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Copyright Filers Using Gralin Software - Please Read, January 26, 2010- NewsNet, 409

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Licensing Division

The Licensing Division in the Copyright Office administers the compulsory and statutory licenses in the Copyright Act (title 17 of the U.S. Code). The division collects royalty fees from cable operators for retransmitting television and radio broadcasts (section 111), from satellite carriers for retransmitting non-network and network signals (section 119), and from importers or manufacturers for distributing digital audio recording products (see section 1003). The division deducts its full operating costs from the royalty fees and invests the balance in interest-bearing securities with the U.S. Treasury for later distribution to copyright owners. For further information read Circular 75, The Licensing Division of the Copyright Office.

Organization of the Division

The Examining Section examines licensing documents submitted for a statutory or compulsory license to determine that they meet the requirements under the statute and Copyright Office regulations, including the correct computation of the royalty fee. A licensing examiner will notify a licensee to correct errors or omissions on a document before final processing by the Copyright Office.

The Fiscal Section performs all accounting, budgeting, and investing functions of the division in conjunction with the accounting offices of the Library of Congress and the U. S. Treasury. This section is also responsible for the ascertainment of funds available for distribution by Copyright Royalty Judges.

The Information Section provides information about the compulsory and statutory licenses, maintains all the division’s official licensing records, and performs reference searches of licensing documents for the public and members of Congress. This section is also responsible for examining licensing documents submitted for a statutory or compulsory license to determine that they meet the requirements under the statute and Copyright Office regulations, including the correct computation of the royalty fee.

Types of Licenses

• Section 111 - Statutory License for Secondary Transmissions by Cable Systems
• Section 112 - Statutory License for Making Ephemeral Recordings
• Section 114 - Statutory License for the public performance of Sound Recordings by Means of a Digital Audio Transmission
• Section 115 - Compulsory License for Making and Distributing Phonorecords
• Section 118 - Compulsory License for the use of Certain Works in Connection with Non-Commercial Broadcasting
• Section 119 - Statutory License for Secondary Transmissions for Satellite Carriers
• Section 122 - Statutory License for Secondary Transmissions by Satellite Carriers for Local Retransmissions
• Statutory Obligation for Distribution of Digital Audio Recording Devices and Media (Chapter 10)

• Circular 74a - How to Make Statutory License Royalty EFT Payments via Wire
• Circular 74b - How to Make Statutory License Royalty EFT Payments via ACH Credit
• Circular 74c - How to Make Statutory License Royalty EFT Payments Using Pay.gov
• EFT Remittance Advice
• Cable/Satellite
• DART
• EFT demo
• EFT Form (for refunds only and disbursements only)