system in whole or in part beyond the local service area of such primary transmitter.

(7) A translator station is, with respect to programs both originally transmitted and retransmitted by it, a primary transmitter for the purposes of this section. A translator station which retransmits the programs of a network station will be considered a network station; a translator station which retransmits the programs of an independent station shall be considered an independent station; and a translator station which retransmits the programs of a noncommercial educational station shall be considered a noncommercial educational station. The determination of whether a translator station should be identified as a “distant” station depends on the local service area of the translator station.

(8) For purposes of this section, the “rules and regulations of the FCC in effect on October 19, 1976,” which permitted a cable system, at its election, to omit the retransmission of a particular program and substitute another program in its place, refers to that portion of former 47 CFR 76.61(b)(2), revised June 25, 1981, and § 76.63 (referring to § 76.61(b)(2)), deleted June 25, 1981, concerning the substitution of a program that is primarily of local interest to the distant community (e.g., a local news or public affairs program).

(9) For purposes of this section, the “rules and regulations of the FCC,” which require a cable system to omit the retransmission of a particular program and substitute another program in its place, refers to 47 CFR 76.67.

(10) For purposes of this section, a cable system “lacks the activated channel capacity to retransmit on a full-time basis all signals which it is authorized to carry” only if:

(i) All of its activated television channels are used exclusively for the secondary transmission of television signals; and

(ii) The number of primary television transmitters secondarily transmitted by the cable system exceeds the number of its activated television channels.

(c) Accounting periods and deposit. (1) Statements of Account shall cover semiannual accounting periods of January 1 through June 30, and July 1 through December 31, and shall be deposited in the Copyright Office, together with the total royalty fee for such accounting periods as prescribed by 17 U.S.C. 111(d)(1)(B) through (F), by no later than the immediately following August 29, if the Statement of Account covers the January 1 through June 30 accounting period, and by no later than the immediately following March 1, if the Statement of Account covers the July 1 through December 31 accounting period.

(2) Upon receiving a Statement of Account and royalty fee, the Copyright Office will make an official record of the actual date when such Statement and fee were received in the Copyright Office. Thereafter, the Office will examine the Statement and fee for obvious errors or omissions appearing on the face of the documents, and will require that any such obvious errors or omissions be corrected before final processing of the documents is completed. If, as the result of communications between the Copyright Office and the cable system, an additional fee is deposited or changes or additions are made in the Statement of Account, the date that additional deposit or information was actually received in the Office will be added to the official record of the case. However, completion by the Copyright Office of the final processing of a Statement of Account and royalty fee deposit shall establish only the fact of such completion and the date or dates of receipt shown in the official record. It shall in no case be considered a determination that the Statement of Account was, in fact, properly prepared and accurate, that the correct amount of the royalty fee had been deposited, that the statutory time limits for filing had been met, or that any other requirements to qualify for a compulsory license have been satisfied.

(3) Statements of Account and royalty fees received before the end of the particular accounting period they purport to cover will not be processed by the Copyright Office. Statements of Account and royalty fees received after the filing deadlines of August 29 or March 1, respectively, will be accepted for whatever legal effect they may have, if any.

(4) In the Register's discretion, four years after the close of any calendar year, the Register may, close out the royalty payments account for that calendar year, and may treat any funds remaining in such account and any subsequent deposits that would otherwise be attributable to that calendar year as attributable to the succeeding calendar year.

(d) Statement of Account forms and submission. Cable systems should submit each Statement of Account using an appropriate form provided by the Copyright Office on its Web site and following the instructions for completion and submission provided on the Office's Web site or the form itself.

(2) The forms prescribed by the Copyright Office are designated “Statement of Account for Secondary Transmissions By Cable Systems”:

(i) Form SA1-2—“Short Form” for use by cable systems whose semiannual gross receipts for secondary transmission total less than $527,600; and

(ii) Form SA3—“Long Form” for use by cable systems whose semiannual gross receipts for secondary transmission total $527,600 or more.

(e) Contents. Each Statement of Account shall contain the following information:

(1) A clear designation of the accounting period covered by the Statement.

(2) The designation “Owner,” followed by:

(i) The full legal name of the owner of the cable system. The owner of the cable system is the individual or entity that provides the retransmission service and collects payment from the end user either directly or indirectly through a third party. If the owner is a partnership, the name of the partnership is to be followed by the name of at least one individual partner;

(ii) Any other name or names under which the owner conducts the business of the cable system; and

(iii) The full mailing address of the owner.

Ownership, other names under which the owner conducts the business of the cable system, and the owner's mailing address shall reflect facts existing on the last day of the accounting period covered by the Statement of Account.

(3) The designation “System,” followed by:

(i) Any business or trade names used to identify the business and operation of the system, unless these names have already been given under the designation “Owner”; and

(ii) The full mailing address of the system, unless such address is the same as the address given under the designation “Owner”.

Business or trade names used to identify the business and operation of the system, and the system's mailing address, shall reflect the facts existing on the last day of the accounting period covered by the Statement of Account.

(4) The designation “Area Served”, followed by the name of the community or communities served by the system. For this purpose a “community” is the same as a “community unit” as defined in FCC rules and regulations.

(5) The designation “Channels,” followed by:

(i) The number of channels, including multicast streams on which the cable system made secondary transmissions to its subscribers, and

(ii) The cable system's total activated channel capacity, in each case during the period covered by the Statement.

(iii) A multicast stream is considered a channel for purposes of this section.

(6) The designation “Secondary Transmission Service: Subscribers and Rates”, followed by:

(i) A brief description of each subscriber category for which a charge is made by the cable system for the basic service of providing secondary transmissions of primary broadcast transmitters;

(ii) The number of subscribers to the cable system in each such subscriber category; and

(iii) The charge or charges made per subscriber to each such subscriber category for the basic service of providing such secondary transmissions. Standard rate variations within a particular category should be summarized; discounts allowed for advance payment should not be included. For these purposes:

(A) The description, the number of subscribers, and the charge or charges made shall reflect the facts existing on the last day of the period covered by the Statement; and

(B) Each entity (for example, the owner of a private home, the resident of an apartment, the owner of a motel, or the owner of an apartment house) which is charged by the cable system for the basic service of providing secondary transmissions shall be considered one subscriber.

(7) The designation “Gross Receipts”, followed by the gross amount paid to the cable system by subscribers for the basic service of providing secondary transmissions of primary broadcast transmissions during the period covered by the Statement of Account.

(i) If the cable system maintains its revenue accounts on an accrual basis, gross receipts for any accounting period includes all such amounts accrued for secondary transmission service furnished during that period, regardless of when accrued:

(A) Less the amount of any bad debts actually written-off during that accounting period;

(B) Plus the amount of any previously written-off bad debts for secondary transmission service which were actually recovered during that accounting period.

(ii) If the cable system maintains its revenue accounts on a cash basis, gross receipts of any accounting period includes all such amounts actually received by the cable system during that accounting period.

(8) The designation “Services Other Than Secondary Transmissions: Rates,” followed by a description of each package of service which consists solely of services other than secondary transmission services, for which a separate charge was made or established, and which the cable system furnished or made available to subscribers during the period covered by the Statement of Account, together with the amount of such charge. However, no information need be given concerning services furnished at cost. Specific amounts charged for pay cable programming need not be given if the rates are on a variable, per-program basis. (The fact of such variable charge shall be indicated.)

(9) The designation “Primary Transmitters: Television”, followed by an identification of all primary television transmitters whose signals were carried by the cable system during the period covered by the Statement of Account, other than primary transmitters of programs carried by the cable system exclusively pursuant to rules, regulations, or authorizations of the FCC in effect on October 19, 1976, permitting the substitution of signals under certain circumstances, and required to be specially identified by paragraph (e)(11) of this section, together with the information listed below:

(i) The station call sign of the primary transmitter.

(ii) The name of the community to which that primary transmitter is licensed by the FCC (in the case of domestic signals) or with which that primary transmitter is identified (in the case of foreign signals).

(iii) The number of the channel upon which that primary transmitter broadcasts in the community to which that primary transmitter is licensed by the FCC (in the case of domestic signals) or with which that primary transmitter is identified (in the case of foreign signals).

(iv) A designation as to whether that primary transmitter is a “network station”, an “independent station”, or a “noncommercial educational station”.

(v) A designation as to whether that primary transmitter is a “distant” station.

(vi) If that primary transmitter is a “distant” station, a specification of whether the signals of that primary transmitter are carried:

(A) On a part-time basis where full-time carriage is not possible because the cable system lacks the activated channel capacity to retransmit on a full-time basis all signals which it is authorized to carry; or

(B) On any other basis.

If the signals of that primary transmitter are carried on a part-time basis because of lack of activated channel capacity, the Statement shall also include a log showing the dates on which such carriage occurred, and the hours during which such carriage occurred on those dates. Hours of carriage shall be accurate to the nearest quarter-hour, except that, in any case where such part-time carriage extends to the end of the broadcast day of the primary transmitter, an approximate ending hour may be given if it is indicated as an estimate.

(vii) A designation as to whether the channel carried is a multicast stream, and if so, the sub-channel number assigned to that stream by the television broadcast licensee.

(viii) Simulcasts must be reported and labeled on the Statement of Accounts form in an easily identifiable manner (e.g., WETA-simulcast).

(ix) The information indicated by paragraph (e)(9), paragraphs (v) through (viii) of this section, is not required to be given by any cable system that appropriately completed Form SA1-2 for the period covered by the Statement.

(x) Notwithstanding the requirements of this section, where a cable system carried a distant primary transmitter under FCC rules and regulations in effect on October 19, 1976 which permitted carriage of specific network programs on a part-time basis in certain circumstances (former 47 CFR 76.59 (d) (2) and (4), 76.61(e) (2) and (4), and 76.63, referring to § 76.61(e) (2) and (4), all of which were deleted June 25, 1981), carriage of that primary transmitter on that basis need not be reported, and that carriage is to be excluded in computing the distant signal equivalent of that primary transmitter.

(10) The designation “Primary Transmitters: Radio”, followed by an identification of primary radio transmitters whose signals were carried by the cable system during the period covered by the Statement of Account, together with the information listed below:

(i) A designation as to whether each primary transmitter was electronically processed by the system as a separate and discrete signal.

(ii) The station call sign of each:

(A) AM primary transmitter;

(B) FM primary transmitter, the signals of which were electronically processed by the system as separate and discrete signals; and

(C) FM primary transmitter carried on an all-band retransmission basis, the signals of which were generally receivable by the system.

(iii) A designation as to whether the primary transmitter is AM or FM.

(iv) The name of the community to which that primary transmitter is licensed by the FCC (in the case of domestic signals) or with which that primary transmitter is identified (in the case of foreign signals).

(11) A special statement and program log, which shall consist of the information indicated below for all nonnetwork television programming that, during the period covered by the Statement, was carried in whole or in part beyond the local service area of the primary transmitter of such programming under (i) rules or regulations of the FCC requiring a cable system to omit the further transmission of a particular program and permitting the substitution of another program in place of the omitted transmission; or (ii) rules, regulations, or authorizations of the FCC in effect on October 19, 1976, permitting a cable system, at its election, to omit the further transmission of a particular program and permitting the substitution of another program in place of the omitted transmission:

(A) The name or title of the substitute program.

(B) Whether the substitute program was transmitted live by its primary transmitter.

(C) The station call sign of the primary transmitter of the substitute program.

(D) The name of the community to which the primary transmitter of the substitute program is licensed by the FCC (in the case of domestic signals) or with which that primary transmitter is identified (in the case of foreign signals).

(E) The date when the secondary transmission of the substitute program occurred, and the hours during which such secondary transmission occurred on that date accurate to the nearest 5 minutes.

(F) A designation as to whether deletion of the omitted program was permitted by the rules, regulations, or authorizations of the FCC in effect on October 19, 1976, or was required by the rules, regulations, or authorizations of the FCC.

(12) A statement of the total royalty fee payable for the period covered by the Statement of Account, together with a royalty fee analysis which gives a clear, complete, and detailed presentation of the determination of such fee. This analysis shall present in appropriate sequence all facts, figures, and mathematical processes used in determining such fee, and shall do so in such manner as required in the appropriate form so as to permit the Copyright Office to verify readily, from the face of the Statement of Account, the accuracy of such determination and fee. The royalty fee analysis is not required to be given by any cable system whose gross receipts from subscribers for the period covered by the Statement of Account, for the basic service of providing secondary transmissions of primary broadcast transmissions, total $137,100 or less.

(13) The name, address, and telephone number of an individual who may be contacted by the Copyright Office for further information about the Statement of Account.

(14) A legally binding signature, including an electronic signature as defined in 15 U.S.C. 7006, of:

(i) The owner of the cable system or a duly authorized agent of the owner, if the owner is not a partnership or a corporation; or

(ii) A partner, if the owner is a partnership; or

(iii) An officer of the corporation, if the owner is a corporation. The signature shall be accompanied by:

(A) The printed name of the person signing the Statement of Account;

(B) The date of signature;

(C) If the owner of the cable system is a partnership or a corporation, by the title or official position held in the partnership or corporation by the person signing the Statement of Account;

(D) A certification of the capacity of the person signing; and

(E) A declaration of the veracity of the statements of fact contained in the Statement of Account and the good faith of the person signing in making such statement of fact.

(f) Computation of distant signal equivalents. (1) A cable system that elects to delete a particular television program and substitute for that program another television program (“substitute program”) under rules, regulations, or authorizations of the FCC in effect on October 19, 1976, which permit a cable system, at its election, to omit the retransmission of a particular program and substitute another program in its place shall compute the distant signal equivalent (“DSE”) of each primary transmitter that broadcasts one or more substitute programs by dividing:

(i) The number of the primary transmitter's live, nonnetwork, substitute programs that were carried by the cable system, during the period covered by the Statement of Account, in substitution for programs deleted at the option of the system; by

(ii) The number of days in the year in which the substitution occurred.

(2)(i) Where a cable system carries a primary transmitter on a full-time basis during any portion of an accounting period, the system shall compute a DSE for that primary transmitter as if it was carried full-time during the entire accounting period.

(ii) Where a cable system carries a primary transmitter solely on a substitute or part-time basis, in accordance with paragraph (f)(3) of this section, the system shall compute a DSE for that primary transmitter based on its cumulative carriage on a substitute or part-time basis. If that primary transmitter is carried on a full-time basis as well as on a substitute or part-time basis, the full DSE for that primary transmitter shall be the full DSE type value for that primary transmitter, for the entire accounting period.

(3) In computing the DSE of a primary transmitter in a particular case of carriage on or after July 1, 1981, the cable system may make no prorated adjustments other than those specified in 17 U.S.C. 111(f)(5)(B), and which remain in force under that provision. Two prorated adjustments, as prescribed in that section, are permitted under certain conditions where:

(i) A station is carried on a part-time basis where full-time carriage is not possible because the cable system lacks the activated channel capacity to retransmit on a full-time basis all signals which it is authorized to carry; and

(ii) A station is carried on a “substitute” basis under rules, regulations, or authorizations of the FCC in effect on October 19, 1976 (as defined in 17 U.S.C. 111(f)(5)(B)(ii)), which permitted a cable system, at its election, to omit the retransmission of a particular program and substitute another program in its place.

(4) In computing a DSE, a cable system may round off to the third decimal point. If a DSE is rounded off in any case in a Statement of Account, it must be rounded off throughout the Statement. Where a cable system has chosen to round off, and the fourth decimal point for a particular DSE value would, without rounding off, have been 1, 2, 3, or 4, the third decimal point remains unchanged; if, in such a case, the fourth decimal point would, without rounding off, be 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9, the third decimal point must be rounded off to the next higher number.

(5) For the purposes of computing DSE values, specialty primary television transmitters in the United States and all Canadian and Mexican primary television transmitters shall be assigned a value of one.

(g) Computation of copyright royalty fee: subscriber groups. (1) If a cable system provides a secondary transmission of a primary transmitter to some, but not all, communities served by that cable system—

(i) The gross receipts and the distant signal equivalent values for such secondary transmission shall be derived solely on the basis of the subscribers in those communities where the cable system provides such secondary transmission; and

(ii) The total royalty fee for the period paid by such system shall not be less than the minimum fee multiplied by the gross receipts from all subscribers to the system.

(2) A cable system that, on a statement submitted before the date of the enactment of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010, computed its royalty fee consistent with the methodology under paragraph (i)(1) of this section or that amends a statement filed before such date of enactment to compute the royalty fee due using such methodology, shall not be subject to an action for infringement, or eligible for any royalty refund or offset, arising out of the use of such methodology on such statement.

(3) Any royalty fee payments received by the Copyright Office from cable systems for the secondary transmission of primary transmissions that are in addition to the payments calculated and deposited in accordance with this subsection shall be deemed to have been deposited for the particular accounting period for which they are received and shall be distributed as specified under subsection 111(d) of title 17, United States Code. Such payments shall be considered as part of the base rate royalty fund.

(4) The royalty fee rates established by the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act shall take effect commencing with the first accounting period occurring in 2010.

(h) Computation of the copyright royalty fee: Partially distant stations. A cable system located partly within and partly without the local service area of a primary television transmitter (“partially distant station”) computes the royalty fee specified in section 111(d)(1)(B) (ii), (iii), and (iv) of the Copyright Act (“DSE fee”) by excluding gross receipts from subscribers located within that station's local service area from total gross receipts. A cable system which carries two or more partially distant stations with local service areas that do not exactly coincide shall compute a separate DSE fee for each group of subscribers who are located outside of the local service areas of exactly the same complement of distant stations. Computation of the DSE fee for each subscriber group is to be based on:

(1) The total distant signal equivalents of that group's complement of distant stations, and

(2) The total gross receipts from that group of subscribers. The copyright royalty fee for that cable system is:

(i) The total of the subscriber group royalty fees thus computed, or

(ii) 1.013 of 1 percent of the system's gross receipts from all subscribers, whichever is larger.

(i) Computation of the copyright royalty fee pursuant to the 1982 cable rate adjustment. (1) For the purposes of this paragraph, in addition to the definitions of paragraph (b) of this section, the following definitions shall also apply:

(i) Current base rate means the applicable royalty rates in effect on December 31, 1982, as reflected in 37 CFR 256.2(a).

(ii) If the 3.75% rate does not apply to certain DSE's in the case of a cable system located wholly or in part within a top 100 television market, the current base rate together with the surcharge shall apply. However, the surcharge shall not apply for carriage of a particular signal first carried prior to March 31, 1972. With respect to statements of account covering the filing period beginning January 1, 1990, and subsequent filing periods, the current base rate together with the surcharge shall apply only to those DSE's that represent commercial VHF signals which place a predicted Grade B contour, in whole or in part, over a cable system. The surcharge will not apply if the signal is exempt from the syndicated exclusivity rules in effect on June 24, 1981.

(iii) The 3.75% rate means the rate established by 37 CFR 256.2(c), in effect on March 15, 1983.

(iv) Top 100 television market means a television market defined or interpreted as being within either the “top 50 television markets” or “second 50 television markets” in accordance with 47 CFR 76.51, in effect on June 24, 1981.

(v) The 1982 cable rate adjustment means the rate adjustment adopted by the Copyright Royalty Tribunal on October 20, 1982 (CRT Docket No. 81-2, 47 FR 52146, November 19, 1982).

(2) A cable system filing Form SA3 shall compute its royalty fee in the following manner:

(i) The cable system shall first determine those DSE's to which the 3.75% rate established by 37 CFR 256.2(c) applies.

(ii) If the 3.75% rate does not apply to certain DSE's in the case of a cable system located wholly or in part within a top 100 television market, the current base rate together with the surcharge shall apply. However, the surcharge shall not apply for carriage of a particular signal first carried prior to March 31, 1972. With respect to statements of account covering the filing period beginning January 1, 1990, and subsequent filing periods, the current base rate together with the surcharge shall apply only to those DSE's that represent commercial VHF signals which place a predicted Grade B contour, in whole or in part, over a cable system. The surcharge will not apply if the signal is exempt from the syndicated exclusivity rules in effect on June 24, 1981.

(iii) If the 3.75% rate does not apply to certain DSE's, in the case of a cable system located wholly outside a top 100 television market, the current base rate shall apply.

(iv) Commencing with the semiannual accounting period of January 1, 1998, through June 30, 1998, the 3.75% rate applies to certain DSE's with respect to the communities within the cable system where carriage would not have been permitted under the rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission in effect on June 24, 1981, but in all other communities within the cable system, the current base rate and the syndicated exclusivity surcharge, where applicable, shall apply. Such computation shall be made as provided for on Form SA3. The calculations shall be based upon the gross receipts from all subscribers, within the relevant communities, for the basic service of providing secondary transmissions of primary broadcast transmitters, without regard to whether those subscribers actually received the station in question. For partially-distant stations, gross receipts shall be the total gross receipts from subscribers outside the local service area.

(3) It shall be presumed that the 3.75% rate of 37 CFR 308.2(c) applies to DSEs accruing from newly added distant signals, carried for the first time by a cable system after June 24, 1981. The presumption of this section can be rebutted in whole or in part:

(i) By actual carriage of a particular distant signal prior to June 25, 1981, as reported in Statements of Account duly filed with the Copyright Office (“actual carriage”), unless the prior carriage was not permitted by the FCC; or

(ii) By carriage of no more than the number of distant signals which was or would have been allotted to the cable system under the FCC's quota for importation of network and nonspecialty independent stations (47 CFR 76.59(b), 76.61(b) and (c), and 76.63, referring to § 76.61(b) and (c), in effect on June 24, 1981).

(4) To qualify as an FCC-permitted signal on the ground of individual waiver of the FCC rules (47 CFR 76.7 in effect on June 24, 1981), the waiver must have actually been granted by the FCC, and the signal must have been first carried by the cable system after April 15, 1976.

(5) Expanded geographic carriage after June 24, 1981, of a signal previously carried within only certain parts of a cable system is governed by the current base rate and the surcharge, if applicable.

(6) In cases of expanded temporal carriage of the same signal, previously carried pursuant to the FCC's former part-time or substitute carriage rules (47 CFR 76.61(b)(2), 76.61 (e)(1) and (e)(3), and 76.63, referring to 76.61 (e)(1) and (e)(3), in effect on June 24, 1981), the 3.75% rate shall be applied to any additional fraction of a DSE accruing from the expanded temporal carriage of that signal. To identify such additional DSE's, a comparison shall be made of DSE's reported for that signal in any single accounting period prior to the July 1, 1981, to December 31, 1981, period (81-2), as designated by the cable system, with the DSE's for that same signal reported in the current relevant accounting period.

(7) Substitution of like signals pursuant to 37 CFR 256.2(c) is possible at the relevant non-3.75% rate (the surcharge together with the current base rate, or the current base rate alone) only if the substitution does not exceed the number of distant signals which was or would have been allotted to the cable system under the FCC's television market quota for importation of network and nonspecialty independent stations (47 CFR 76.59(b), 76.61 (b) and (c), and 76.63, referring to 76.61 (b) and (c), in effect on June 24, 1981.

(8) The 3.75% rate does not apply to distant multicast streams retransmitted by cable systems.

(j) Multicasting. (1) A royalty payment shall be made for the retransmission of non-network television programming carried on each multicast stream of a distant digital television signal under the following circumstances:

(i) If the distant multicast stream was first retransmitted by a cable system on or after February 27, 2010, or

(ii) If the distant multicast stream is retransmitted by a cable operator on or after July 1, 2010.

(2) In any case in which a distant multicast stream is the subject of a written agreement entered into on or before June 30, 2009, between a cable system or an association representing the cable system and a primary transmitter or an association representing the primary transmitter, a distant signal equivalent value shall not be assigned to a distant multicast stream that is made on or before the date on which such written agreement expires.

(3) No royalties are due for carrying a distant multicast stream that “simulcasts” (i.e., duplicates) a primary stream or another multicast stream of the same station that the cable system is carrying. However, simulcast streams must be reported on the Statement of Accounts.

(4) Multicast streams of digital broadcast programming shall not be subject to the 3.75% fee or the syndicated exclusivity surcharge.

(k) Royalty fee payment. (1) All royalty fees must be paid by electronic funds transfer, and must be received in the designated bank by the filing deadline for the relevant accounting period. The following information must be provided as part of the EFT and/or as part of the remittance advice as provided for in circulars issued by the Copyright Office:

(i) Remitter's name and address;

(ii) Name of a contact person, telephone number and extension, and e-mail address;

(iii) The actual or anticipated date that the EFT will be transmitted;

(iv) Type of royalty payment (i.e., cable);

(v) Total amount submitted via the EFT;

(vi) Total amount to be paid by year and period;

(vii) Number of Statements of Account that the EFT covers;

(viii) ID numbers assigned by the Licensing Section;

(ix) Legal name of the owner for each Statement of Account;

(x) Identification of the first community served (city and state).

(2) The remittance advice shall be attached to the Statement(s) of Account. In addition, a copy of the remittance advice shall be emailed or sent by facsimile to the Licensing Section.

(3) The Office may waive the requirement for payment by electronic funds transfer as set forth in paragraph (i)(1) of this section. To obtain a waiver, the remitter shall submit to the Licensing Section at least 60 days prior to the royalty fee due date a certified statement setting forth the reasons explaining why payment by an electronic funds transfer would be virtually impossible or, alternatively, why it would impose a financial or other hardship on the remitter. The certified statement must be signed by a duly authorized representative of the entity making the payment. A waiver shall cover only a single payment period. Failure to obtain a waiver may result in the remittance being returned to the remitter.

(4) Royalty fee payments submitted as a result of late or amended filings shall include interest. Interest shall begin to accrue beginning on the first day after the close of the period for filing statements of account for all late payments and underpayments of royalties for the cable statutory license occurring within that accounting period. The accrual period shall end on the date the electronic payment submitted by a cable operator is received. The accrual period shall end on the date the electronic payment submitted by a satellite carrier is received by the Copyright Office. In cases where a waiver of the electronic funds transfer requirement is approved by the Copyright Office, and royalties payments are either late or underpaid, the accrual period shall end on the date the payment is postmarked. If the payment is not received by the Copyright Office within five business days of its date, then the accrual period shall end on the date of the actual receipt by the Copyright Office. Interest is not required to be paid on any royalty underpayment or late payment from a particular accounting period if the interest charge is less than or equal to five dollars.

(l) Corrections, supplemental payments, and refunds. (1) Royalty fee obligations under 17 U.S.C. 111 prior to the effective date of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010, Public Law 111-175, are determined based on carriage of each distant signal on a system-wide basis. Refunds for an overpayment of royalty fees for an accounting period prior to January 1, 2010, shall be made only when all outstanding royalty fee obligations have been met, including those for carriage of each distant signal on a system-wide basis.

(2) Upon compliance with the procedures and within the time limits set forth in paragraph (m)(4) of this section, corrections to Statements of Account will be placed on record, supplemental royalty fee payments will be received for deposit, or refunds will be issued, in the following cases:

(i) Where, with respect to the accounting period covered by a Statement of Account, any of the information given in the Statement filed in the Copyright Office is incorrect or incomplete; or

(ii) Where, for any reason except that mentioned in paragraph (m)(2)(iii) of this section, calculation of the royalty fee payable for a particular accounting period was incorrect, and the amount deposited in the Copyright Office for that period was either too high or too low.

(3) Corrections to Statements of Account will not be placed on record, supplemental royalty fee payments will not be received for deposit, and refunds will not be issued, where the information in the Statements of Account, the royalty fee calculations, or the payments were correct as of the date on which the accounting period ended, but changes (for example, addition or deletion of a distant signal) took place later.

(4) Requests that corrections to a Statement of Account be placed on record, that fee payments be accepted, or requests for the issuance of refunds, shall be made only in the cases mentioned in paragraph (m)(2) of this section. Such requests shall be addressed to the Licensing Section of the Copyright Office, and shall meet the following conditions:

(i) The request must be in writing, must clearly identify its purpose, and, in the case of a request for a refund, must be received in the Copyright Office before the expiration of 60 days from the last day of the applicable Statement of Account filing period, or before the expiration of 60 days from the date of receipt at the Copyright Office of the royalty payment that is the subject of the request, whichever time period is longer. Telephone or similar unsigned requests that meet these conditions may be permitted, where a follow-up written request detailing the same information is received by the Copyright Office within fourteen days after the required sixty-day period.

(ii) The Statement of Account to which the request pertains must be sufficiently identified in the request (by inclusion of the name of the owner of the cable system, the community or communities served, and the accounting period in question) so that it can be readily located in the records of the Copyright Office.

(iii) The request must contain a clear statement of the facts on which it is based and provide a clear basis on which a refund may be granted, in accordance with the following procedures:

(A) In the case of a request filed under paragraph (m)(2)(i) of this section, where the information given in the Statement of Account is incorrect or incomplete, the request must clearly identify the erroneous or incomplete information and provide the correct or additional information;

(B) In the case of a request filed under paragraph (m)(2)(ii) of this section, where the royalty fee was miscalculated and the amount deposited in the Copyright Office was either too high or too low, the request must be accompanied by an amended Statement of Account. The amended Statement shall include an explanation of why the royalty fee was improperly calculated and a detailed analysis of the proper royalty calculations.

(iv)(A) All requests filed under this paragraph (m) must be accompanied by a filing fee in the amount prescribed in § 201.3(e) of this part for each Statement of Account involved. Payment of this fee may be in the form of a personal or company check, or of a certified check, cashier's check or money order, payable to: Register of Copyrights. No request will be processed until the appropriate filing fees are received; and

(B) All requests that a supplemental royalty fee payment be received for deposit under this paragraph (m) must be accompanied by a remittance in the full amount of such fee. Payment of the supplemental royalty fee must be in the form of a certified check, cashier's check, or money order, payable to: Register of Copyrights; or an electronic payment. No such request will be processed until an acceptable remittance in the full amount of the supplemental royalty fee has been received.

(v) All requests submitted under this paragraph (m) must be signed by the cable system owner named in the Statement of Account, or the duly authorized agent of the owner, in accordance with paragraph (e)(14) of this section.

(vi) A request for a refund is not necessary where the Licensing Section, during its examination of a Statement of Account or related document, discovers an error that has resulted in a royalty overpayment. In this case, the Licensing Section will forward the royalty refund to the cable system owner named in the Statement of Account without regard to the time limitations provided for in paragraph (m)(4)(i) of this section.

(5) Following final processing, all requests submitted under this paragraph (m) will be filed with the original Statement of Account in the records of the Copyright Office. Nothing contained in this paragraph shall be considered to relieve cable systems from their full obligations under title 17 of the United States Code, and the filing of a correction or supplemental payment shall have only such effect as may be attributed to it by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(m) Satellite carriers not eligible. Satellite carriers and satellite resale carriers are not eligible for the cable compulsory license based upon an interpretation of the whole of section 111 of title 17 of the United States Code.

(17 U.S.C. 111, 702, 708) [43 FR 27832, June 27, 1978] Editorial Note:For Federal Register citations affecting § 201.17, see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears in the Finding Aids section of the printed volume and at www.govinfo.gov.

(a) General. (1) A “Notice of Intention” is a Notice identified in section 115(b) of title 17 of the United States Code. If the eligibility requirements of 17 U.S.C. 115(a) are satisfied, then, subject to 17 U.S.C. 115(b), a person may serve on a copyright owner or file with the Copyright Office, as applicable, a Notice of Intention and thereby obtain a compulsory license pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 115.

(2)(i) To obtain a compulsory license to make and distribute phonorecords of a musical work other than by means of digital phonorecord delivery, a Notice must be served on the copyright owner or, if the registration or other public records of the Copyright Office do not identify the copyright owner and include an address at which Notice can be served, filed with the Copyright Office, before, or not later than 30 calendar days after, making, and before distributing, any phonorecord of the work.

(ii) Prior to the license availability date, as defined in 17 U.S.C. 115(e), to obtain a compulsory license to make and distribute phonorecords of a musical work by means of digital phonorecord delivery, a Notice must be served on the copyright owner, before, or not later than 30 calendar days after, first making any such digital phonorecord delivery. On and after the license availability date, as defined in 17 U.S.C. 115(e), to obtain such a compulsory license, the procedure described in 17 U.S.C. 115(d)(2) must be followed. As of October 11, 2018, the Copyright Office does not accept Notices that pertain to digital phonorecord deliveries, regardless of whether such a Notice also pertains to phonorecords that are not digital phonorecord deliveries.

(iii) Notwithstanding paragraph (a)(2)(ii) of this section, a record company, as defined in 17 U.S.C. 115(e), may, on or after the license availability date, as defined in 17 U.S.C. 115(e), obtain an individual download license, as described in 17 U.S.C. 115(b)(3) and defined in 17 U.S.C. 115(e), by serving a Notice on the copyright owner, before, or not later than 30 calendar days after, first making any digital phonorecord delivery in the form of a permanent download.

(3) For the purposes of this section, a “digital phonorecord delivery” means each individual delivery of a phonorecord by digital transmission of a sound recording that results in a specifically identifiable reproduction by or for any transmission recipient of a phonorecord of that sound recording, regardless of whether the digital transmission is also a public performance of the sound recording or any musical work embodied therein. The reproduction of the phonorecord must be sufficiently permanent or stable to permit it to be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated for a period of more than transitory duration. Such a phonorecord may be permanent or it may be made available to the transmission recipient for a limited period of time or for a specified number of performances. A digital phonorecord delivery includes all phonorecords that are made for the purpose of making the digital phonorecord delivery. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a permanent download, a limited download, or an interactive stream, as defined in 17 U.S.C. 115(e), is a digital phonorecord delivery. A digital phonorecord delivery does not include the digital transmission of sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work as defined in 17 U.S.C. 101.

(4) As eligible under paragraph (a)(2) of this section, a Notice of Intention shall be served or filed for nondramatic musical works embodied, or intended to be embodied, in phonorecords made under the compulsory license. For purposes of this section and subject to paragraphs (a)(4)(ii) and (iii) of this section, a Notice filed with the Copyright Office which lists multiple works shall be considered a single Notice and fees shall be paid in accordance with the fee schedule set forth in § 201.3(e)(1) if filed in the Copyright Office under paragraph (f)(2) or (3) of this section. Payment of the applicable fees for a Notice submitted electronically under this paragraph shall be made through a deposit account established under § 201.6(b).

(i) Except as provided for in paragraph (a)(7), a Notice of Intention served on a copyright owner or agent of a copyright owner may designate any number of nondramatic musical works provided that the information required under paragraphs (d)(1)(i) through (iv) of this section does not vary and that the copyright owner of each designated work is the same, or in the case of any work having more than one copyright owner, that any one of the copyright owners is the same and is the copyright owner served.

(ii) A Notice of Intention filed in the Copyright Office in paper form may designate any number of nondramatic musical works provided that the information required under paragraphs (d)(1)(i) through (iv) of this section does not vary, and that the copyright owner of each designated work (or, in the case of works having more than one copyright owner, any one of the copyright owners) is the same and the registration records or other public records of the Copyright Office do not identify the copyright owner(s) of such work(s) and include an address for any such owner(s) at which notice can be served. For purposes of this subparagraph, in the case of works having more than one copyright owner, a single Notice must identify an actual person or entity as the common copyright owner; the common copyright owner may not be identified as “unknown.” However, a single Notice may include multiple works for which no copyright owners can be identified for any of the listed works.

(iii) A Notice of Intention filed in the Copyright Office through its electronic filing system may designate multiple nondramatic musical works, regardless of whether the copyright owner of each designated work (or, in the case of any work having more than one copyright owner, any one of the copyright owners) is the same, provided that the information required under paragraphs (d)(1)(i) through (iv) of this section does not vary, and that for any designated work, the records of the Copyright Office do not include an address at which notice can be served.

(5) For the purposes of this section, the term “copyright owner,” in the case of any work having more than one copyright owner, means any one of the co-owners.

(6) For the purposes of this section, service of a Notice of Intention on a copyright owner may be accomplished by means of service of the Notice on either the copyright owner or an agent of the copyright owner with authority to receive the Notice. In the case where the work has more than one copyright owner, the service of the Notice on any one of the co-owners of the nondramatic musical work or upon an authorized agent of one of the co-owners identified in the Notice of Intention shall be sufficient with respect to all co-owners. A single Notice may designate works not owned by the same copyright owner in the case where the Notice is served on a common agent of multiple copyright owners, and where each of the works designated in the Notice is owned by any of the copyright owners who have authorized that agent to receive Notices.

(7) For purposes of this section, a copyright owner or an agent of a copyright owner with authority to receive Notices of Intention may make public a written policy that it will accept Notices of Intention to make and distribute phonorecords pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 115 which include less than all of the information required by this section, in a form different than required by this section, or delivered by means (including electronic transmission) other than those required by this section. Any Notice provided in accordance with such policy shall not be rendered invalid for failing to comply with the specific requirements of this section.

(8) For the purposes of this section, a digital phonorecord delivery shall be treated as a type of phonorecord configuration, and a digital phonorecord delivery shall be treated as a phonorecord manufactured, made, and distributed on the date the phonorecord is digitally transmitted.

(b) Agent. An agent who has been authorized to accept Notices of Intention in accordance with paragraph (a)(6) of this section and who has received a Notice of Intention on behalf of a copyright owner shall provide within two weeks of the receipt of that Notice of Intention the name and address of the copyright owner or its agent upon whom the person or entity intending to obtain the compulsory license shall serve Statements of Account and the monthly royalty in accordance with § 210.6(g) of this chapter.

(c) Form. The Copyright Office does not provide physical printed forms for the use of persons serving or filing Notices of Intention, but Notices filed electronically must be submitted to the Office in the form and manner prescribed in instructions on the Office's website.

(d) Content. (1) A Notice of Intention shall be clearly and prominently designated, at the head of the notice, as a “Notice of Intention to Obtain a Compulsory License for Making and Distributing Phonorecords,” and shall include a clear statement of the following information:

(i) The full legal name of the person or entity intending to obtain the compulsory license, together with all fictitious or assumed names used by such person or entity for the purpose of conducting the business of making and distributing phonorecords;

(ii) The telephone number, the full address, including a specific number and street name or rural route of the place of business, and an e-mail address, if available, of the person or entity intending to obtain the compulsory license, and if a business organization intends to obtain the compulsory license, the name and title of the chief executive officer, managing partner, sole proprietor or other person similarly responsible for the management of such entity. A post office box or similar designation will not be sufficient for this purpose except where it is the only address that can be used in that geographic location.

(iii) The information specified in paragraphs (d)(1)(i) and (ii) of this section for the primary entity expected to be engaged in the business of making and distributing phonorecords under the license or of authorizing such making and distribution, if an entity intending to obtain the compulsory license is a holding company, trust or other entity that is not expected to be actively engaged in the business of making and distributing phonorecords under the license or of authorizing such making and distribution;

(iv) The fiscal year of the person or entity intending to obtain the compulsory license. If that fiscal year is a calendar year, the Notice shall state that this is the case;

(v) For each nondramatic musical work embodied or intended to be embodied in phonorecords made under the compulsory license:

(A) The title of the nondramatic musical work;

(B) The name of the author or authors, if known;

(C) A copyright owner of the work, if known;

(D) The types of all phonorecord configurations already made (if any) and expected to be made under the compulsory license (for example: single disk, long-playing disk, cassette, cartridge, reel-to-reel, a digital phonorecord delivery (if eligible under paragraph (a)(2) of this section), or a combination of them);

(E) The expected date of initial distribution of phonorecords already made (if any) or expected to be made under the compulsory license;

(F) The name of the principal recording artist or group actually engaged or expected to be engaged in rendering the performances fixed on phonorecords already made (if any) or expected to be made under the compulsory license;

(G) The catalog number or numbers, and label name or names, used or expected to be used on phonorecords already made (if any) or expected to be made under the compulsory license; and

(H) In the case of phonorecords already made (if any) under the compulsory license, the date or dates of such manufacture.

(vi) In the case where the Notice will be filed with the Copyright Office pursuant to paragraph (f)(3) of this section, the Notice shall include an affirmative statement that with respect to the nondramatic musical work named in the Notice of Intention, the registration records or other public records of the Copyright Office have been searched and found not to identify the name and address of the copyright owner of such work.

(2) A “clear statement” of the information listed in paragraph (d)(1) of this section requires a clearly intelligible, legible, and unambiguous statement in the Notice itself and without incorporation by reference of facts or information contained in other documents or records.

(3) Where information is required to be given by paragraph (d)(1) of this section “if known” or as “expected,” such information shall be given in good faith and on the basis of the best knowledge, information, and belief of the person signing the Notice. If so given, later developments affecting the accuracy of such information shall not affect the validity of the Notice.

(e) Signature. The Notice shall be signed by the person or entity intending to obtain the compulsory license or by a duly authorized agent of such person or entity.

(1) If the person or entity intending to obtain the compulsory license is a corporation, the signature shall be that of a duly authorized officer or agent of the corporation.

(2) If the person or entity intending to obtain the compulsory license is a partnership, the signature shall be that of a partner or of a duly authorized agent of the partnership.

(3) If the Notice is signed by a duly authorized agent for the person or entity intending to obtain the compulsory license, the Notice shall include an affirmative statement that the agent is authorized to execute the Notice of Intention on behalf of the person or entity intending to obtain the compulsory license.

(4) If the Notice is served electronically, the person or entity intending to obtain the compulsory license and the copyright owner shall establish a procedure to verify that the Notice is being submitted upon the authority of the person or entity intending to obtain the compulsory license.

(5) If the Notice is filed in the Office electronically, the person or entity intending to obtain the compulsory license or a duly authorized agent of such person or entity shall, rather than signing the Notice, attest that he or she has the appropriate authority of the licensee, including any related entities listed, if applicable, to submit the electronically filed Notice on behalf of the licensee.

(f) Filing and service. (1) As eligible under paragraph (a)(2) of this section, if the registration records or other public records of the Copyright Office identify the copyright owner of the nondramatic musical works named in the Notice of Intention and include an address for such owner, the Notice may be served on such owner by mail sent to, or by reputable courier service at, the last address for such owner shown by the records of the Office.

(2) If a Notice of Intention seeking a compulsory license to make and distribute phonorecords of a musical work other than by means of digital phonorecord delivery is sent by mail or delivered by reputable courier service to the last address for the copyright owner shown by the records of the Copyright Office and the Notice is returned to the sender because the copyright owner is no longer located at the address or has refused to accept delivery, the original Notice as sent shall be filed in the Copyright Office. Notices of Intention submitted for filing under this paragraph (f)(2) shall be submitted to the Licensing Section of the Copyright Office, shall be accompanied by the fee specified in § 201.3(e) and a brief statement that the Notice was sent to the last address for the copyright owner shown by the records of the Copyright Office but was returned, and may be accompanied by appropriate evidence that it was mailed to, or that delivery by reputable courier service was attempted at, that address. In these cases, the Copyright Office will specially mark its records to consider the date the original Notice was mailed, or the date delivery by courier service was attempted, if shown by the evidence mentioned above, as the date of filing. An acknowledgment of receipt and filing will be provided to the sender.

(3) If, with respect to the nondramatic musical works named in a Notice of Intention seeking a compulsory license to make and distribute phonorecords of a musical work other than by means of digital phonorecord delivery, the registration records or other public records of the Copyright Office do not identify the copyright owner of such work and include an address for such owner, the Notice may be filed in the Copyright Office. Notices of Intention submitted for filing shall be accompanied by the fee specified in § 201.3(e). A separate fee shall be assessed for each title listed in the Notice. Notices of Intention will be placed in the appropriate public records of the Licensing Section of the Copyright Office. The date of filing will be the date when the Notice and fee are both received in the Copyright Office. An acknowledgment of receipt and filing will be provided to the sender.

(4) Alternatively, if the person or entity intending to obtain the compulsory license knows the name and address of the copyright owner of the nondramatic musical work, or the agent of the copyright owner as described in paragraph (b) of this section, the Notice of Intention may be served on the copyright owner or the agent of the copyright owner by sending the Notice by mail or delivering it by reputable courier service to the address of the copyright owner or agent of the copyright owner. For purposes of 17 U.S.C. 115(b), the Notice will not be considered properly served if the Notice is not sent to the copyright owner or the agent of the copyright owner as described in paragraph (b) of this section, or if the Notice is sent to an incorrect address.

(5) If a Notice of Intention is sent by certified mail or registered mail, a mailing receipt shall be sufficient to prove that service was timely. If a Notice of Intention is delivered by a reputable courier, documentation from the courier showing the first date of attempted delivery shall also be sufficient to prove that service was timely. In the absence of a receipt from the United States Postal Service showing the date of delivery or documentation showing the first date of attempted delivery by a reputable courier, the compulsory licensee shall bear the burden of proving that the Notice of Intention was served in a timely manner.

(6) If a Notice served upon a copyright owner or an authorized agent of a copyright owner identifies more than 50 works that are embodied or intended to be embodied in phonorecords made under the compulsory license, the copyright owner or the authorized agent may send the person who served the Notice a demand that a list of each of the works so identified be resubmitted in an electronic format, along with a copy of the original Notice. The person who served the Notice must submit such a list, which shall include all of the information required in paragraph (d)(1)(v) of this section, within 30 days after receipt of the demand from the copyright owner or authorized agent. The list shall be submitted on magnetic disk or another medium widely used at the time for electronic storage of data, in the form of a flat file, word processing document or spreadsheet readable with computer software in wide use at such time, with the required information identified and/or delimited so as to be readily discernible. The list may be submitted by means of electronic transmission (such as e-mail) if the demand from the copyright owner or authorized agent states that such submission will be accepted.

(g) Filing date and legal sufficiency of Notices. The Copyright Office will notify a prospective licensee when a Notice was not accompanied by payment of the required fee. Notices shall be deemed filed as of the date the Office receives both the Notice and the fee, if applicable. If the prospective licensee fails to remit the required fee, the Notice will be deemed not to have been filed with the Office. However, the Copyright Office does not review Notices for legal sufficiency or interpret the content of any Notice filed with the Copyright Office under this section. Furthermore, the Copyright Office does not screen Notices for errors or discrepancies and it does not generally correspond with a prospective licensee about the sufficiency of a Notice. If any issue (other than an issue related to fees) arises as to whether a Notice filed in the Copyright Office is sufficient as a matter of law under this section, that issue shall be determined not by the Copyright Office, but shall be subject to a determination of legal sufficiency by a court of competent jurisdiction. Prospective licensees are therefore cautioned to review and scrutinize Notices to assure their legal sufficiency before filing them in the Copyright Office. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Copyright Office will examine Notices to ensure that they do not pertain to digital phonorecord deliveries. Any Notice submitted to the Office that does pertain to digital phonorecord deliveries, regardless of whether such a Notice also pertains to phonorecords that are not digital phonorecord deliveries, will be rejected. The Office's decision to accept or reject such a Notice is without prejudice to any party claiming that the Notice does or does not pertain to digital phonorecord deliveries, including before a court of competent jurisdiction.

(h) Harmless errors. Harmless errors in a Notice that do not materially affect the adequacy of the information required to serve the purposes of 17 U.S.C. 115(b), shall not render the Notice invalid.

(i) Privacy Act Advisory Statement. The authority for receiving the personally identifying information included within a Notice of Intention to obtain a compulsory license is found in 17 U.S.C. 115 and § 201.18. Personally identifying information is any personal information that can be used to identify or trace an individual, such as name, address or telephone numbers. Furnishing the information set forth in § 201.18 is voluntary. However, if the information is not furnished, it may affect the sufficiency of Notice of Intention to obtain a compulsory license and may not entitle the prospective licensee to the benefits available under 17 U.S.C. 115. The principal uses of the requested information are the establishment and maintenance of a public record of the Notices of Intention to obtain a compulsory license received in the Licensing Section of the Copyright Office. Other routine uses include public inspection and copying, preparation of public indexes, preparation of public catalogs of copyright records including online catalogs, and preparation of search reports upon request.

[69 FR 34582, June 22, 2004, as amended at 73 FR 66181, Nov. 7, 2008; 77 FR 71103, Nov. 29, 2012; 79 FR 56206, Sept. 18, 2014; 82 FR 9358, Feb. 6, 2017; 83 FR 63064, Dec. 7, 2018; 86 FR 32642, June 22, 2021]

(a) Definitions. (1) An Advance Notice of Potential Infringement is a notice which, if served in accordance with section 411(c) of title 17 of the United States Code, and in accordance with the provisions of this section, enables a copyright owner to institute an action for copyright infringement either before or after the first fixation of a work consisting of sounds, images, or both that is first fixed simultaneously with its transmission, and to enjoy the full remedies of said title 17 for copyright infringement, provided registration for the work is made within three months after its first transmission.

(2) For purposes of this section, the copyright owner of a work consisting of sounds, images, or both, the first fixation of which is made simultaneously with its transmission, is the person or entity that will be considered the author of the work upon its fixation (including, in the case of a work made for hire, the employer or other person or entity for whom the work was prepared), or a person or organization that has obtained ownership of an exclusive right, initially owned by the person or entity that will be considered the author of the work upon its fixation.

(3) A transmission program is a body of material that, as an aggregate, has been produced for the sole purpose of transmission to the public in sequence and as a unit.

(b) Form. The Copyright Office does not provide printed forms for the use of persons serving Advance Notices of Potential Infringement.

(c) Contents. (1) An Advance Notice of Potential Infringement shall be clearly and prominently captioned “ADVANCE NOTICE OF POTENTIAL INFRINGEMENT” and must clearly state that the copyright owner objects to the relevant activities of the person responsible for the potential infringement, and must include all of the following:

(i) Reference to title 17 U.S.C. section 411(c) as the statutory authority on which the Advance Notice of Potential Infringement is based;

(ii) The date, specific time, and expected duration of the intended first transmission of the work or works contained in the specific transmission program;

(iii) The source of the intended first transmission of the work or works;

(iv) Clear identification, by title, of the work or works. A single Advance Notice of Potential Infringement may cover all of the works of the copyright owner embodied in a specific transmission program. If any work is untitled, the Advance Notice of Potential Infringement shall include a detailed description of that work;

(v) The name of at least one person or entity that will be considered the author of the work upon its fixation;

(vi) The identity of the copyright owner, as defined in paragraph (a)(2) of this section. If the copyright owner is not the person or entity that will be considered the author of the work upon its fixation, the Advance Notice of Potential Infringement also shall include a brief, general statement summarizing the means by which the copyright owner obtained ownership of the copyright and the particular rights that are owned; and

(vii) A description of the relevant activities of the person responsible for the potential infringement which would, if carried out, result in an infringement of the copyright.

(2) An Advance Notice of Potential Infringement must also include clear and prominent statements:

(i) Explaining that the relevant activities may, if carried out, subject the person responsible to liability for copyright infringement; and

(ii) Declaring that the copyright owner intends to secure copyright in the work upon its fixation.

(d) Signature and identification. (1) An Advance Notice of Potential Infringement shall be in writing and signed by the copyright owner, or such owner's duly authorized agent.

(2) The signature of the owner or agent shall be an actual handwritten signature of an individual, accompanied by the date of signature and the full name, address, and telephone number of that person, typewritten or printed legibly by hand.

(3) If an Advance Notice of Potential Infringement is initially served in the form of an email, fax, or similar communication, as provided by paragraph (e)(2)(iii) of this section, the requirement for an individual's handwritten signature shall be considered waived if the further conditions of said paragraph (e) are met.

(e) Service. (1) An Advance Notice of Potential Infringement shall be served on the person responsible for the potential infringement not less than 48 hours before the first fixation and simultaneous transmission of the work as provided by 17 U.S.C. 411(c)(1).

(2) Service of the Advance Notice may be effected by any of the following methods:

(i) Personal service;

(ii) First-class mail; or

(iii) Email, fax, or similar form of communication, if:

(A) The Advance Notice meets all of the other conditions provided by this section; and

(B) Before the first fixation and simultaneous transmission take place, the person responsible for the potential infringement receives written confirmation of the Advance Notice, bearing the actual handwritten signature of the copyright owner or duly authorized agent.

(3) The date of service is the date the Advance Notice of Potential Infringement is received by the person responsible for the potential infringement or by any agent or employee of that person.

(17 U.S.C. 411, 702) [46 FR 28849, May 29, 1981, as amended at 63 FR 66042, Dec. 1, 1998; 66 FR 34373, June 28, 2001; 82 FR 9358, Feb. 6, 2017]

(a) General. This section prescribes rules governing the transfer of unpublished copyright deposits in the custody of the Copyright Office to the Library of Congress. The copyright deposits may consist of copies, phonorecords, or identifying material deposited in connection with registration of claims to copyright under section 408 of title 17 of the United States Code. These rules establish the conditions under which the Library of Congress is entitled to select deposits of unpublished works for its collections or for permanent transfer to the National Archives of the United States or to a Federal records center in accordance with section 704(b) of title 17 of the United States Code.

(b) Selection by the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress may select any deposits of unpublished works for the purposes stated in paragraph (a) of this section at the time of registration or at any time thereafter; provided that:

(1) A facsimile reproduction of the entire copyrightable content of the deposit shall be made a part of the Copyright Office records before transfer to the Library of Congress as provided by section 704(c) of title 17 of the United States Code, unless, within the discretion of the Register of Copyrights, it is considered impractical or too expensive to make the reproduction;

(2) All unpublished copyright deposits retained by the Library of Congress in its collections shall be maintained under the control of the Library of Congress with appropriate safeguards against unauthorized copying or other unauthorized use of the deposits which would be contrary to the rights of the copyright owner in the work under title 17 of the United States Code; and

(3) At the time selection is made a request for full term retention of the deposit under the control of the Copyright Office has not been granted by the Register of Copyrights, in accordance with section 704(e) of title 17 of the United States Code.

(17 U.S.C. 702, 704) [45 FR 41414, June 19, 1980, as amended at 82 FR 9358, Feb. 6, 2017]

(a) Definition. A Warning of Copyright for Software Rental is a notice under paragraph (b)(2)(A) of section 109 of the Copyright Act, title 17 of the United States Code, as amended by the Computer Software Rental Amendments Act of 1990, Public Law 101-650. As required by that paragraph, the “Warning of Copyright for Software Rental” shall be affixed to the packaging that contains the computer program which is lent by a nonprofit library for nonprofit purposes.

(b) Contents. A Warning of Copyright for Software Rental shall consist of a verbatim reproduction of the following notice, printed in such size and form and affixed in such manner as to comply with paragraph (c) of this section.

Notice: Warning of Copyright Restrictions

The copyright law of the United States (title 17, United States Code) governs the reproduction, distribution, adaptation, public performance, and public display of copyrighted material.

Under certain conditions specified in law, nonprofit libraries are authorized to lend, lease, or rent copies of computer programs to patrons on a nonprofit basis and for nonprofit purposes. Any person who makes an unauthorized copy or adaptation of the computer program, or redistributes the loan copy, or publicly performs or displays the computer program, except as permitted by title 17 of the United States Code, may be liable for copyright infringement.

This institution reserves the right to refuse to fulfill a loan request if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the request would lead to violation of the copyright law.

(c) Form and manner of use. A Warning of Copyright for Software Rental shall be affixed to the packaging that contains the copy of the computer program, which is the subject of a library loan to patrons, by means of a label cemented, gummed, or otherwise durably attached to the copies or to a box, reel, cartridge, cassette, or other container used as a permanent receptacle for the copy of the computer program. The notice shall be printed in such manner as to be clearly legible, comprehensible, and readily apparent to a casual user of the computer program.

[56 FR 7812, Feb. 26, 1991, as amended at 66 FR 34373, June 28, 2001]

(a) General. This section prescribes the procedures relating to the submission of Visual Arts Registry Statements by visual artists and owners of buildings, or their duly authorized representatives, for recordation in the Copyright Office under section 113(d)(3) of title 17 of the United States Code, as amended by Public Law 101-650, effective June 1, 1991. Statements recorded in the Copyright Office under this regulation will establish a public record of information relevant to an artist's integrity right to prevent destruction or injury to works of visual art incorporated in or made part of a building.

(b) Forms. The Copyright Office does not provide forms for the use of persons recording statements regarding works of visual art that have been incorporated in or made part of a building.

(c) Recordable statements—(1) General. Any statement designated as a “Visual Arts Registry Statement” and which pertains to a work of visual art that has been incorporated in or made part of a building may be recorded in the Copyright Office provided the statement is accompanied by the fee for recordation of documents specified in section 708(a)(4) of title 17 of the United States Code. Upon their submission, the statements and an accompanying documentation or photographs become the property of the United States Government and will not be returned. Photocopies are acceptable if they are clear and legible. Information contained in the Visual Arts Registry Statement should be as complete as possible since the information may affect the enforceability of valuable rights under the copyright law. Visual Arts Registry Statements which are illegible or fall outside of the scope of section 113(d)(3) of title 17 may be refused recordation by the Copyright Office.

(2) Statements by artists. Statements by artists regarding a work of visual art incorporated or made part of a building should be filed in a document containing the head: “Registry of Visual Art Incorporated in a Building—Artist's Statement.” The statement should contain the following information:

(i) Identification of the artist, including name, current address, age, and telephone number, if publicly listed.

(ii) Identification of the work or works, including the title, dimensions, and physical description of the work and the copyright registration number, if known. Additionally, it is recommended that one or more 8 × 10 photographs of the work on good quality photographic paper be included in the submission; the images should be clear and in focus.

(iii) Identification of the building, including its name and address. This identification may additionally include 8 × 10 photographs of the building and the location of the artist's work in the building.

(iv) Identification of the owner of the building, if known.

(3) Statements by the owner of the building. Statements of owners of a building which incorporates a work of visual art should be filed in a document containing the heading: “Registry of Visual Art Incorporated in a Building—Building Owner's Statement.” The statement should contain the following information:

(i) Identification of the ownership of the building, the name of a person who represents the owner, and a telephone number, if publicly listed.

(ii) Identification of the building, including the building's name and address. This identification may additionally include 8 × 10 photographs of the building and of the works of visual art which are incorporated in the building.

(iii) Identification of the work or works of visual art incorporated in the building, including the works' title(s), if known, and the dimensions and physical description of the work(s). This identification may include one or more 8 × 10 photographs of the work(s) on high quality photographic paper; the images should be clear and in focus.

(iv) Identification of the artist(s) who have works incorporated in the building, including the current address of each artist, if known.

(v) Photocopy of contracts, if any, between the artist and owners of the building regarding the rights of attribution and integrity.

(vi) Statement as to the measures taken by the owner to notify the artist(s) of the removal or pending removal of the work of visual art, and photocopies of any accompanying documents.

(4) Updating statements. Either the artist or owner of the building or both may record statements updating previously recorded information by submitting an updated statement and paying the recording fee specified in paragraph (d) of this section. Such statements should repeat the information disclosed in the previous filing as regarding the name of the artist(s), the name of the work(s) of visual art, the name and address of the building, and the name of the owner(s) of the building. The remaining portion of the statement should correct or supplement the information disclosed in the previously recorded statement.

(d) Fee. The fee for recording a Visual Arts Registry Statement, a Building Owner's Statement, or an updating statement is the recordation fee for a document, as prescribed in § 201.3(c).

(e) Date of recordation. The date of recordation is the date when all of the elements required for recordation, including the prescribed fee have been received in the Copyright Office. After recordation of the statement, the sender will receive a certificate of recordation from the Copyright Office. Any documentation or photographs accompanying any submission will be retained and filed by the Copyright Office. They may also be transferred to the Library of Congress, or destroyed after preparing suitable copies, in accordance with usual procedures.

(f) Effect of recordation. The Copyright Office will record statements in the Visual Arts Registry without examination or verification of the accuracy or completeness of the statement, if the statement is designated as a “Visual Arts Registry Statement” and pertains to a work of visual art incorporated in or made part of a building. Recordation of the statement and payment of the recording fee shall establish only the fact of recordation in the official record. Acceptance for recordation shall not be considered a determination that the statement is accurate, complete, and otherwise in compliance with section 113(d), title 17, U.S. Code. The accuracy and completeness of the statement is the responsibility of the artist or building owner who submits it for recordation. Artists and building owners are encouraged to submit accurate and complete statements. Omission of any information, however, shall not itself invalidate the recordation, unless a court of competent jurisdiction finds the statement is materially deficient and fails to meet the minimum requirements of section 113(d) of title 17, U.S. Code.

[56 FR 38341, Aug. 13, 1991, as amended at 64 FR 29522, June 1, 1999; 65 FR 39819, June 28, 2000; 82 FR 9358, Feb. 6, 2017]

(a) General. This section prescribes the procedures for submission of legal documents pertaining to computer shareware and the deposit of public domain computer software under section 805 of Public Law 101-650, 104 Stat. 5089 (1990). Documents recorded in the Copyright Office under this regulation will be included in the Computer Shareware Registry. Recordation in this Registry will establish a public record of licenses or other legal documents governing the relationship between copyright owners of computer shareware and persons associated with the dissemination or other use of computer shareware. Documents transferring the ownership of some or all rights under the copyright law of computer shareware and security interests in such software should be recorded under 17 U.S.C. 205, as implemented by § 201.4.

(b) Definitions. (1) The term computer shareware is accorded its customary meaning within the software industry. In general, shareware is copyrighted software which is distributed for the purposes of testing and review, subject to the condition that payment to the copyright owner is required after a person who has secured a copy decides to use the software.

(2) A document designated as pertaining to computer shareware means licenses or other legal documents governing the relationship between copyright owners of computer shareware and persons associated with the dissemination or other use of computer shareware.

(3) Public domain computer software means software which has been publicly distributed with an explicit disclaimer of copyright protection by the copyright owner.

(c) Forms. The Copyright Office does not provide forms for the use of persons recording documents designated as pertaining to computer shareware or for the deposit of public domain computer software.

(d) Recordable documents. (1) Any document clearly designated as a “Document Pertaining to Computer Shareware” and which governs the legal relationship between owners of computer shareware and persons associated with the dissemination or other use of computer shareware may be recorded in the Computer Shareware Registry.

(2) Submitted documents may be a duplicate original, a legible photocopy, or other legible facsimile reproduction of the document, and must be complete on its face.

(3) Submitted documents will not be returned, and the Copyright Office requests that if the document is considered valuable, that only copies of that document be submitted for recordation.

(e) Fee. The fee for recording a document pertaining to computer shareware is the recordation fee for a document, as prescribed in § 201.3(c).

(f) Date of recordation. The date of recordation is the date when all of the elements required for recordation, including the prescribed fee have been received in the Copyright Office. After recordation of the statement, the sender will receive a certificate of recordation from the Copyright Office. The submission will be retained and filed by the Copyright Office, and may be destroyed at a later date after preparing suitable copies, in accordance with usual procedures.

(g) Donation of public domain computer software. (1) Any person may donate a copy of public domain computer software for the benefit of the Machine-Readable Collections Reading Room of the Library of Congress. Decision as to whether any public domain computer software is suitable for accession to the collections rests solely with the Library of Congress. Materials not selected will be disposed of in accordance with usual procedures, including transfer to other libraries, sale, or destruction. Donation of public domain software may be made regardless of whether a document has been recorded pertaining to the software.

(2) In order to donate public domain software, the following conditions must be met:

(i) The copy of the public domain software must contain an explicit disclaimer of copyright protection from the copyright owner.

(ii) The submission should contain documentation regarding the software. If the documentation is in machine-readable form, a print-out of the documentation should be included in the donation.

(iii) If the public domain software is marketed in a box or other packaging, the entire work as distributed, including the packaging, should be deposited.

(iv) If the public domain software is copy protected, two copies of the software must be submitted.

(3) Donations of public domain software with an accompanying letter of explanation must be sent to the following address: Gift Section, Exchange & Gift Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540-4260.

[58 FR 29107, May 19, 1993, as amended at 60 FR 34168, June 30, 1995; 64 FR 29522, June 1, 1999; 65 FR 39819, June 28, 2000; 82 FR 9358, Feb. 6, 2017]

(a) General. This section prescribes rules pertaining to the filing of an Initial Notice of Distribution in the Copyright Office as required by section 1003(b) of the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992, Public Law 102-563, title 17 of the United States Code, to obtain a statutory license to import and distribute, or manufacture and distribute, any digital audio recording device or digital audio recording medium in the United States.

(b) Definitions. (1) An Initial Notice of Distribution of Digital Audio Recording Devices or Media or Initial Notice is a notice under section 1003(b) of the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992, Public Law 102-563, title 17 of the United States Code, which is required by that section to be filed in the Copyright Office by an importer or manufacturer of a digital audio recording device or digital audio recording medium who has not previously filed notice of the importation or manufacture for distribution of such device or medium in the United States.

(2) The product category of a device or medium is a general class of products made up of functionally equivalent digital audio recording devices or media with substantially the same use in substantially the same environment, including, for example, hand-held portable integrated combination units (“boomboxes”); portable personal recorders; stand-alone home recorders (“tape decks”); home combination systems (“rack systems”); automobile recorders; configurations of tape media (standard cassettes or microcassettes); and configurations of disc media such as 2 1/2,″ 3″ and 5″ discs.

(3) The technology of a device or medium is a product type distinguished by different technical processes for digitally recording musical sounds, such as digital audio tape recorders (DAT), digital compact cassette (DCC), or recordable compact discs, including minidiscs (MD).

(4) The terms digital audio recording device, digital audio recording medium, distribute, manufacture, and transfer price, have the meanings of the same terms as they are used in section 1001 of the Copyright Act, title 17 of the United States Code, as amended by Public Law 102-563.

(c) Forms. An Initial Notice form may be obtained from the U.S. Copyright Office free of charge by contacting the address specified in § 201.1.

(d) Filing Deadline. Initial Notices shall be filed in the Copyright Office no later than 45 days after the commencement of the first distribution of digital audio recording devices or digital audio recording media in the United States, on or after October 28, 1992. A manufacturer or importer shall file an Initial Notice within 45 days of the first distribution for each new product category and each new technology that the manufacturer or importer has not reported in a previous Initial Notice.

(e) Content of Initial Notices. An Initial Notice of Distribution of Digital Audio Recording Devices or Media shall be identified as such by prominent caption or heading, and shall include the following:

(1) The designation “Importer” or “Manufacturer,” or both, whichever is applicable, followed by the full legal name of the importer or manufacturer of the digital audio recording device or medium, or if the party named is a partnership, the name of the partnership followed by the name of at least one individual partner;

(2) Any trade or business name or names, trademarks, or other indicia of origin that the importer or manufacturer uses or intends to use in connection with the importation, manufacture, or distribution of such digital audio recording device or medium in the United States;

(3) The full United States mailing address of the importer or manufacturer, and the full business address, if different;

(4) The product category and technology of the devices or media imported or manufactured;

(5) The first date (day, month, and year) that distribution commenced, or is to commence;

(6) The signature of an appropriate officer, partner, or agent of the importer or manufacturer, as specified by the Initial Notice form; and

(7) Other information relevant to the importation or manufacture for distribution of digital audio recording devices or media as prescribed on the Initial Notice form provided by the Copyright Office.

(f) Amendments. (1) The Copyright Office will record amendments to Initial Notices submitted to correct an error or omission in the information given in an earlier Initial Notice. An amendment is not appropriate to reflect developments or changes in facts occurring after the date of signature of an Initial Notice.

(2) An amendment shall:

(i) Be clearly and prominently identified as an “Amendment to an Initial Notice of Distribution of Digital Audio Recording Devices or Media;”

(ii) Identify the specific Initial Notice intended to be amended so that it may be readily located in the records of the Copyright Office;

(iii) Clearly specify the nature of the amendment to be made; and

(iv) Be signed and dated in accordance with this section.

(3) The recordation of an amendment under this paragraph shall have only such effect as may be attributed to it by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(g) Recordation. (1) The Copyright Office will record the Initial Notices and amendments submitted in accordance with this section by placing them in the appropriate public files of the Office. The Copyright Office will advise manufacturers and importers of errors or omissions appearing on the face of documents submitted to it, and will require that any such obvious errors or omissions be corrected before the documents will be recorded. However, recordation by the Copyright Office shall establish only the fact and date thereof; such recordation shall in no case be considered a determination that the document was, in fact, properly prepared or that all of the regulatory requirements to satisfy section 1003 of title 17 have been met.

(2) No fee shall be required for the recording of Initial Notices. The fee for filing an Amendment to an Initial Notice of Distribution of Digital Audio Recording Devices or Media is prescribed in § 201.3(e).

[57 span 55465, Nov. 25, 1992, as amended at 64 span 36575, July 7, 1999; 72 span 33692, June 19, 2007; 78 span 42874, July 18, 2013; 82 span 9358, Feb. 6, 2017]

(a) General. This section prescribes rules pertaining to the filing of Statements of Account and royalty fees in the Copyright Office as required by 17 U.S.C. 1003(c) and 1004, in order to import and distribute, or manufacture and distribute, in the United States any digital audio recording device or digital audio recording medium.

(b) Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) Annual statement of account is the statement required under 17 U.S.C. 1003, to be filed no later than two months after the close of the accounting period covered by the annual statement.

(2) Device and medium have the same meaning as digital audio recording device and digital audio recording medium, respectively, have in 17 U.S.C. 1001.

(3) Digital audio recording product means digital audio recording devices and digital audio recording media.

(4) Generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS), means the auditing standards promulgated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

(5) Manufacturing or importing party refers to any person or entity that manufactures and distributes, and/or imports and distributes, any digital audio recording device or digital audio recording medium in the United States, and is required under 17 U.S.C. 1003 to file with the Copyright Office quarterly and annual Statements of Account.

(6) Product category of a device or medium is a general class of products made up of functionally equivalent digital audio recording products with substantially the same use in substantially the same environment, including, for example, hand-held portable integrated combination units (“boomboxes”); portable personal recorders; stand-alone home recorders (“tape decks”); home combination systems (“rack systems”); automobile recorders; configurations of tape media (standard cassettes or microcassettes); and configurations of disc media, such as 2 1/2 inch, 3 inch, or 5 inch discs.

(7) Primary auditor is the certified public accountant retained by the manufacturing or importing party to audit the amounts reported in the annual Statement of Account submitted to the Copyright Office. The primary auditor may be the certified public accountant engaged by the manufacturing or importing party to perform the annual audit of the party's financial statement.

(8) Quarterly statement of account is the statement accompanying royalty payments required under 17 U.S.C. 1003, to be filed for each of the first three quarters of the accounting year, and no later than 45 days after the close of the quarterly period covered by the statement.

(9) Technology of a device or medium is a digital audio recording product-type distinguished by different technical processes for digitally recording musical sounds, such as digital audio tape recorders (DAT), digital compact cassettes (DCC), or recordable compact discs, including minidiscs (MD).

(10) Distribute, manufacture, transfer price, and serial copying have the meanings set forth in 17 U.S.C. 1001.

(c) Accounting periods and filing deadlines—(1) Election of filing basis. Statements of Account may be filed on either a calendar or fiscal year basis at the election of the manufacturing party. The election of a calendar or fiscal year basis must be made when the manufacturing or importing party files its first quarterly Statement of Account by appropriate designation on the Form DART/Q submitted. Thereafter the specific calendar or fiscal-year accounting period must be designated on each quarterly Statement of Account. The filing basis may be changed at any time upon notification in writing to the Register of Copyrights, accompanied by a statement of reasons as to why the change is to be made and a statement that such change will not affect the aggregate royalties due under the earlier basis. The notification of change in filing basis must be made at least two months before the date the next quarterly Statement of Account is due to be filed.

(2) Quarterly filings. Quarterly Statements of Account shall be filed on Form DART/Q and shall cover a three-month period corresponding to the calendar or fiscal year of the filing party. A quarterly statement shall be filed no later than 45 days after the close of the period it covers.

(3) Annual filings. Annual Statements of Account shall be filed on Form DART/A and shall cover both the fourth quarter of an accounting year and the aggregate of the entire year corresponding to the calendar or fiscal accounting year elected. An annual statement shall be filed no later than two months after the close of the period it covers. The appropriate royalty payment, calculated according to the instructions contained in Form DART/A, shall accompany the annual Statement of Account covering royalties due for the filing year: that is, royalties for the fourth quarter and any additional royalties that are due because of adjustments in the aggregate amounts of devices or media distributed.

(4) Early or late filings. Statements of Account and royalty fees received before the end of the particular accounting period covered by the statement will not be processed by the Office. The statement must be filed after the close of the relevant accounting period. Statements of Account and royalty fees received after the 45-day deadline for quarterly statements or the two-month deadline for annual statements will be accepted for whatever legal effect they may have and will be assessed the appropriate interest charge for the late filing.

(d) Forms. (1) Each quarterly or annual Statement of Account shall be submitted on the appropriate form prescribed by the Copyright Office. Computation of the royalty fee shall be in accordance with the procedures set forth in the forms and this section. Statement of Account forms are available free from the Copyright Office website. Copies of Statement of Account forms transmitted to the Office by fax will not be accepted.

(2) Forms prescribed by the Copyright Office are designated Quarterly Statement of Account for Digital Audio Recording Products (Form DART/Q) and Annual Statement of Account for Digital Audio Recording Products (Form DART/A).

(e) Contents of quarterly Statements of Account—(1) Quarterly period and filing. Any quarterly Statement of Account shall cover the full quarter of the calendar or fiscal accounting year for the particular quarter for which it is filed. A separate quarterly statement shall be filed for each quarter of the first three quarters of the accounting year during which there is any activity relevant to the payment of royalties under 17 U.S.C. 1004. The annual Statement of Account identified in paragraph (f) of this section incorporates the fourth quarter of the accounting year.

(2) General content. Each quarterly Statement of Account shall be filed on Form DART/Q, the “Quarterly Statement of Account for Digital Audio Recording Products,” and shall include a clear statement of the following information:

(i) A designation of the calendar or fiscal year of the annual reporting period;

(ii) A designation of the period, including the beginning and ending day, month, and year of the period covered by the quarter;

(iii) The full legal name of the manufacturing and/or importing party, together with any “doing-business-as” names used by such person or entity for the purpose of conducting the business of manufacturing, importing, or distributing digital audio recording products;

(iv) The full mailing address of the manufacturing or importing party, including a specific number and street name, or rural route and box number, of the place of business of the person or entity. A post office box or similar designation will not be sufficient for this purpose except where it is the only address that can be used in that geographic location;

(v) A designation of the manufacturing or importing party status, i.e., “Manufacturer,” “Importer,” or “Manufacturer and Importer;”

(vi) The designation “Product Categories” together with the product categories of the digital audio recording products manufactured or imported and distributed during the quarter covered by the statement;

(vii) The designation “Technologies” together with the technologies of the digital audio recording products manufactured or imported and distributed under the AHRA during the quarter covered by the statement;

(viii) The designation “Series or Model Number” followed by the model or series numbers of the digital audio recording products manufactured or imported and distributed under the AHRA during the quarter covered by the statement;

(ix) The “fee code” associated with the product;

(x) The “source code” for the product category;

(xi) The “transfer price” of the product;

(xii) The “number of units distributed” for each product;

(xiii) The “minimum fee per unit” for each product;

(xiv) The statutory royalty “rate” for digital audio recording devices or media;

(xv) The “rate fee” for each product;

(xvi) The appropriate “maximum fee per unit” for each product;

(xvii) The “maximum fee” for each product; and

(xviii) A computation of the total royalty payable for the quarter covered by the statement. Filing parties may not round off the figures they list in Space C, the computation section of the form, except for the figure representing the total royalty fee due; in that case, numbers ending in 50 to 99 cents may be rounded up to the next dollar, and numbers ending in one to 49 cents may be rounded down to the next dollar;

(3) Royalty payments and accounting. (i) The royalty specified in 17 U.S.C. 1004 shall accompany the quarterly and annual Statements of Account. No royalty is payable for redistribution of the same product item unless a credit has been taken for such items. Where royalties are payable for the period covered by the statement, the Statement of Account shall contain the following information for each unique combination of product category, technology, series or model number, fee code, source code, and transfer price:

(A) The total number of digital audio recording media distributed, multiplied by the statutory royalty rate of three percent (3%) of the transfer price;

(B) The total number of digital audio recording devices distributed for which the statutory royalty rate of two percent (2%) of the transfer price is payable, multiplied by such percentage rate of the transfer price;

(C) The total number of digital audio recording devices distributed for which the statutory maximum royalty is limited to eight dollars ($8.00), multiplied by such eight dollar amount;

(D) The total number of digital audio recording devices distributed for which the statutory maximum royalty is limited to twelve dollars ($12.00), multiplied by such twelve dollar amount; and

(E) The total number of digital audio recording devices distributed for which the statutory minimum royalty is limited to one dollar ($1.00), multiplied by such one dollar amount.

(ii) The amount of the royalty payment shall be calculated in accordance with the instructions specified in the quarterly Statement of Account form. Payment shall be made as specified in § 201.28(h).

(4) Reduction of royalty fee. (i) Section 1004(a)(2)(A) of title 17 of the United States Code, provides an instance in which royalty payments may be reduced if the digital audio recording device and such other devices are part of a physically integrated unit, the royalty payment shall be based on the transfer price of the unit, but shall be reduced by any royalty payment made on any digital audio recording device included within the unit that was not first distributed in combination with the unit.

(ii) Notice of this provision together with directions for possible application to a product is contained in the DART/Q Form.

(5) Contact party. Each Statement of Account shall include the name, address, and telephone and fax numbers of an individual whom the Copyright Office can write or call about the Statement of Account.

(6) Credits for returned or exported products. When digital audio recording products first distributed in the United States for ultimate transfer to United States consumers are returned to the manufacturer or importer as unsold or defective merchandise, or are exported, the manufacturing or importing party may take a credit to be deducted from the royalties payable for the period when the products were returned or exported. The credit may be taken only for returns or exports made within two years following the date royalties were paid for the products. This credit must be reflected in the manufacturing or importing party's quarterly or annual Statement of Account. If the manufacturer or importer later redistributes in the United States any products for which a credit has been taken, these products must be listed on the Statement of Account, and a new computation of the royalty fee must be made based on the transfer price of the products at the time of the new distribution.

(7) Oath and signature. Each Statement of Account shall include a legally binding signature, including an electronic signature as defined in 15 U.S.C. 7006, of an authorized officer, principal, or agent of the filing party. The signature shall be accompanied by:

(i) The printed or typewritten name of the person signing the quarterly Statement of Account;

(ii) The date the document is signed;

(iii) The following certification:

I, the undersigned, hereby certify that I am an authorized officer, principal, or agent of the “manufacturing or importing party” identified in Space B.

Penalties for fraud and false statements are provided under 18 U.S.C. 1001 et. seq.

(f) Contents of annual Statements of Account—(1) General contents. Each annual Statement of Account shall be filed on form DART/A, “Annual Statement of Account for Digital Audio Recording Products.” It must be filed by any importer or manufacturer that distributed in the United States, during a given calendar or fiscal year, any digital audio recording device or digital audio recording medium. The annual statement shall cover the aggregate of the distribution of devices and media for the entire year corresponding to the calendar or fiscal year elected. The annual Statement of Account shall contain the information, oath, and certification prescribed in paragraphs (e)(2)(i) through (e)(7)(iii) of this section, and shall cover the entire accounting year, including the fourth quarter distribution, and shall also provide for the reconciliation of the aggregated accounting of digital audio recording devices and media for the reported accounting year.

(2) Reconciliation. Any royalty payment due under sections 1003 and 1004 of title 17 that was not previously paid with the filing party's first three quarterly Statements of Account, shall be reconciled in the annual statement. Reconciliation in the annual Statement of Account provides for adjustments for reductions, refunds, underpayments, overpayments, credits, and royalty payments paid in Quarters 1, 2, and 3, and shall be computed in accordance with the instructions included in the annual Statement of Account. Errors that require reconciliation shall be corrected immediately upon discovery.

(3) Accountant's opinion. Each annual Statement of Account or any amended annual Statement of Account shall be audited by the primary auditor as defined in paragraph (b)(7) of this section. An amendment may be submitted to the Office either as a result of responses to questions raised by a Licensing Section examiner or on the initiative of the manufacturing or importing party to correct an error in the original Statement of Account.

(i) The audit shall be performed in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS). The audit may be performed in conjunction with an annual audit of the manufacturing or importing party's financial statements.

(ii) The CPA shall issue a report, the “primary auditor's report,” reflecting his or her opinion as to whether the annual statement presents fairly, in all material respects, the number of digital audio recording devices and media that were imported and distributed, or manufactured and distributed, by the manufacturing or importing party during the relevant year, and the amount of royalty payments applicable to them under 17 U.S.C. chapter 10, in accordance with that law and these regulations.

(iii) The primary auditor's report shall be filed with the Copyright Office together with the annual Statement of Account, within two months after the end of the annual period for which the annual Statement of Account is prepared. The report may be qualified to the extent necessary and appropriate.

(iv) The Copyright Office does not provide a specific form, or require a specific format, for the CPA's review; however, in addition to the above, certain items must be named as audited items. These include the variables necessary to complete Space C of the Statement of Account form. The CPA may place his or her opinion, which will serve as the “primary auditor's report,” in the space provided on Form DART/A, or may attach a separate sheet or sheets containing the opinion.

(v) The auditor's report shall be signed by an individual, or in the name of a partnership or a corporation, and shall include city and state of execution, certificate number, jurisdiction of certificate, and date of opinion. The certificate number and jurisdiction are not required if the report is signed in the name of a partnership or a corporation.

(g) Copies of statements of account. A licensee shall file an original and one copy of the statement of account with the Licensing Section of the Copyright Office.

(h) Royalty fee payment. (1) All royalty fees must be paid by electronic funds transfer, and must be received in the designated bank by the filing deadline for the relevant accounting period. The following information must be provided as part of the EFT and/or as part of the remittance advice as provided for in circulars issued by the Copyright Office:

(i) Remitter's name and address;

(ii) Name of a contact person, telephone number and extension, and email address;

(iii) The actual or anticipated date that the EFT will be transmitted;

(iv) Type of royalty payment (i.e., DART);

(v) Total amount submitted via the EFT;

(vi) Total amount to be paid by year and period;

(vii) Number of Statements of Account that the EFT covers;

(viii) ID numbers assigned by the Licensing Section;

(ix) Legal name of the owner for each Statement of Account.

(2) The remittance advice shall be attached to the Statement(s) of Account. In addition, a copy of the remittance advice shall be emailed or sent by facsimile to the Licensing Section.

(3) The Office may waive the requirement for payment by electronic funds transfer as set forth in paragraph (1) of this section. To obtain a waiver, the remitter shall submit to the Licensing Section at least 60 days prior to the royalty fee due date a certified statement setting forth the reasons explaining why payment by an electronic funds transfer would be virtually impossible or, alternatively, why it would impose a financial or other hardship on the remitter. The certified statement must be signed by a duly authorized representative of the entity making the payment. A waiver shall cover only a single payment period. Failure to obtain a waiver may result in the remittance being returned to the remitter.

(i) Documentation. All filing parties shall keep and retain in their possession, for at least three years from the date of filing, all records and documents necessary and appropriate to support fully the information set forth in quarterly and annual statements that they file.

(j) Corrections, supplemental payments, and refunds—(1) General. Upon compliance with the procedures and within the time limits set forth in this paragraph (i), corrections to quarterly and annual Statements of Account will be placed on record, and supplemental royalty fee payments will be received for deposit, or refunds without interest will be issued, in the following cases:

(i) Where, with respect to the accounting period covered by the quarterly or annual Statement of Account, any of the information given in the statement filed in the Copyright Office is incorrect or incomplete; or

(ii) Where, for any reason except that mentioned in paragraph (j)(2) of this section, calculation of the royalty fee payable for a particular accounting period was incorrect, and the amount deposited in the Copyright Office for that period was either too high or too low.

(2) Corrections to quarterly or annual Statements of Account will not be placed on file, supplemental royalty fee payments will not be received for deposit, and refunds will not be issued, where the information in the Statements of Account, the royalty fee calculations, or the payments were correct as of the date on which the accounting period ended, but changes (for example, cases where digital audio recording media were exported) took place later.

(3) Requests that corrections to annual or quarterly Statements of Account be accepted, that fee payments be accepted, or that refunds be issued shall be addressed to the Licensing Section of the Copyright Office, and shall meet the following conditions:

(i) The request shall be made in writing and must clearly identify the manufacturing or importing party making the request, the accounting period in question, and the purpose of the request. A request for a refund must be received in the Copyright Office before the expiration of two months from the last day of the applicable Statement of Account filing period. Telephone or similar unsigned requests that meet these conditions may be permitted, where a follow-up written request detailing the same information is received by the Copyright Office within 14 days after the required 60-day period.

(ii) The request must clearly identify the incorrect or incomplete information formerly filed and must provide the correct or additional information.

(iii) In the case where a royalty fee was miscalculated and the amount deposited with the Copyright Office was too large or too small, the request must be accompanied by an affidavit under the official seal of any officer authorized to administer oaths within the United States, or a statement in accordance with 28 U.S.C. 1746, made and signed in accordance with paragraph (e)(7) of this section. The affidavit or statement shall describe the reasons why the royalty fee was improperly calculated and include a detailed analysis of the proper royalty calculation.

(iv) Following final processing, all requests will be filed with the original Statement of Account in the records of the Copyright Office. Nothing contained in this paragraph shall be considered to relieve manufacturing or importing parties of their full obligations under title 17 of the United States Code, and the filing of a correction or supplemental payment shall have only such effect as may be attributed to it by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(v)(A) The request must be accompanied by a filing fee in the amount prescribed in § 201.3(e) for each Statement of Account involved. Payment of this fee may be in the form of a personal or company check, or a certified check, cashier's check, or money order, payable to the Register of Copyrights. No request will be processed until the appropriate filing fees are received.

(B) Requests that a supplemental royalty fee payment be deposited must be accompanied by a remittance in the full amount of such fee. Payment of the supplemental royalty fee must be in the form of a certified check, cashier's check, money order, or electronic payment payable to the Register of Copyrights. No such request will be processed until an acceptable remittance in the full amount of the supplemental royalty fee has been received.

(vi) All requests submitted under paragraph (j) of this section must be signed by the manufacturing or importing party named in the Statement of Account, or the duly authorized agent of that party in accordance with paragraph (e)(7) of this section.

(vii) A request for a refund is not necessary where the Licensing Section, during its examination of a Statement of Account or related document, discovers an error that has resulted in a royalty overpayment. In this case, the Licensing Section will forward the royalty refund to the manufacturing or importing party named in the Statement of Account. The Copyright Office will not pay interest on any royalty refunds.

(k) Examination of Statements of Account by the Copyright Office. (1) Upon receiving a Statement of Account and royalty fee, the Copyright Office will make an official record of the actual date when such statement and fee were physically received in the Copyright Office. Thereafter, the Licensing Section will examine the statement for obvious errors or omissions appearing on the face of the documents and will require that any such obvious errors or omissions be corrected before final processing of the document is completed. If, as the result of communications between the Copyright Office and the manufacturer or importer, an additional fee is deposited or changes or additions are made in the Statement of Account, the date that additional deposit or information was actually received in the Office will be added to the official record.

(2) Completion by the Copyright Office of the final processing of a Statement of Account and royalty fee deposit shall establish only the fact of such completion and the date or dates of receipt shown in the official record. It shall not be considered a determination that the Statement of Account was, in fact, properly prepared and accurate, that the correct amount of the royalty was deposited, that the statutory time limits for filing had been met, or that any other requirements of 17 U.S.C. 1001 et. seq. were fulfilled.

(l) Interest on late payments or underpayments. (1) Royalty payments submitted as a result of late payments or underpayments shall include interest, which shall begin to accrue on the first day after the close of the period for filing Statements of Account for all late payments or underpayments of royalties for the digital audio recording obligation occurring within that accounting period. The accrual period shall end on the date the electronic payment submitted by the remitter is received. In cases where a waiver of the electronic funds transfer requirement is approved by the Copyright Office, and royalties payments are either late or underpaid, the accrual period shall end on the date the payment is postmarked. If the payment is not received by the Copyright Office within five business days of its date, then the accrual period shall end on the date of the actual receipt by the Copyright Office.

(2) The interest rate applicable to a specific accounting period shall be the Current Value of Funds rate in accordance with the Treasury Financial Manual, at 1 TFM 6-8025.40, in effect on the first business day after the close of the filing deadline for the relevant accounting period. The interest rate for a particular accounting period may be obtained by consulting the Federal Register for the applicable Current Value of Funds Rate, or by contacting the Licensing Section of the Copyright Office.

(3) Interest is not required to be paid on any royalty underpayment or late payment from a particular accounting period if the interest charge is five dollars ($5.00) or less.

(m) Confidentiality of Statements of Account. Public access to the Copyright Office files of Statements of Account for digital audio recording products shall not be provided. Access will only be granted to interested copyright parties in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Register of Copyrights pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 1003(c).

[59 span 4589, Feb. 1, 1994, as amended at 64 span 36575, July 7, 1999; 65 span 48914, Aug. 10, 2000; 70 span 30367, May 26, 2005; 70 span 38022, July 1, 2005; 71 span 45740, Aug. 10, 2006; 72 span 33692, June 19, 2007; 73 span 29073, May 20, 2008; 82 span 9358, Feb. 6, 2017; 83 span 51841, Oct. 15, 2018; 85 span 19667, Apr. 8, 2020; 86 span 32642, June 22, 2021]

(a) General. This section prescribes rules covering access to DART Statements of Account, including the Primary Auditor's Reports, filed under 17 U.S.C. 1003(c) and access to a Verifying Auditor's Report or other information that may be filed in the Office in a DART verification procedure as set out in § 201.30. It also prescribes rules to ensure confidential disclosure of these materials to appropriate parties.

(b) Definitions. (1) Access includes inspection of and supervised making of notes on information contained in Statements of Account including Primary Auditor's Reports, Verification Auditor's Reports, and any other verification information.

(2) Audit and Verification Information means the reports of the Primary Auditor and Verifying Auditor filed with the Copyright Office under §§ 201.28 and 201.30, and all information relating to a manufacturing or importing party.

(3) DART Access Form means the form provided by the Copyright Office that must be completed and signed by any appropriate party seeking access to DART confidential material.

(4) DART confidential material means the Quarterly and Annual Statements of Account, including the Primary Auditor's Report that is part of the Annual Statements of Account, and the Verifying Auditor's Report and any other verification information filed with the Copyright Office. It also includes photocopies of notes made by requestors who have had access to these materials that are retained by the Copyright Office.

(5) Interested copyright party means a party as defined in 17 U.S.C. 1001(7).

(6) A Representative is someone, such as a lawyer or accountant, who is not an employee or officer of an interested copyright party or a manufacturing or importing party but is authorized to act on that party's behalf.

(7) Statements of Account means Quarterly and Annual Statements of Account as required under 17 U.S.C. 1003(c) and defined in § 201.28.

(c) Confidentiality. The Copyright Office will keep all DART confidential materials in locked files and disclose them only in accordance with this section. Any person or entity provided with access to DART confidential material by the Copyright Office shall receive such information in confidence and shall use and disclose it only as authorized in 17 U.S.C. 1001 et. seq.

(d) Persons allowed access to DART confidential material. Access to DART Statements of Account filed under 17 U.S.C. 1003(c) and to Verification Auditor's Reports or other verification information is limited to:

(1) An interested copyright party as defined in § 201.29(b)(5) or an authorized representative of an interested copyright party, who has been qualified for access pursuant to paragraph (f)(2) of this section;

(2) The Verifying Auditor authorized to conduct verification procedures under § 201.30;

(3) The manufacturing or importing party who filed that Statement of Account or that party's authorized representative(s); and

(4) Staff of the Copyright Office or the Library of Congress who require access in the performance of their duties under title 17 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.;

(e) Requests for access. An interested copyright party, manufacturing party, importing party, representative, or Verifying Auditor seeking access to any DART confidential material must complete and sign a “DART Access Form.” The requestor must submit a copy of the completed DART Access Form to the Licensing Specialist, Licensing Section. The form must be received in the Licensing Section at least five working days before the date an appointment is requested. The form may be faxed to the Licensing Section to expedite scheduling, but a copy of the form with the original signature must be filed with the Office.

(1) A representative of an interested copyright party, a manufacturing party or an importing party shall submit an affidavit of his or her authority (e.g., in the form of a letter of authorization from the interested copyright party or the manufacturing or importing party).

(2) An auditor selected to conduct a verification procedure under § 201.30 shall submit an affidavit of his or her selection to conduct the verification procedure.

(3) DART Access Forms may be requested from, and upon completion returned to the address specified in § 201.1.

(f) Criteria for access to DART confidential material. (1) A Verifying Auditor will be allowed access to any particular Statement of Account and Primary Auditor's Report required to perform his or her verification function;

(2) Interested copyright parties as defined in paragraph (b)(5) of this section will be allowed access to any DART confidential material as defined in paragraph (b)(4) of this section for verification purposes, except that no interested copyright party owned or controlled by a manufacturing or importing party subject to royalty payment obligations under the Audio Home Recording Act, or who owns or controls such a manufacturing or importing party, may have access to DART confidential material relating to any other manufacturing or importing party. In such cases, a representative of the interested copyright party as defined in paragraph (b)(6) of this section may have access for that party, provided that these representatives do not disclose the confidential information contained in the Statement of Account or Primary Auditor's Report to his or her client.

(3) Access to a Verifying Auditor's Report and any other verification material filed in the Office shall be limited to the interested copyright party(s) requesting the verification procedure and to the manufacturing or importing party whose Statement of Account was the subject of the verification procedure.

(g) Denial of access. Any party who does not meet the criteria described in § 201.29(f) shall be denied access.

(h) Content of DART Access Form. The DART Access Form shall include the following information:

(1) Identification of the Statement of Account and Primary Auditor's Report, the Verification Auditor's Report and other verification materials, or notes prepared by requestors who earlier accessed the same items, to be accessed, by both the name of the manufacturing party or importing party and the quarter(s) and year(s) to be accessed.

(2) The name of the interested copyright party, manufacturing party, importing party, or verification auditor on whose behalf the request is made, plus this party's complete address, including a street address (not a post office box number), a telephone number, and a fax number, if any.

(3) If the request for access is by or for an interested copyright party, a statement indicating whether the copyright party is owned or controlled by a manufacturing or importing party subject to a royalty payment obligation, or whether the interested copyright party owns or controls a manufacturing or importing party subject to royalty payments.

(4) The name, address, and telephone number of the person making the request for access and his/her relationship to the party on whose behalf the request is made.

(5) The specific purpose for the request for access, for example, access is requested in order to verify a Statement of Account; in order to review the results of a verification audit; for the resolution of a dispute arising from such an audit; or in order for a manufacturing or importing party to review its own Statement of Account, Primary Auditor's Report, Verification Auditor's Report, or related information.

(6) A statement that the information obtained from access to Statements of Account, Primary Auditor's Report, Verification Auditor's Report, and any other verification audit filings will be used only for a purpose permitted under the Audio Home Recording Act and the DART regulations.

(7) The actual signature of the party or the representative of the party requesting access certifying that the information will be held in confidence and used only for the purpose specified by the Audio Home Recording Act and these regulations.

[60 FR 25998, May 16, 1995, as amended at 63 FR 30635, June 5, 1998; 64 FR 36575, July 7, 1999; 73 FR 37839, July 2, 2008; 78 FR 42874, July 18, 2013; 82 FR 9358, Feb. 6, 2017; 86 FR 32642, June 22, 2021]

(a) General. This section prescribes rules pertaining to the verification of information contained in the Statements of Account by interested copyright parties pursuant to section 1003(c) of title 17 of the United States Code.

(b) Definitions—(1) Annual Statement of Account, generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS), and primary auditor have the same meaning as the definition in § 201.28 of this part.

(2) Filer is a manufacturer or importer of digital devices or media who is required by 17 U.S.C. 1003 to file with the Copyright Office Quarterly and Annual Statements of Account and a primary auditor's report on the Annual Statement of Account.

(3) Interested copyright party has the same meaning as the definition in § 201.29 of this part.

(4) Verifying auditor is the person retained by interested copyright parties to perform a verification procedure. He or she is independent and qualified as defined in paragraphs (j)(2) and (j)(3) of this section.

(5) Verification procedure is the process followed by the verifying auditor to verify the information reported on an Annual Statement of Account.

(c) Purpose of verification. The purpose of verification is to determine whether there was any failure of the primary auditor to conduct the primary audit properly or to obtain a reliable result, or whether there was any error in the Annual Statement of Account.

(d) Timing of verification procedure—(1) Requesting a verification procedure. No sooner than three months nor later than three years after the filing deadline of the Annual Statement of Account to be verified, any interested copyright party shall notify the Register of Copyrights of its interest in instituting a verification procedure. Such notification of interest shall also be served at the same time on the filer and the primary auditor identified in the Annual Statement of Account. Such notification shall include the year of the Annual Statement of Account to be verified, the name of the filer, information on how other interested copyright parties may contact the party interested in the verification including name, address, telephone number, facsimile number and electronic mail address, if any, and a statement establishing the party filing the notification as an interested copyright party. The notification of interest may apply to more than one Annual Statement of Account and more than one filer.

(2) Coordination and selection of verifying auditor. The Copyright Office will publish in the Federal Register notice of having received a notification of interest to institute a verification procedure. Interested copyright parties have one month from the date of publication of the Federal Register notice to notify the party interested in instituting the verification procedure of their intent to join with it and to participate in the selection of the verifying auditor. Any dispute about the selection of the verifying auditor shall be resolved by the parties themselves.

(3) Notification of the filer and primary auditor. As soon as the verifying auditor has been selected, and in no case later than two months after the publication in the Federal Register of the notice described in paragraph (d)(2) of this section, the joint interested copyright parties shall notify the Register of Copyrights, the filer, and the primary auditor identified in the Annual Statement of Account to be verified, that they intend or do not intend to initiate a verification procedure.

(4) Commencement of the verification procedure. The verification procedure shall begin no sooner than one month after notice of intent to initiate a verification procedure was given to the filer and the primary auditor by the joint interested copyright parties. The joint interested copyright parties shall grant the filer or the primary auditor a postponement of the beginning of the verification procedure of up to one additional month if either one requests it. Verification procedures shall be conducted at reasonable times during normal business hours.

(5) Anti-duplication rules. A filer shall be subject to no more than one verification procedure per calendar year. An Annual Statement of Account shall be subject to a verification procedure only once.

(e) Scope of verification. The verifying auditor shall limit his or her examination to verifying the information required in the Annual Statement of Account. To the extent possible, the verifying auditor shall inspect the information contained in the primary auditor's report and the primary auditor's working papers. If the verifying auditor believes that access to the records, files, or other materials in the control of the filer is required according to GAAS, he or she may, after consultation with the primary auditor, require the production of these documents as well. The verifying auditor and the primary auditor shall act in good faith using reasonable professional judgment, with the intention of reaching a reasonable accommodation as to the necessity and scope of examination of any additional documents, but the decision to require the production of additional documents is solely that of the verifying auditor.

(f) Verification report. Upon concluding the verification procedure, the verifying auditor shall render a report enumerating in reasonable detail the procedures performed by the verifying auditor and his or her findings. Such findings shall state whether there was any failure of the primary auditor to conduct properly the primary audit or obtain a reliable result, and whether there was any error in the Annual Statement of Account, itemized by amount and by the filer's elected fiscal year. If there was such failure or error, the report shall specify all evidence from which the verifying auditor reached such conclusions. Such evidence shall be listed and identified in an appendix to the report in sufficient detail to enable a third party to reasonably understand or interpret the evidence on which the verifying auditor based his or her conclusion. If there was no such failure or error, the report shall so state.

(g) Distribution of report. Copies of the verifying auditor's report shall be subject to the confidentiality provisions of § 201.29 and shall be distributed as follows:

(1) One copy, excluding the appendix, if applicable, shall be filed with the Register of Copyrights.

(2) One copy, with the appendix, if applicable, shall be submitted to each of the interested copyright parties who retained the services of the verifying auditor and who are authorized to receive such information according to § 201.29.

(3) One copy, with the appendix, if applicable, shall be submitted to the filer of the Annual Statement of Account.

(4) One copy, with the appendix, if applicable, shall be submitted to the primary auditor.

(h) Retention of report. The Register of Copyrights will retain his or her copy of the verifying auditor's report for three years following the date the copy of the verifying auditor's report is filed.

(i) Costs of verification. The joint interested copyright parties who requested the verification procedure shall pay the fees of the verifying auditor and the primary auditor for their work performed in connection with the verification procedure, except, if the verification procedure results in a judicial determination or the filer's agreement that royalty payments were understated on the Annual Statement of Account, then,

(1) if the amount is less than five percent (5%) of the amount stated on the Annual Statement of Account, that amount shall first be used to pay the fees of the verifying auditor and the primary auditor, and any remaining amount plus any applicable interest on the total amount shall be deposited, allocated by the filer's elected fiscal year, with the Register of Copyrights, or

(2) if the amount is equal to or greater than five percent (5%) of the amount stated on the Annual Statement of Account, the filer shall pay the fees of the verifying auditor and the primary auditor, and, in addition, shall deposit the amount found to be due plus any applicable interest on the total amount, allocated by the filer's elected fiscal year, with the Register of Copyrights.

(j) Independence and qualifications of verifying auditor. (1) The verifying auditor shall be qualified and independent as defined in this section. If the filer has reason to believe that the verifying auditor is not qualified or independent, it shall raise the matter with the joint interested copyright parties before the commencement of the verification procedure, and if the matter is not resolved, it may raise the issue with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' Professional Ethics Division and/or the verifying auditor's State Board of Accountancy while the verification procedure is being performed.

(2) A verifying auditor shall be considered qualified if he or she is a certified public accountant or works under the supervision of a certified public accounting firm.

(3) A verifying auditor shall be considered independent if:

(i) He or she is independent as that term is used in the Code of Professional Conduct of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, including the Principles, Rules and Interpretations of such Code applicable generally to attest engagements (collectively, the “AICPA Code”); and

(ii) He or she is independent as that term is used in the Statements on Auditing Standards promulgated by the Auditing Standards Board of the AICPA and Interpretations thereof issued by the Auditing Standards Division of the AICPA.

[61 FR 30813, June 18, 1996]

(a) General. This section prescribes rules pertaining to the close out of royalty payments accounts in accordance with 17 U.S.C. 1005.

(b) In the Register's discretion, four years after the close of any calendar year, the Register of Copyrights may close out the royalty payments account for that calendar year, including any sub-accounts, that are subject to a final distribution order under which royalty payments have been disbursed. Following closure of an account, the Register will treat any funds remaining in that account, or subsequent deposits that would otherwise be attributable to that calendar year, as attributable to the succeeding calendar year.

[83 FR 51841, Oct. 15, 2018]

(a) General. This section prescribes the procedures for submission of Notices of Intent to Enforce a Restored Copyright under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, as required in 17 U.S.C. 104A(a). On or before May 1, 1996, and every four months thereafter, the Copyright Office will publish in the Federal Register a list of works for which Notices of Intent to Enforce have been filed. It will maintain a list of these works. The Office will also make a more complete version of the information contained in the Notice of Intent to Enforce available on its website.

(b) Definitions. (1) NAFTA work means a work restored to copyright on January 1, 1995, as a result of compliance with procedures contained in the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act of December 8, 1993, Public Law No. 103-182.

(2) Reliance party means any person who—

(i) With respect to a particular work, engages in acts, before the source country of that work becomes an eligible country under the URAA, which would have violated 17 U.S.C. 106 if the restored work had been subject to copyright protection and who, after the source country becomes an eligible country, continues to engage in such acts;

(ii) Before the source country of a particular work becomes an eligible country, makes or acquires one or more copies or phonorecords of that work; or

(iii) As the result of the sale or other disposition of a derivative work, covered under 17 U.S.C. 104A(d)(3), or of significant assets of a person, described in 17 U.S.C. 104 A(d)(3) (A) or (B), is a successor, assignee or licensee of that person.

(3) Restored work means an original work of authorship that—

(i) Is protected under 17 U.S.C. 104A(a);

(ii) Is not in the public domain in its source country through expiration of term of protection;

(iii) Is in the public domain in the United States due to—

(A) Noncompliance with formalities imposed at any time by U.S. copyright law, including failure of renewal, lack of proper notice, or failure to comply with any manufacturing requirements;

(B) Lack of subject matter protection in the case of sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972; or

(C) Lack of national eligibility; and

(iv) Has at least one author or rightholder who was, at the time the work was created, a national or domiciliary of an eligible country, and if published, was first published in an eligible country and not published in the United States during the 30-day period following publication in such eligible country.

(4) Source country of a restored work is—

(i) A nation other than the United States; and

(ii) In the case of an unpublished work—

(A) The eligible country in which the author or rightholder is a national or domiciliary, or, if a restored work has more than one author or rightholder, the majority of foreign authors or rightholders are nationals or domiciliaries of eligible countries; or

(B) If the majority of authors or rightholders are not foreign, the nation other than the United States which has the most significant contacts with the work; and

(iii) In the case of a published work—

(A) The eligible country in which the work is first published; or

(B) If the restored work is published on the same day in two or more eligible countries, the eligible country which has the most significant contacts with the work.

(c) Forms. The Copyright Office does not provide forms for Notices of Intent to Enforce filed with the Copyright Office. It requests that filers of such notices follow the format set out in Appendix A of this section and give all of the information listed in paragraph (d) of this section. Notices of Intent to Enforce must be in English, legible, and submitted in a letter-sized document format.

(d) Requirements for Notice of Intent to Enforce a Copyright Restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. (1) Notices of Intent to Enforce should be mailed to the address specified in § 201.1.

(2) The document should be clearly designated as “Notice of Intent to Enforce a Copyright Restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act”.

(3) Notices of Intent to Enforce must include:

(i) Required information:

(A) The title of the work, or if untitled, a brief description of the work;

(B) An English translation of the title if title is in a foreign language;

(C) Alternative titles if any;

(D) Name of the copyright owner of the restored work, or of an owner of an exclusive right therein;

(E) The address and telephone number where the owner of copyright or the exclusive right therein can be reached; and

(F) The following certification signed and dated by the owner of copyright, or the owner of an exclusive right therein, or the owner's authorized agent:

I hereby certify that for each of the work(s) listed above, I am the copyright owner, or the owner of an exclusive right, or the owner's authorized agent, the agency relationship having been constituted in a writing signed by the owner before the filing of this notice, and that the information given herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.

Signature Name (printed or typed) As agent for (if applicable) Date:

(ii) Optional but essential information:

(A) Type of work (painting, sculpture, music, motion picture, sound recording, book, etc.);

(B) Name of author(s);

(C) Source country;

(D) Approximate year of publication;

(E) Additional identifying information (e.g., for movies: director, leading actors, screenwriter, animator; for photographs or books: subject matter; for books: editor, publisher, contributors);

(F) Rights owned by the party on whose behalf the Notice of Intent to Enforce is filed (e.g., the right to reproduce/distribute/publicly display/publicly perform the work, or to prepare a derivative work based on the work, etc.); and

(G) Email address at which owner, exclusive rights holder, or agent thereof can be reached.

(4) Notices of Intent to Enforce may cover multiple works provided that each work is identified by title, all the works are by the same author, all the works are owned by the identified copyright owner or owner of an exclusive right, and the rights owned by the party on whose behalf the Notice of Intent is filed are the same. In the case of Notices of Intent to Enforce covering multiple works, the notice must separately designate for each work covered the title of the work, or if untitled, a brief description of the work; an English translation of the title if the title is in a foreign language; alternative titles, if any; the type of work; the source country; the approximate year of publication; and additional identifying information.

(5) Notices of Intent to Enforce works restored on January 1, 1996, may be submitted to the Copyright Office on or after January 1, 1996, through December 31, 1997.

(e) Fee. The filing fee for recording Notices of Intent to Enforce is prescribed in § 201.3(c).

(f) Public access. Notices of Intent to Enforce filed with the Copyright Office are available for public inspection and copying in the Records Research and Certification Section. Some of the information contained in these records is available on the Office's website, including the title of the work or a brief description if the work is untitled and the name of the copyright owner or owner of an exclusive right.

(g) NAFTA work. The copyright owner of a work restored under NAFTA by the filing of a NAFTA Statement of Intent to Restore with the Copyright Office prior to January 1, 1995, is not required to file a Notice of Intent to Enforce under this regulation.

Appendix A to § 201.33—Notice of Intent To Enforce a Copyright Restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA) 1. Title:

(If this work does not have a title, state “No title.”) OR

Brief description of work (for untitled works only): ________

2. English translation of title (if applicable): 3. Alternative title(s) (if any): 4. Type of work:

(e.g. painting, sculpture, music, motion picture, sound recording, book)

5. Name of author(s): 6. Source country: 7. Approximate year of publication: 8. Additional identifying information: (e.g. for movies; director, leading actors, screenwriter, animator, for photographs: subject matter; for books; editor, publisher, contributors, subject matter). 9. Name of copyright owner: (Statements may be filed in the name of the owner of the restored copyright or the owner of an exclusive right therein.) 10. If you are not the owner of all rights, specify the rights you own: (e.g. the right to reproduce/distribute publicly display/publicly perform the work, or to prepare a derivative work based on the work) 11. Address at which copyright owner may be contacted: (Give the complete address, including the country and an “attention” line, or “in care of” name, if necessary.) 12. Telephone number of owner: 13. Fax number of owner: 14. Certification and Signature:

I hereby certify that, for each of the work(s) listed above, I am the copyright owner, or the owner of an exclusive right, or the owner's authorized agent, the agency relationship having been constituted in a writing signed by the owner before the filing of this notice, and that the information given herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.

Signature: Name (printed or typed): As agent for (if applicable): Date: Note:

Notices of Intent to Enforce must be in English, except for the original title, and either typed or printed by hand legibly in dark, preferably black, ink. They should be on 8 1/2″ by 11″ white paper of good quality, with at least a 1-inch (or 3 cm) margin.

[60 span 50420, Sept. 29, 1995, as amended at 63 span 30635, June 5, 1998; 64 span 12902, Mar. 16, 1999; 71 span 31092, June 1, 2006; 73 span 37839, July 1, 2008; 78 span 42874, July 18, 2013; 82 span 9358, Feb. 6, 2017; 85 span 19667, Apr. 8, 2020; 87 span 59308, Sept. 30, 2022]

(a) General. This section prescribes the procedures for submission of corrections of Notices of Intent to Enforce a Copyright (NIEs) Restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act of December 8, 1994, as required by 17 U.S.C. 104A(e), as amended by Pub. L. 103-465, 108 Stat. 4809, 4976 (1994).

(b) Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply.

(1) Major error. A major error in filing a Notice of Intent to Enforce a Copyright Restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act is an error in the name of the copyright owner or rightholder, or in the title of the work (as opposed to its translation, if any) where such error fails to adequately identify the restored work or its owner through a reasonable search of the Copyright Office NIE records. Omission of, or incorrect information regarding, a written agency relationship also constitutes a major error.

(2) Minor error. A minor error in filing a Notice of Intent to Enforce a Copyright Restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act is any error that is not a major error.

(3) Restored work. For the definition of works restored under the URAA, see 37 Cspan 201.33.

(c) Forms. The Copyright Office does not provide forms for Correction Notices of Intent to Enforce filed with the Copyright Office. It requests that filers of such Correction NIEs follow the format set out in Appendix A of this section and give all information listed in paragraph (d) of this section. Correction NIEs must be in English, and should be typed or legibly printed by hand in dark, preferably black ink, on 8 1/2″ by 11″ white paper of good quality with at least a 1″ (or three cm) margin.

(d) Requirements for Correction Notice of Intent to Enforce a Copyright Restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. (1) A correction for a Notice of Intent to Enforce should be clearly designated as a “Correction Notice of Intent to Enforce” or “Correction NIE.”

(2) Correction Notices of Intent to Enforce should be addressed to Attn: URAA/GATT, NIE and Registrations and mailed to the address specified in § 201.1.

(3) A Correction NIE shall contain the following information:

(i) The volume and document number of the previous NIE which is to be corrected;

(ii) The title of the work as it appears on the previous NIE, including alternative titles, if they appear;

(iii) The English translation of the title, if any, as it appears on the previous NIE;

(iv) A statement of the erroneous information as it appears on the previous NIE;

(v) A statement of the correct information as it should have appeared and an optional explanation of its correction; or

(vi) A statement of the information to be added. This includes optional information such as:

(A) Type of work;

(B) Rights owned by the party on whose behalf the Correction Notice is filed;

(C) Name of author;

(D) Source country;

(E) Year of publication;

(F) Alternative titles;

(G) An optional explanation of the added information.

(vii) The name and address:

(A) To which correspondence concerning the document should be sent; and

(B) To which the acknowledgment of the recordation of the Correction NIE should be mailed; and

(viii) A certification. The certification shall consist of:

(A) A statement that, for each of the works named above, the person signing the Correction NIE is the copyright owner, or the owner of an exclusive right, or the owner's authorized agent, and that the information is correct to the best of that person's knowledge;

(B) The typed or printed name of the person whose signature appears;

(C) The signature and date of signature; and

(D) The telephone and fax number at which the owner, rightholder, or agent thereof can be reached.

(4) A Correction NIE may cover multiple works in multiple NIE documents for one fee provided that: each work is identified by title; all the works are by the same author; all the works are owned by the same copyright owner or owner of an exclusive right. In the case of Correction NIEs, the notice must separately designate each title to be corrected, noting the incorrect information as it appeared on the previously filed NIE, as well as the corrected information. A single notice covering multiple titles need bear only a single certification.

(5) Copies, phonorecords or supporting documents cannot be made part of the record of a Correction NIE and should not be submitted with the document.

(6) Time for submitting Correction NIEs. (i) Major errors. The Copyright Office will accept a Correction NIE for a major error concerning a restored work during the 24-month period beginning on the date of restoration of the work, as provided for original NIEs in section 104A(d)(2)(A) of title 17.

(ii) Minor errors. The Office will accept a Correction NIE for a minor error or omission concerning a restored work at any time after the original NIE has been filed, as provided in section 104A(e)(1)(A)(iii) of title 17.

(e) Fee—(1) Amount. The filing fee for recording Correction NIEs is prescribed in § 201.3(c).

(2) Method of payment. See 37 Cspan 201.33(e)(1),(2).

(f) Public access. Correction Notices of Intent to Enforce filed with the Copyright Office are available for public inspection and copying in the Records Research and Certification Section.

Appendix A to § 201.34—Correction Notice of Intent To Enforce Correction of Notice of Intent To Enforce 1. Name of Copyright Owner (or owner of exclusive right) If this correction notice is to cover multiple works, the author and the rights owner must be the same for all works covered by the notice.) 2. Title(s) (or brief description) (a) Work No. 1—______ Volume and Document Number: ______ English Translation: ______ (b) Work No. 2 (if applicable)—______ Volume and Document Number: ______ English Translation: ______ (c) Work No. 3 (if applicable)—______ Volume and Document Number: ______ English Translation: ______ (d) Work No. 4 (if applicable)—______ Volume and Document Number: ______ English Translation: ______ 3. Statement of incorrect information on earlier NIE: 4. Statement of correct (or previously omitted) information: Give the following only if incorrect or omitted on earlier NIE: (a) Type of work ______ (b) Rights owned ______ (c) Name of author (of entire work) ______ (d) Source Country ______ (e) Year of Publication (Approximate if precise year is unknown) ______ (f) Alternative titles ______ 5. Explanation of error: 6. Certification and Signature: I hereby certify that for each of the work(s) listed above, I am the copyright owner, or the owner of an exclusive right, or the owner's authorized agent, the agency relationship having been constituted in a writing signed by the owner before the filing of this notice, and that the information given herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge. Name and Address (typed or printed): Telephone/Fax: As agent for: Date and Signature: [62 span 55739, Oct. 28, 1997, as amended at 71 span 31092, June 1, 2006; 73 span 37839, July 2, 2008; 78 span 42874, July 18, 2013; 82 span 9359, Feb. 6, 2017]

(a) General. This section prescribes the rules under which rights owners, pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 1401(f)(5)(A), may file schedules listing their pre-1972 sound recordings with the Copyright Office to be eligible for statutory damages and/or attorneys' fees for violations of 17 U.S.C. 1401(a). This section also prescribes the rules for recordation of documents pertaining to the transfer of ownership of pre-1972 sound recordings.

(b) Definitions. For purposes of this section:

(1) Unless otherwise specified, the terms used have the meanings set forth in 17 U.S.C. 1401.

(2) A pre-1972 sound recording is a sound recording fixed before February 15, 1972.

(3) For pre-1972 sound recordings of classical music, including opera:

(i) The title of the pre-1972 sound recording means, to the extent applicable and known by the rights owner, any and all title(s) of the sound recording and underlying musical composition known to the rights owner, and the composer and opus or catalogue number(s) of the underlying musical composition; and

(ii) The featured artist(s) of the pre-1972 sound recording means, to the extent applicable and known by the rights owner, the featured soloist(s), featured ensemble(s), featured conductor, and any other featured performer(s).

(c) Form and submission. A rights owner seeking to comply with 17 U.S.C. 1401(f)(5)(A) (or her authorized agent) must submit a schedule listing the owner's pre-1972 sound recordings, or amend such a schedule, using an appropriate form provided by the Copyright Office on its website and following the instructions for completion and submission provided on the Office's website or the form itself. The Office may reject any submission that fails to comply with these requirements.

(d) Amendment or supplementation. A rights owner (or her authorized agent) may amend or supplement information regarding a pre-1972 sound recording included in a schedule filed under paragraph (c) of this section by or on behalf of the same rights owner. Information may be corrected if it was incorrect at the time the pre-1972 schedule was submitted to the Office, or supplemented to include information that was omitted at the time the schedule was submitted to the Office. For each recording included in a schedule filed under this paragraph, where the information specified in paragraph (f)(1) of this section does not change from the previously-filed schedule, the date the previously-filed schedule was indexed into the Office's public records remains operative for purposes of 17 U.S.C. 1401(f)(5)(A)(i)(II).

(e) Removal of record. A rights owner (or her authorized agent) may remove information regarding a pre-1972 sound recording from the Office's database of schedules if the sound recording was included in a schedule filed under paragraph (c) of this section by or on behalf of the same rights owner, using an appropriate form provided by the Copyright Office on its website and following the instructions for completion and submission provided on the Office's website or the form itself. Removal may be made if there was a substantive defect in the pre-1972 schedule regarding the specific sound recording at the time the schedule was submitted to the Office, or, upon a showing of good cause, at the discretion of the Copyright Office. Once a pre-1972 sound recording has been removed from the Office's database of schedules of pre-1972 sound recordings, the sound recording is no longer considered indexed into the Office's records.

(f) Content. A schedule of pre-1972 sound recordings filed under paragraphs (c) or (d) of this section shall contain the following:

(1) For each sound recording listed, the right's owner name, sound recording title, and featured artist(s);

(2) If known and practicable, for each sound recording listed, the International Standard Recording Code (“ISRC”);

(3) A certification that the individual submitting the schedule of pre-1972 sound recordings has appropriate authority to submit the schedule and that all information submitted to the Office is true, accurate, and complete to the best of the individual's knowledge, information, and belief, and is made in good faith; and

(4) For each sound recording listed, the rights owner may opt to include additional information as permitted and in the format specified by the Office's form or instructions, such as the alternate title, alternate artist name(s), album, version, label, or publication date.

(g) Transfer of rights ownership. If ownership of a pre-1972 sound recording changes after its inclusion in a schedule filed with the Office under this section, the Office will consider the schedule to be effective as to any successor in interest. A successor in interest may, but is not required, to file a new schedule under this section.

(h) Legal sufficiency of schedules. The Copyright Office does not review schedules submitted under paragraphs (c) or (d) of this section for legal sufficiency, interpret their content, or screen them for errors or discrepancies. The Office's review is limited to whether the procedural requirements established by the Office (including payment of the proper filing fee) have been met. Rights owners are therefore cautioned to review and scrutinize schedules to assure their legal sufficiency before submitting them to the Office.

(i) Filing date. The date of filing of a schedule of pre-1972 sound recordings is the date when a proper submission, including the prescribed fee, is received in the Copyright Office. The filing date may not necessarily be the same date that the schedule, for purposes of 17 U.S.C. 1401(f)(5)(A)(i)(II), is indexed into the Office's public records.

(j) Fee. The filing fee to submit a schedule of pre-1972 sound recordings pursuant to this section is prescribed in § 201.3(c).

(k) Third-party notification. A person may request timely notification of filings made under this section by following the instructions provided by the Copyright Office on its website.

(l) Recordation of transfers. The conditions prescribed in § 201.4 of this chapter for recordation of transfers of copyright ownership are applicable to the recordation of documents relating to the transfer of ownership of pre-1972 sound recordings under 17 U.S.C. chapter 14.

[83 FR 52153, Oct. 16, 2018, as amended at 84 FR 10684, Mar. 22, 2019]

(a) General. This section prescribes the rules under which transmitting entities may file contact information with the Copyright Office pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 1401(f)(5)(B).

(b) Definitions. For purposes of this section:

(1) Unless otherwise specified, the terms used have the meanings set forth in 17 U.S.C. 1401.

(2) A pre-1972 sound recording is a sound recording fixed before February 15, 1972.

(3) A transmitting entity is an entity that, as of October 11, 2018, publicly performs pre-1972 sound recordings by means of digital audio transmission.

(c) Form and submission. A transmitting entity seeking to comply with 17 U.S.C. 1401(f)(5)(B) must submit contact information using an appropriate form specified by the Copyright Office on its website and following the instructions for completion and submission provided on the Office's website or the form itself. The Office may reject any submission that fails to comply with these requirements. No notice or amended notice received after April 9, 2019 will be accepted by the Office.

(d) Content. A notice submitted under paragraph (c) of this section shall contain the following, in addition to any other information required on the Office's form or website:

(1) The full legal name, email address, and physical street address of the transmitting entity to which rights owners should send notifications of claimed violations of 17 U.S.C. 1401(a). A post office box may not be substituted for the street address of a transmitting entity. Related or affiliated transmitting entities that are separate legal entities (e.g., corporate parents and subsidiaries) are considered separate transmitting entities, and each must file its own separate notice of contact information.

(2) The website(s) and/or application(s) through which the transmitting entity publicly performs pre-1972 sound recordings by means of digital audio transmission.

(3) A certification that the transmitting entity was publicly performing pre-1972 sound recordings by means of digital audio transmission as of October 11, 2018.

(4) A certification that the individual submitting the notice has appropriate authority to submit the notice and that all information submitted to the Office is true, accurate, and complete to the best of the individual's knowledge, information, and belief, and is made in good faith.

(5) The transmitting entity may opt to include alternate names for which the transmitting entity seeks application of 17 U.S.C. 1401(f)(5)(B)(iii), such as names that the public would be likely to use to search for the transmitting entity in the Copyright Office's online directory of transmitting entities publicly performing pre-1972 sound recordings by means of digital audio transmission, including names under which the transmitting entity is doing business and other commonly used names. Separate legal entities are not considered alternate names.

(e) Filing Date. The date of filing of a notice of contact information pursuant to this section is the date when a proper submission, including the prescribed fee, is received in the Copyright Office.

(f) Fee. The filing fee to submit a notice of contact information pursuant to this section is prescribed in § 201.3(c).

[83 FR 52154, Oct. 16, 2018, as amended at 84 FR 10685, Mar. 22, 2019]

(a) General. This section prescribes the rules under which a user, desiring to make noncommercial use of a pre-1972 sound recording pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 1401(c), conducts a good faith, reasonable search to determine whether the sound recording is being commercially exploited, and if not, files a notice of noncommercial use with the Copyright Office. This section also prescribes the rules under which a rights owner of a pre-1972 sound recording identified in a notice of noncommercial use may file an opt-out notice opposing a proposed use of the sound recording, pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 1401(c)(1)(C).

(b) Definitions. For purposes of this section:

(1) Unless otherwise specified, the terms used have the meanings set forth in 17 U.S.C. 1401.

(2) A pre-1972 sound recording is a sound recording fixed before February 15, 1972. A post-1972 remastered version of a pre-1972 sound recording that consists of mechanical contributions or contributions that are too minimal to be copyrightable qualifies as a pre-1972 sound recording for purposes of this section.

(3) For pre-1972 sound recordings of classical music, including opera:

(i) The title of the pre-1972 sound recording means, to the extent applicable and known by the user, any and all title(s) of the sound recording and underlying musical composition known to the user, and the composer and opus or catalogue number(s) of the underlying musical composition; and

(ii) The featured artist(s) of the pre-1972 sound recording means, to the extent applicable and known by the user, the featured soloist(s); featured ensemble(s); featured conductor; and any other featured performer(s).

(4) An Alaska Native or American Indian tribe is a tribe included in the U.S. Department of the Interior's list of federally recognized tribes, as published annually in the Federal Register.

(c) Conducting a good faith, reasonable search. (1) Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 1401(c)(3)(A), a user desiring to make noncommercial use of a pre-1972 sound recording should progressively search for the sound recording in each of the categories below until the user finds the sound recording. If the user finds the sound recording in a search category, the user need not search the subsequent search categories. If the user does not find the pre-1972 sound recording after searching each of the categories below, her search is sufficient for purposes of the safe harbor in 17 U.S.C. 1401(c)(4), establishing that she made a good faith, reasonable search without finding commercial exploitation of the sound recording by or under the authority of the rights owner. The categories are:

(i) Searching the Copyright Office's database of indexed schedules listing right owners' pre-1972 sound recordings (https://www.copyright.gov/music-modernization/pre1972-soundrecordings/search-soundrecordings.html);

(ii) Searching at least one major search engine, namely Google, Yahoo!, or Bing, to determine whether the pre-1972 sound recording is being offered for sale in download form or as a new (not resale) physical product, or is available through a streaming service;

(iii) Searching at least one of the following streaming services: Amazon Music Unlimited, Apple Music, Spotify, or TIDAL;

(iv) Searching YouTube, to determine whether the pre-1972 sound recording is offered under license by the sound recording rights owner (e.g., record label or distribution service);

(v) Searching SoundExchange's repertoire database through the SoundExchange ISRC lookup tool (https://isrc.soundexchange.com/#!/search);

(vi) Searching at least one major seller of physical product, namely Amazon.com, and if the pre-1972 sound recording is of classical music or jazz, searching a smaller online music store that specializes in product relative to that niche genre, namely: ArkivJazz, ArkivMusic, Classical Archives, or Presto; in either case, to determine whether the pre-1972 sound recording is being offered for sale in download form or as a new (not resale) physical product; and

(vii) For pre-1972 ethnographic sound recordings of Alaska Native or American Indian tribes, searching, if such contact information is known to the user, by contacting the relevant Alaska Native or American Indian tribe and the holding institution of the sound recording (such as a library or archive) to gather information to determine whether the sound recording is being commercially exploited. If this contact information is not previously known to the prospective user, the user should use the information provided by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs' Tribal Leaders directory, which provides contact information for each federally recognized tribe.

(2) A search under paragraph (c)(1) of this section must include searching the title of the pre-1972 sound recording and its featured artist(s). If the user knows any of the following attributes of the sound recording, and the source being searched has the capability to search any of these attributes, the search must also include searching: alternate artist name(s), alternate title(s), album title, and the International Standard Recording Code (“ISRC”). A user is encouraged, but not required, to search additional known attributes, such as the label or version. A user searching using a search engine should draw reasonable inferences from the search results, including following those links whose name or accompanying text suggest that commercial exploitation might be found there, and reading additional pages of results until two consecutive pages return no such suggestive links. A user need not read every web page returned in a search result.

(3) A search under paragraph (c)(1) of this section must be conducted no later than 90 days of the user (or her authorized agent) filing a notice of noncommercial use under paragraph (d)(1) of this section to be sufficient for purposes of the safe harbor in 17 U.S.C. 1401(c)(4).

(4) For purposes of the safe harbor in 17 U.S.C. 1401(c)(4), a user cannot rely on:

(i) A search conducted under paragraph (c)(1) of this section by a third party who is not the user's authorized agent; or

(ii) A notice of noncommercial use filed under paragraph (d)(1) of this section by a third party (who is not the user's authorized agent).

(5) A user is encouraged to save documentation (e.g., screenshots, list of search terms) of her search under paragraph (c)(1) of this section for at least three years in case her search is challenged.

(d) Notices of noncommercial use—(1) Form and submission. A user seeking to comply with 17 U.S.C. 1401(c)(1) (or her authorized agent) must submit a notice of noncommercial use identifying the pre-1972 sound recording that the user intends to use and the nature of such use using an appropriate form and instructions provided by the Copyright Office on its website. The Office may reject any submission that fails to comply with the requirements of this section.

(2) Content. A notice of noncommercial use shall contain the following:

(i) The user's full legal name, and whether the user is an individual person or corporate entity, including whether the entity is a tax-exempt organization as defined under the Internal Revenue Code. Additional contact information, including an email address, may be optionally provided.

(ii) The title and featured artist(s) of the pre-1972 sound recording desiring to be used.

(iii) If any are known to the user, the current or last-known rights owner (e.g., record label), alternate artist name(s), alternate title(s), album title, and International Standard Recording Code (“ISRC”).

(iv) The user may include additional optional information about the pre-1972 sound recording as permitted by the Office's form or instructions, such as the year of release.

(v) A description of the proposed noncommercial use, including a summary of the project and its purpose, how the pre-1972 sound recording will be used in the project, the start and end dates of the use, and where the proposed use will occur (i.e., the U.S.-based territory of the use). The user may include additional optional information detailing the proposed use, such as the tentative title of the project, the playing time of the pre-1972 sound recording to be used as well as total playing time of the project, a description of corresponding visuals in the case of audiovisual uses, and whether and how the user will credit the sound recording title, featured artist, and/or rights owner in connection with the project.

(vi) A certification that the user searched but did not find the pre-1972 sound recording in a search conducted under paragraph (c) of this section, or else conducted a good faith, reasonable search for, but did not find, the sound recording in the Copyright Office's database of indexed schedules listing right owners' pre-1972 sound recordings, or on services offering a comprehensive set of sound recordings for sale or streaming.

(vii) A certification that the individual submitting the notice of noncommercial use has appropriate authority to submit the notice, that the user desiring to make noncommercial use of the pre-1972 sound recording (or the user's authorized agent) conducted a search under paragraph (c) of this section or else conducted a good faith, reasonable search under 17 U.S.C. 1401(c)(4), within the last 90 days without finding commercial exploitation of the sound recording, and that all information submitted to the Office is true, accurate, and complete to the best of the individual's knowledge, information, and belief, and is made in good faith.

(3) Noncommercial use of a pre-1972 recording under this section is limited to use within the United States.

(4) A notice of noncommercial use may not include proposed use for more than one pre-1972 sound recording unless all of the sound recordings include the same featured artist(s) and were released on the same pre-1972 album or other unit of publication. In the case of “greatest hits” or compilation albums, all of the sound recordings listed on a notice must also share the same record label or other rights owner information, as listed on the notice.

(5) The Copyright Office will assign each indexed notice of noncommercial use a unique identifier to identify the notice in the Office's public records.

(6) Legal sufficiency. (i) The Copyright Office does not review notices of noncommercial use submitted under paragraph (d)(1) of this section for legal sufficiency. The Office's review is limited to whether the procedural requirements established by the Office (including payment of the proper filing fee) have been met. The fact that the Office has indexed a notice is not a determination by the Office of the notice's validity or legal effect. Indexing by the Copyright Office is without prejudice to any party claiming that the legal or formal requirements for making a noncommercial use of a pre-1972 sound recording have not been met, including before a court of competent jurisdiction. Users are therefore cautioned to review and scrutinize notices of noncommercial use to assure their legal sufficiency before submitting them to the Office.

(ii) If a rights owner does not file an opt-out notice under paragraph (e) of this section, when the term of use specified in the notice of noncommercial use ends, the user must cease noncommercial use of the pre-1972 sound recording for purposes of remaining in the safe harbor in 17 U.S.C. 1401(c)(4). Should the user desire to requalify for the safe harbor with respect to that same recording, the user must conduct a new search and file a new notice of noncommercial use under paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section, respectively.

(7) Filing date. The date of filing of a notice of noncommercial use is the date when a proper submission, including the prescribed fee, is received in the Copyright Office. The filing date may not necessarily be the same date that the notice, for purposes of 17 U.S.C. 1401(c)(1)(C), is indexed into the Office's public records.

(8) Fees. The filing fee to submit a notice of noncommercial use pursuant to this section is prescribed in § 201.3(c).

(9) Third-party notification. A person may request timely notification of filings made under paragraph (d)(1) of this section by following the instructions provided by the Copyright Office on its website.

(e) Opt-out notices—(1) Form and submission. A rights owner seeking to comply with 17 U.S.C. 1401(c)(1)(C) (or her authorized agent) must file a notice opting out of a proposed noncommercial use of a pre-1972 sound recording filed under paragraph (d)(1) of this section using an appropriate form provided by the Copyright Office on its website and following the instructions for completion and submission provided on the Office's website or the form itself. The Office may reject any submission that fails to comply with the requirements of this section, or any relevant instructions or guidance provided by the Office.

(2) Content. An opt-out notice use shall contain the following:

(i) The user's name, rights owner's name, sound recording title, featured artist(s), an affirmative “yes” statement that the rights owner is opting out of the proposed use, and the unique identifier assigned to the notice of noncommercial use by the Copyright Office. Additional contact information for the rights owner, including an email address, may be optionally provided.

(ii) A certification that the individual submitting the opt-out notice has appropriate authority to submit the notice and that all information submitted to the Office is true, accurate, and complete to the best of the individual's knowledge, information, and belief, and is made in good faith.

(iii) Submission of an opt-out notice does not constitute agreement by the rights owner or the individual submitting the opt-out notice that the proposed use is in fact noncommercial. The submitter may choose to comment upon whether the rights owner agrees that the proposed use is noncommercial use, but failure to do so does not constitute agreement that the proposed use is in fact noncommercial.

(3) Where a pre-1972 sound recording has multiple rights owners, only one rights owner must file an opt-out notice for purposes of 17 U.S.C. 1401(c)(5).

(4) If a rights owner files a timely opt-out notice under paragraph (e)(1) of this section, a user must wait one year before filing another notice of noncommercial use proposing the same or similar use of the same pre-1972 sound recording(s).

(5) Legal sufficiency. The Copyright Office does not review opt-out notices submitted under paragraph (e)(1) of this section for legal sufficiency. The Office's review is limited to whether the procedural requirements established by the Office (including payment of the proper filing fee) have been met. Rights owners are therefore cautioned to review and scrutinize opt-out notices to assure their legal sufficiency before submitting them to the Office.

(6) Filing date. The date of filing of an opt-out notice is the date when a proper submission, including the prescribed fee, is received in the Copyright Office.

(7) Fee. The filing fee to submit an opt-out notice pursuant to this section is prescribed in § 201.3(c).

(f) Fraudulent filings. If the Register becomes aware of abuse or fraudulent filings under this section by or from a certain filer or user, she shall have the discretion to impose civil penalties up to $1,000 per instance of fraud or abuse, and/or other penalties to deter additional false or fraudulent filings from that filer, including potentially rejecting future submissions from that filer for up to one year.

[84 FR 14255, Apr. 9, 2019]

(a) General. This section prescribes the rules pursuant to which service providers may designate agents to receive notifications of claimed infringement pursuant to section 512 of title 17 of the United States Code. Any service provider seeking to comply with section 512(c)(2) of the statute must:

(1) Designate an agent by making available through its service, including on its website in a location accessible to the public, and by providing to the Copyright Office, the service provider and designated agent information required by paragraph (b) of this section;

(2) Maintain the currency and accuracy of the information required by paragraph (b) both on its website and with the Office by timely updating such information when it has changed; and

(3) Comply with the electronic registration requirements in paragraph (c) to designate an agent with the Office.

(b) Information required to designate an agent. To designate an agent, a service provider must make available through its service, including on its website in a location accessible to the public, and provide to the Copyright Office in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section, the following information:

(1)(i) The full legal name and physical street address of the service provider. Related or affiliated service providers that are separate legal entities (e.g., corporate parents and subsidiaries) are considered separate service providers, and each must have its own separate designation.

(ii) A post office box may not be substituted for the street address for the service provider, except in exceptional circumstances (e.g., where there is a demonstrable threat to an individual's personal safety or security, such that it may be dangerous to publicly publish a street address where such individual can be located) and, upon written request by the service provider, the Register of Copyrights determines that the circumstances warrant a waiver of this requirement. To obtain a waiver, the service provider must make a written request submitted either by email, to [email protected], or by signed letter, addressed to the “U.S. Copyright Office, Office of the General Counsel” and sent to the address for time-sensitive requests set forth in § 201.1(c)(1). Requests must contain the following information: The name of the service provider; the post office box address that the service provider wishes to use; a detailed statement providing the reasons supporting the request, with explanation of the specific threat(s) to an individual's personal safety or security; and an email address for any responsive correspondence from the Office. There is no fee associated with making this request. If the request is approved, the service provider may display the post office box address on its website and will receive instructions from the Office as to how to complete the Office's electronic registration process.

(2) All alternate names that the public would be likely to use to search for the service provider's designated agent in the Copyright Office's online directory of designated agents, including all names under which the service provider is doing business, website names and addresses (i.e., URLs), software application names, and other commonly used names. Separate legal entities are not considered alternate names.

(3) The name of the agent designated to receive notifications of claimed infringement and, if applicable, the name of the agent's organization. The designated agent may be an individual (e.g., “Jane Doe”), a specific position or title held by an individual (e.g., “Copyright Manager”), a specific department within the service provider's organization or within a third-party entity (e.g., “Copyright Compliance Department”), or a third-party entity generally (e.g., “ACME Takedown Service”). Only a single agent may be designated for each service provider.

(4) The physical mail address (street address or post office box), telephone number, and email address of the agent designated to receive notifications of claimed infringement.

(c) Electronic registration with the Copyright Office. Service providers designating an agent with the Copyright Office must do so electronically by establishing an account with and then utilizing the applicable online registration system made available through the Copyright Office's website. Designations, amendments, and resubmissions submitted to the Office in paper or any other form will not be accepted. All electronic registrations must adhere to the following requirements:

(1) Registration information. All required fields in the online registration system must be completed in order for the designation to be registered with the Copyright Office. In addition to the information required by paragraph (b) of this section, the person designating the agent with the Office must provide the following for administrative purposes, and which will not be displayed in the Office's public directory and need not be displayed by the service provider on its website:

(i) The first name, last name, telephone number, and email address of a representative of the service provider who will serve as the primary point of contact for communications with the Office.

(ii) A telephone number and email address for the service provider for communications with the Office.

(2) Attestation. For each designation and any subsequent amendment or resubmission of such designation, the person designating the agent, or amending or resubmitting such designation, must attest that:

(i) The information provided to the Office is true, accurate, and complete to the best of his or her knowledge; and

(ii) He or she has been given authority to make the designation, amendment, or resubmission on behalf of the service provider.

(3) Amendment. All service providers must ensure the currency and accuracy of the information contained in designations submitted to the Office by timely updating information when it has changed. A service provider may amend a designation previously registered with the Office at any time to correct or update information.

(4) Periodic renewal. A service provider's designation will expire and become invalid three years after it is registered with the Office, unless the service provider renews such designation by either amending it to correct or update information or resubmitting it without amendment. Either amending or resubmitting a designation, as appropriate, begins a new three-year period before such designation must be renewed.

(d) Fees. The Copyright Office's general fee schedule, located at section 201.3 of title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations, sets forth the applicable fee for a service provider to designate an agent with the Copyright Office to receive notifications of claimed infringement and to amend or resubmit such a designation.

(e) Transitional provisions. (1) As of December 1, 2016, any designation of an agent pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(2) must be made electronically through the Copyright Office's online registration system.

(2) A service provider that has designated an agent with the Office under the previous version of this section, which was effective between November 3, 1998 and November 30, 2016, and desires to remain in compliance with section 512(c)(2) of title 17, United States Code, must submit a new designation electronically using the online registration system by December 31, 2017. Any designation not made through the online registration system will expire and become invalid after December 31, 2017.

(3) During the period beginning with the effective date of this section, December 1, 2016, through December 31, 2017 (the “transition period”), the Copyright Office will maintain two directories of designated agents: the directory consisting of paper designations made pursuant to the prior interim regulations (the “old directory”), and the directory consisting of designations made electronically through the online registration system (the “new directory”). During the transition period, a compliant designation in either the old directory or the new directory will satisfy the service provider's obligation under section 512(c)(2) of title 17, United States Code to designate an agent with the Copyright Office.

[81 FR 75707, Nov. 1, 2016, as amended at 82 FR 9358, Feb. 6, 2017; 82 FR 21697, May 10, 2017; 85 FR 11295, Feb. 27, 2020]

(a) General. This section prescribes rules under which copyright owners or their agents may provide notice to qualified libraries and archives (including a nonprofit educational institution that functions as such) that a published work in its last 20 years of copyright protection is subject to normal commercial exploitation, or that a copy or phonorecord of the work can be obtained at a reasonable price, for purposes of section 108(h)(2) of title 17 of the United States Code.

(b) Format. The Copyright Office provides a required format for a Notice to Libraries and Archives of Normal Commercial Exploitation or Availability at Reasonable Price, and for continuation sheets for group notices. The required format is set out in Appendix A to this section, and is available from the Copyright Office website (http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright). The Copyright Office does not provide printed forms. The Notice shall be in English (except for an original title, which may be in another language), typed or printed legibly in dark ink, and shall be provided on 8 1/2 × 11 inch white paper with a one-inch margin.

(c) Required content. A “Notice to Libraries and Archives of Normal Commercial Exploitation or Availability at Reasonable Price” shall be identified as such by prominent caption or heading, and shall include the following:

(1) The acronym NLA in capital, and preferably bold, letters in the top right-hand corner of the page;

(2) A check-box just below the acronym NLA indicating whether continuation sheets for additional works are attached;

(3) The title of the work, or if untitled, a brief description of the work;

(4) The author(s) of the work;

(5) The type of work (e.g., music, motion picture, book, photograph, illustration, map, article in a periodical, painting, sculpture, sound recording, etc.);

(6) The edition, if any (e.g., first edition, second edition, teacher's edition) or version, if any (e.g., orchestral arrangement, translation, French version). If there is no information relating to the edition or version of the work, the notice should so state;

(7) The year of first publication;

(8) The year the work first secured federal copyright through publication with notice or registration as an unpublished work;

(9) The copyright renewal registration number (except this information is not required for foreign works in which copyright is restored pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 104A);

(10) The name of the copyright owner (or the owner of exclusive rights);

(11) If the copyright owner is not the owner of all rights, a specification of the rights owned (e.g., the right to reproduce/distribute/publicly display/publicly perform the work or to prepare a derivative work);

(12) The name, address, telephone number, fax number (if any) and e-mail address (if any) of the person or entity that the Copyright Office should contact concerning the Notice;

(13) The full legal name, address, telephone number, fax number (if any) and e-mail address (if any) of the person or entity that Libraries and Archives may contact concerning the work's normal commercial exploitation or availability at reasonable price; and

(14) A declaration made under penalty of perjury that the work identified is subject to normal commercial exploitation, or that a copy or phonorecord of the work is available at a reasonable price.

(d) Additional content. A Notice to Libraries and Archives of Normal Commercial Exploitation or Availability at Reasonable Price may include the following:

(1) The original copyright registration number of the work; and

(2) Additional information concerning the work's normal commercial exploitation or availability at a reasonable price.

(e) Signature. The Notice to Libraries and Archives of Normal Commercial Exploitation or Availability at Reasonable Price shall include the signature of the copyright owner or its agent. The signature shall be accompanied by the printed or typewritten name and title of the person signing the Notice, and by the date of signature.

(f) Multiple works. A Notice to Libraries and Archives may be filed for more than one work. The first work shall be identified using the format required for all Notices to Libraries and Archives. Each additional work in the group must be identified on a separate continuation sheet. The required format for the continuation sheet is set out in Appendix B to this section, and is available from the Copyright Office website (http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright). A group filing is permitted provided that:

(1) All the works are by the same author;

(2) All the works are owned by the same copyright owner or owner of the exclusive rights therein. If the claimant is not owner of all rights, the claimant must own the same rights with respect to all works in the group;

(3) All the works first secured federal copyright in the same year, through either publication with notice or registration as unpublished works;

(4) All the works were first published in the same year;

(5) The person or entity that the Copyright Office should contact concerning the Notice is the same for all the works; and

(6) The person or entity that Libraries and Archives may contact concerning the work's normal commercial exploitation or availability at reasonable price is the same for all the works.

(g) Filing—(1) Method of filing. The Notice to Libraries and Archives of Normal Commercial Exploitation or Availability at Reasonable Price should be addressed to NLA, in the manner prescribed in § 201.1.

(2) Amount. The filing fee for recording Notice to Libraries and Archives is prescribed in § 201.3(d).

Appendix A to § 201.39—Required Format of Notice to Libraries and Archives of Normal Commercial Exploitation or Availability at Reasonable Price NLA □ Check box if continuation sheets for additional works are attached. Notice to Libraries and Archives of Normal Commercial Exploitation or Availability at Reasonable Price

1. Title of the work (or, if untitled, a brief description of the work): ____________________.

2. Author(s) of the work: ____________________.

3. Type of work (e.g. music, motion picture, book, photograph, illustration, map, article in a periodical, painting, sculpture, sound recording, etc.): ____________________.

4. Edition, if any (e.g., first edition, second edition, teacher's edition) or version, if any (e.g., orchestral arrangement, English translation of French text). If there is no information available relating to the edition or version of the work, the Notice should state, “No information available”: ____________________.

5. Year of first publication: __________.

6. Year the work first secured federal copyright through publication with notice or registration as an unpublished work: __________.

7. Copyright renewal registration number (not required for foreign works restored under 17 U.S.C. 104A): __________.

8. Full legal name of the copyright owner (or the owner of exclusive rights): __________.

9. The person or entity identified in space #8 owns:

□ all rights. □ the following rights (e.g., the right to reproduce/distribute/publicly display/publicly perform the work or to prepare a derivative work): __________.

10. Person or entity that the Copyright Office should contact concerning the Notice:

□ Name: □ Address: □ Telephone: □ Fax number (if any): □ E-mail address (if any):

11. Person or entity that libraries and archives may contact concerning the work's normal commercial exploitation or availability at a reasonable price:

□ Name: □ Address: □ Telephone: □ Fax number (if any): □ E-mail address (if any): Additional Content (OPTIONAL):

12. Original copyright registration number: ____________________

13. Additional information concerning the work's normal commercial exploitation or availability at a reasonable price: ____________________

Declaration:

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States:

□ that each work identified in this notice is subject to normal commercial exploitation. □ that a copy or phonorecord of each work identified in this notice is available at a reasonable price. Signature: Date: □ Typed or printed name: □ Title: Appendix B to § 201.39—Required Format for Continuation Sheet NLA CON Page ____of ____Pages. Continuation Sheet for NLA Notice to Libraries and Archives of Normal Commercial Exploitation or Availability at Reasonable Price

1. Title of the work (or, if untitled, a brief description of the work): ____________________.

2. Type of work (e.g. music, motion picture, book, photograph, illustration, map, article in a periodical, painting, sculpture, sound recording, etc.): ____________________.

3. Edition, if any (e.g., first edition, second edition, teacher's edition) or version, if any (e.g., orchestral arrangement, English translation of French text). If there is no information available relating to the edition or version of the work, the Notice should state, “No information available”: ____________________.

4. Copyright renewal registration number (not required for foreign works restored under 17 U.S.C. 104A): ____________________.

Additional Content (OPTIONAL):

5. Original copyright registration number: ____________________.

6. Additional information concerning the work's normal commercial exploitation or availability at a reasonable price: ____________________.

[63 span 71787, Dec. 30, 1998, as amended at 66 span 34373, June 28, 2001; 71 span 31092, June 1, 2006; 73 span 37839, July 2, 2008; 78 span 42874, July 18, 2013; 82 span 9359, Feb. 6, 2017; 85 span 19667, Apr. 8, 2020; 87 span 59308, Sept. 30, 2022]

(a) General. This section prescribes the classes of copyrighted works for which the Librarian of Congress has determined, pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 1201(a)(1)(C) and (D), that noninfringing uses by persons who are users of such works are, or are likely to be, adversely affected. The prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works set forth in 17 U.S.C. 1201(a)(1)(A) shall not apply to such users of the prescribed classes of copyrighted works.

(b) Classes of copyrighted works. Pursuant to the authority set forth in 17 U.S.C. 1201(a)(1)(C) and (D), and upon the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, the Librarian has determined that the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that effectively control access to copyrighted works set forth in 17 U.S.C. 1201(a)(1)(A) shall not apply to persons who engage in noninfringing uses of the following classes of copyrighted works:

(1) Motion pictures (including television shows and videos), as defined in 17 U.S.C. 101, where the motion picture is lawfully made and acquired on a DVD protected by the Content Scramble System, on a Blu-ray disc protected by the Advanced Access Content System, or via a digital transmission protected by a technological measure, and the person engaging in circumvention under paragraphs (b)(1)(i) and (b)(1)(ii)(A) and (B) of this section reasonably believes that non-circumventing alternatives are unable to produce the required level of high-quality content, or the circumvention is undertaken using screen-capture technology that appears to be offered to the public as enabling the reproduction of motion pictures after content has been lawfully acquired and decrypted, where circumvention is undertaken solely in order to make use of short portions of the motion pictures in the following instances:

(i) For the purpose of criticism or comment:

(A) For use in documentary filmmaking, or other films where the motion picture clip is used in parody or for its biographical or historically significant nature;

(B) For use in noncommercial videos (including videos produced for a paid commission if the commissioning entity's use is noncommercial); or

(C) For use in nonfiction multimedia e-books.

(ii) For educational purposes:

(A) By college and university faculty and students or kindergarten through twelfth-grade (K-12) educators and students (where the K-12 student is circumventing under the direct supervision of an educator), or employees acting at the direction of faculty of such educational institutions for the purpose of teaching a course, including of accredited general educational development (GED) programs, for the purpose of criticism, comment, teaching, or scholarship;

(B) By faculty of accredited nonprofit educational institutions and employees acting at the direction of faculty members of those institutions, for purposes of offering massive open online courses (MOOCs) to officially enrolled students through online platforms (which platforms themselves may be operated for profit), in film studies or other courses requiring close analysis of film and media excerpts, for the purpose of criticism or comment, where the MOOC provider through the online platform limits transmissions to the extent technologically feasible to such officially enrolled students, institutes copyright policies and provides copyright informational materials to faculty, students, and relevant staff members, and applies technological measures that reasonably prevent unauthorized further dissemination of a work in accessible form to others or retention of the work for longer than the course session by recipients of a transmission through the platform, as contemplated by 17 U.S.C. 110(2); or

(C) By educators and participants in nonprofit digital and media literacy programs offered by libraries, museums, and other nonprofit entities with an educational mission, in the course of face-to-face instructional activities, for the purpose of criticism or comment, except that such users may only circumvent using screen-capture technology that appears to be offered to the public as enabling the reproduction of motion pictures after content has been lawfully acquired and decrypted.

(2)(i) Motion pictures (including television shows and videos), as defined in 17 U.S.C. 101, where the motion picture is lawfully acquired on a DVD protected by the Content Scramble System, on a Blu-ray disc protected by the Advanced Access Content System, or via a digital transmission protected by a technological measure, where:

(A) Circumvention is undertaken by a disability services office or other unit of a kindergarten through twelfth-grade educational institution, college, or university engaged in and/or responsible for the provision of accessibility services for the purpose of adding captions and/or audio description to a motion picture to create an accessible version for students, faculty, or staff with disabilities;

(B) The educational institution unit in paragraph (b)(2)(i)(A) of this section has a reasonable belief that the motion picture will be used for a specific future activity of the institution and, after a reasonable effort, has determined that an accessible version of sufficient quality cannot be obtained at a fair market price or in a timely manner, including where a copyright holder has not provided an accessible version of a motion picture that was included with a textbook; and

(C) The accessible versions are provided to students or educators and stored by the educational institution in a manner intended to reasonably prevent unauthorized further dissemination of a work.

(ii) For purposes of this paragraph (b)(2):

(A) “Audio description” means an oral narration that provides an accurate rendering of the motion picture;

(B) “Accessible version of sufficient quality” means a version that in the reasonable judgment of the educational institution unit has captions and/or audio description that are sufficient to meet the accessibility needs of students, faculty, or staff with disabilities and are substantially free of errors that would materially interfere with those needs; and

(C) Accessible materials created pursuant to this exemption and stored pursuant to paragraph (b)(2)(i)(C) of this section may be reused by the educational institution unit to meet the accessibility needs of students, faculty, or staff with disabilities pursuant to paragraphs (b)(2)(i)(A) and (B) of this section.

(3)(i) Motion pictures (including television shows and videos), as defined in 17 U.S.C. 101, where the motion picture is lawfully acquired on a DVD protected by the Content Scramble System, or on a Blu-ray disc protected by the Advanced Access Content System, solely for the purpose of lawful preservation or the creation of a replacement copy of the motion picture, by an eligible library, archives, or museum, where:

(A) Such activity is carried out without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage;

(B) The DVD or Blu-ray disc is damaged or deteriorating;

(C) The eligible institution, after a reasonable effort, has determined that an unused and undamaged replacement copy cannot be obtained at a fair price and that no streaming service, download service, or on-demand cable and satellite service makes the motion picture available to libraries, archives, and museums at a fair price; and

(D) The preservation or replacement copies are not distributed or made available outside of the physical premises of the eligible library, archives, or museum.

(ii) For purposes of paragraph (b)(3)(i) of this section, a library, archives, or museum is considered “eligible” if—

(A) The collections of the library, archives, or museum are open to the public and/or are routinely made available to researchers who are not affiliated with the library, archives, or museum;

(B) The library, archives, or museum has a public service mission;

(C) The library, archives, or museum's trained staff or volunteers provide professional services normally associated with libraries, archives, or museums;

(D) The collections of the library, archives, or museum are composed of lawfully acquired and/or licensed materials; and

(E) The library, archives, or museum implements reasonable digital security measures as appropriate for the activities permitted by paragraph (b)(3)(i) of this section.

(4)(i) Motion pictures, as defined in 17 U.S.C. 101, where the motion picture is on a DVD protected by the Content Scramble System, on a Blu-ray disc protected by the Advanced Access Content System, or made available for digital download where:

(A) The circumvention is undertaken by a researcher affiliated with a nonprofit institution of higher education, or by a student or information technology staff member of the institution at the direction of such researcher, solely to deploy text and data mining techniques on a corpus of motion pictures for the purpose of scholarly research and teaching;

(B) The copy of each motion picture is lawfully acquired and owned by the institution, or licensed to the institution without a time limitation on access;

(C) The person undertaking the circumvention or conducting research or teaching under this exemption views or listens to the contents of the motion pictures in the corpus solely to conduct text and data mining research or teaching;

(D) The institution uses effective security measures to prevent dissemination or downloading of motion pictures in the corpus, and upon a reasonable request from a copyright owner who reasonably believes that their work is contained in the corpus, or a trade association representing such author, provide information to that copyright owner or trade association regarding the nature of such measures; and

(E) The institution limits access to the corpus to only the persons identified in paragraph (b)(4)(i)(A) of this section or to researchers affiliated with other nonprofit institutions of higher education, with all access provided only through secure connections and on the condition of authenticated credentials, solely for purposes of text and data mining research or teaching.

(ii) For purposes of paragraph (b)(4)(i) of this section:

(A) An institution of higher education is defined as one that:

(1) Admits regular students who have a certificate of graduation from a secondary school or the equivalent of such a certificate;

(2) Is legally authorized to provide a postsecondary education program;

(3) Awards a bachelor's degree or provides not less than a two-year program acceptable towards such a degree;

(4) Is a public or other nonprofit institution; and

(5) Is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association.

(B) The term “effective security measures” is defined as:

(1) Security measures that have been agreed to by all interested copyright owners of motion pictures and institutions of higher education; or

(2) Security measures that the institution uses to keep its own highly confidential information secure.

(5)(i) Literary works, excluding computer programs and compilations that were compiled specifically for text and data mining purposes, distributed electronically where:

(A) The circumvention is undertaken by a researcher affiliated with a nonprofit institution of higher education, or by a student or information technology staff member of the institution at the direction of such researcher, solely to deploy text and data mining techniques on a corpus of literary works for the purpose of scholarly research and teaching;

(B) The copy of each literary work is lawfully acquired and owned by the institution, or licensed to the institution without a time limitation on access;

(C) The person undertaking the circumvention or conducting research or teaching under this exemption views the contents of the literary works in the corpus solely to conduct text and data mining research or teaching;

(D) The institution uses effective security measures to prevent dissemination or downloading of literary works in the corpus, and upon a reasonable request from a copyright owner who reasonably believes that their work is contained in the corpus, or a trade association representing such author, provide information to that copyright owner or trade association regarding the nature of such measures; and

(E) The institution limits access to the corpus to only the persons identified in paragraph (b)(5)(i)(A) of this section or to researchers affiliated with other nonprofit institutions of higher education, with all access provided only through secure connections and on the condition of authenticated credentials, solely for purposes of text and data mining research or teaching.

(ii) For purposes of paragraph (b)(5)(i) of this section:

(A) An institution of higher education is defined as one that:

(1) Admits regular students who have a certificate of graduation from a secondary school or the equivalent of such a certificate;

(2) Is legally authorized to provide a post secondary education program;

(3) Awards a bachelor's degree or provides not less than a two-year program acceptable towards such a degree;

(4) Is a public or other nonprofit institution; and

(5) Is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association.

(B) The term “effective security measures” is defined as:

(1) Security measures that have been agreed to by all interested copyright owners of literary works and institutions of higher education; or

(2) Security measures that the institution uses to keep its own highly confidential information secure.

(6)(i) Literary works or previously published musical works that have been fixed in the form of text or notation, distributed electronically, that are protected by technological measures that either prevent the enabling of read-aloud functionality or interfere with screen readers or other applications or assistive technologies:

(A) When a copy or phonorecord of such a work is lawfully obtained by an eligible person, as such a person is defined in 17 U.S.C. 121; provided, however, that the rights owner is remunerated, as appropriate, for the market price of an inaccessible copy of the work as made available to the general public through customary channels; or

(B) When such a work is lawfully obtained and used by an authorized entity pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 121.

(ii) For the purposes of paragraph (b)(6)(i) of this section, a “phonorecord of such a work” does not include a sound recording of a performance of a musical work unless and only to the extent the recording is included as part of an audiobook or e-book.

(7) Literary works consisting of compilations of data generated by medical devices or by their personal corresponding monitoring systems, where such circumvention is undertaken by or on behalf of a patient for the sole purpose of lawfully accessing data generated by a patient's own medical device or monitoring system. Eligibility for this exemption is not a safe harbor from, or defense to, liability under other applicable laws, including without limitation the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986, or regulations of the Food and Drug Administration.

(8) Computer programs that enable wireless devices to connect to a wireless telecommunications network, when circumvention is undertaken solely in order to connect to a wireless telecommunications network and such connection is authorized by the operator of such network.

(9) Computer programs that enable smartphones and portable all-purpose mobile computing devices to execute lawfully obtained software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications with computer programs on the smartphone or device, or to permit removal of software from the smartphone or device. For purposes of this paragraph (b)(9), a “portable all-purpose mobile computing device” is a device that is primarily designed to run a wide variety of programs rather than for consumption of a particular type of media content, is equipped with an operating system primarily designed for mobile use, and is intended to be carried or worn by an individual.

(10) Computer programs that enable smart televisions to execute lawfully obtained software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications with computer programs on the smart television, and is not accomplished for the purpose of gaining unauthorized access to other copyrighted works. For purposes of this paragraph (b)(10), “smart televisions” includes both internet-enabled televisions, as well as devices that are physically separate from a television and whose primary purpose is to run software applications that stream authorized video from the internet for display on a screen.

(11) Computer programs that enable voice assistant devices to execute lawfully obtained software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications with computer programs on the device, or to permit removal of software from the device, and is not accomplished for the purpose of gaining unauthorized access to other copyrighted works. For purposes of this paragraph (b)(11), a “voice assistant device” is a device that is primarily designed to run a wide variety of programs rather than for consumption of a particular type of media content, is designed to take user input primarily by voice, and is designed to be installed in a home or office.

(12) Computer programs that enable routers and dedicated network devices to execute lawfully obtained software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications with computer programs on the router or dedicated network device, and is not accomplished for the purpose of gaining unauthorized access to other copyrighted works. For the purposes of this paragraph (b)(12), “dedicated network device” includes switches, hubs, bridges, gateways, modems, repeaters, and access points, and excludes devices that are not lawfully owned.

(13) Computer programs that are contained in and control the functioning of a lawfully acquired motorized land vehicle or marine vessel such as a personal automobile or boat, commercial vehicle or vessel, or mechanized agricultural vehicle or vessel, except for programs accessed through a separate subscription service, when circumvention is a necessary step to allow the diagnosis, repair, or lawful modification of a vehicle or vessel function, where such circumvention is not accomplished for the purpose of gaining unauthorized access to other copyrighted works. Eligibility for this exemption is not a safe harbor from, or defense to, liability under other applicable laws, including without limitation regulations promulgated by the Department of Transportation or the Environmental Protection Agency.

(14) Computer programs that are contained in and control the functioning of a lawfully acquired motorized land vehicle or marine vessel such as a personal automobile or boat, commercial vehicle or vessel, or mechanized agricultural vehicle or vessel, except for programs accessed through a separate subscription service, to allow vehicle or vessel owners and lessees, or those acting on their behalf, to access, store, and share operational data, including diagnostic and telematics data, where such circumvention is not accomplished for the purpose of gaining unauthorized access to other copyrighted works. Eligibility for this exemption is not a safe harbor from, or defense to, liability under other applicable laws, including without limitation regulations promulgated by the Department of Transportation or the Environmental Protection Agency.

(15) Computer programs that are contained in and control the functioning of a lawfully acquired device that is primarily designed for use by consumers, when circumvention is a necessary step to allow the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of such a device, and is not accomplished for the purpose of gaining access to other copyrighted works. For purposes of this paragraph (b)(15):

(i) The “maintenance” of a device is the servicing of the device in order to make it work in accordance with its original specifications and any changes to those specifications authorized for that device; and

(ii) The “repair” of a device is the restoring of the device to the state of working in accordance with its original specifications and any changes to those specifications authorized for that device. For video game consoles, “repair” is limited to repair or replacement of a console's optical drive and requires restoring any technological protection measures that were circumvented or disabled.

(16) Computer programs that are contained in and control the functioning of lawfully acquired equipment that is primarily designed for use in retail-level commercial food preparation when circumvention is a necessary step to allow the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of such a device, and is not accomplished for the purpose of gaining access to other copyrighted works. For purposes of this paragraph (b)(16):

(i) The “maintenance” of a device is the servicing of the device in order to make it work in accordance with its original specifications and any changes to those specifications authorized for that device; and

(ii) The “repair” of a device is the restoring of the device to the state of working in accordance with its original specifications and any changes to those specifications authorized for that device.

(17) Computer programs that are contained in and control the functioning of a lawfully acquired medical device or system, and related data files, when circumvention is a necessary step to allow the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of such a device or system. For purposes of this paragraph (b)(17):

(i) The “maintenance” of a device or system is the servicing of the device or system in order to make it work in accordance with its original specifications and any changes to those specifications authorized for that device or system; and

(ii) The “repair” of a device or system is the restoring of the device or system to the state of working in accordance with its original specifications and any changes to those specifications authorized for that device or system.

(18)(i) Computer programs, where the circumvention is undertaken on a lawfully acquired device or machine on which the computer program operates, or is undertaken on a computer, computer system, or computer network on which the computer program operates with the authorization of the owner or operator of such computer, computer system, or computer network, solely for the purpose of good-faith security research.

(ii) For purposes of paragraph (b)(18)(i) of this section, “good-faith security research” means accessing a computer program solely for purposes of good-faith testing, investigation, and/or correction of a security flaw or vulnerability, where such activity is carried out in an environment designed to avoid any harm to individuals or the public, and where the information derived from the activity is used primarily to promote the security or safety of the class of devices or machines on which the computer program operates, or those who use such devices or machines, and is not used or maintained in a manner that facilitates copyright infringement.

(iii) Good-faith security research that qualifies for the exemption under paragraph (b)(18)(i) of this section may nevertheless incur liability under other applicable laws, including without limitation the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986, as amended and codified in title 18, United States Code, and eligibility for that exemption is not a safe harbor from, or defense to, liability under other applicable laws.

(19)(i) Video games in the form of computer programs embodied in physical or downloaded formats that have been lawfully acquired as complete games, when the copyright owner or its authorized representative has ceased to provide access to an external computer server necessary to facilitate an authentication process to enable gameplay, solely for the purpose of:

(A) Permitting access to the video game to allow copying and modification of the computer program to restore access to the game for personal, local gameplay on a personal computer or video game console; or

(B) Permitting access to the video game to allow copying and modification of the computer program to restore access to the game on a personal computer or video game console when necessary to allow preservation of the game in a playable form by an eligible library, archives, or museum, where such activities are carried out without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage and the video game is not distributed or made available outside of the physical premises of the eligible library, archives, or museum.

(ii) Video games in the form of computer programs embodied in physical or downloaded formats that have been lawfully acquired as complete games, that do not require access to an external computer server for gameplay, and that are no longer reasonably available in the commercial marketplace, solely for the purpose of preservation of the game in a playable form by an eligible library, archives, or museum, where such activities are carried out without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage and the video game is not distributed or made available outside of the physical premises of the eligible library, archives, or museum.

(iii) Computer programs used to operate video game consoles solely to the extent necessary for an eligible library, archives, or museum to engage in the preservation activities described in paragraph (b)(19)(i)(B) or (b)(19)(ii) of this section.

(iv) For purposes of this paragraph (b)(19), the following definitions shall apply:

(A) For purposes of paragraphs (b)(19)(i)(A) and (b)(19)(ii) of this section, “complete games” means video games that can be played by users without accessing or reproducing copyrightable content stored or previously stored on an external computer server.

(B) For purposes of paragraph (b)(19)(i)(B) of this section, “complete games” means video games that meet the definition in paragraph (b)(19)(iv)(A) of this section, or that consist of both a copy of a game intended for a personal computer or video game console and a copy of the game's code that was stored or previously stored on an external computer server.

(C) “Ceased to provide access” means that the copyright owner or its authorized representative has either issued an affirmative statement indicating that external server support for the video game has ended and such support is in fact no longer available or, alternatively, server support has been discontinued for a period of at least six months; provided, however, that server support has not since been restored.

(D) “Local gameplay” means gameplay conducted on a personal computer or video game console, or locally connected personal computers or consoles, and not through an online service or facility.

(E) A library, archives, or museum is considered “eligible” if—

(1) The collections of the library, archives, or museum are open to the public and/or are routinely made available to researchers who are not affiliated with the library, archives, or museum;

(2) The library, archives, or museum has a public service mission;

(3) The library, archives, or museum's trained staff or volunteers provide professional services normally associated with libraries, archives, or museums;

(4) The collections of the library, archives, or museum are composed of lawfully acquired and/or licensed materials; and

(5) The library, archives, or museum implements reasonable digital security measures as appropriate for the activities permitted by this paragraph (b)(19).

(20)(i) Computer programs, except video games, that have been lawfully acquired and that are no longer reasonably available in the commercial marketplace, solely for the purpose of lawful preservation of a computer program, or of digital materials dependent upon a computer program as a condition of access, by an eligible library, archives, or museum, where such activities are carried out without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage. Any electronic distribution, display, or performance made outside of the physical premises of an eligible library, archives, or museum of works preserved under this paragraph may be made to only one user at a time, for a limited time, and only where the library, archives, or museum has no notice that the copy would be used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.

(ii) For purposes of the exemption in paragraph (b)(20)(i) of this section, a library, archives, or museum is considered “eligible” if—

(A) The collections of the library, archives, or museum are open to the public and/or are routinely made available to researchers who are not affiliated with the library, archives, or museum;

(B) The library, archives, or museum has a public service mission;

(C) The library, archives, or museum's trained staff or volunteers provide professional services normally associated with libraries, archives, or museums;

(D) The collections of the library, archives, or museum are composed of lawfully acquired and/or licensed materials; and

(E) The library, archives, or museum implements reasonable digital security measures as appropriate for the activities permitted by this paragraph (b)(20).

(iii) For purposes of paragraph (b)(20) of this section, the phrase “one user at a time” means that for each copy of a work lawfully owned by an eligible library, archives, or museum and preserved under paragraph (b)(20)(i) of this section, such library, archives, or museum may make an electronic distribution, display, or performance of that work outside of its physical premises. An eligible library, archives, or museum may make each copy of such lawfully owned and preserved work available to different users simultaneously. This provision does not permit an eligible library, archives, or museum to make multiple, simultaneous copies of the same copy of a work for the purposes of providing users access to the work.

(21) Computer programs that operate 3D printers that employ technological measures to limit the use of material, when circumvention is accomplished solely for the purpose of using alternative material and not for the purpose of accessing design software, design files, or proprietary data.

(22) Computer programs, solely for the purpose of investigating a potential infringement of free and open source computer programs where:

(i) The circumvention is undertaken on a lawfully acquired device or machine other than a video game console, on which the computer program operates;

(ii) The circumvention is performed by, or at the direction of, a party that has a good-faith, reasonable belief in the need for the investigation and has standing to bring a breach of license or copyright infringement claim;

(iii) Such circumvention does not constitute a violation of applicable law; and

(iv) The copy of the computer program, or the device or machine on which it operates, is not used or maintained in a manner that facilitates copyright infringement.

(c) Persons who may initiate circumvention. To the extent authorized under paragraph (b) of this section, the circumvention of a technological measure that restricts wireless telephone handsets or other wireless devices from connecting to a wireless telecommunications network may be initiated by the owner of any such handset or other device, by another person at the direction of the owner, or by a provider of a commercial mobile radio service or a commercial mobile data service at the direction of such owner or other person, solely in order to enable such owner or a family member of such owner to connect to a wireless telecommunications network, when such connection is authorized by the operator of such network.

[65 FR 64574, Oct. 27, 2000, as amended at 68 FR 62018, Oct. 31, 2003; 71 FR 68479, Nov. 27, 2006; 74 FR 55139, Oct. 27, 2009; 75 FR 43839, July 27, 2010; 75 FR 47465, Aug. 6, 2010; 77 FR 65278, Oct. 26, 2012; 79 FR 50553, Aug. 25, 2014; 80 FR 65961, Oct. 28, 2015; 83 FR 54028, Oct. 26, 2018; 86 FR 59637, Oct. 28, 2021; 89 FR 85446, Oct. 28, 2024]