Code of Federal Regulations: Section 201
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Code of Federal Regulations: Section 201 |
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(a) General purpose addresses. Members of the public must use the correct address in order to facilitate timely receipt by the copyright division or section to which an inquiry should be directed. The following addresses may be used for general inquiries made to a particular division or section of the Copyright Office. Addresses for special, limited purposes are provided below in paragraph (b) of this section. Anyone who is not certain where a particular inquiry should be directed, should inquire about the proper address through the “Contact us” section on the Office's Web site ( http://www.copyright.gov ) or call the Public Information Office at (202) 707–3000. (1) In general. Mail and other communications which do not come under the areas listed in paragraph (a) or (b) of this section shall be addressed to the Library of Congress, Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20559–6000. (2) Inquiries to Licensing Division. Inquiries about filings related to the compulsory licenses (17 U.S.C. 111, 112, 114, 115, 118, 119, 122 and chapter 10) should be addressed to the Library of Congress, Copyright Office, Licensing Division, 101 Independence Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20557–6400. (3) Copies of records or deposits. Requests for copies of records or deposits for use in litigation or other authorized purposes should be addressed to the Records Research and Certification Section, LM–455, Library of Congress, Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20559–6302. (4) Search of records. Requests for searches of registrations and recordations in the completed catalogs, indexes, and other records of the Copyright Office should be addressed to the Records Research and Certification Section, LM–455, Library of Congress, Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20559–6306. Records dating from January 1, 1978, forward are available for searching on the Copyright Office's Web site at http://www.copyright.gov: COHM, which includes information on all registrations except serials; COHD, which includes information on recordations; and COHS, which includes information on serials. (b) Limited purpose addresses. The following addresses may be used only in the special, limited circumstances given for a particular Copyright Office service: (1) Time sensitive requests. Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests; notices of filing of copyright infringement lawsuits;3 (2) Copyright Royalty Board. See §301. 2 of this title for the mailing address for claims, pleadings, and general correspondence intended for the Copyright Royalty Board. [69 FR 39331, June 30, 2004, as amended at 73 FR 37838, July 2, 2008]
§ 201.2 Information given by the Copyright Office.(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. (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 Certifications and Documents 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 Information and Records Division, 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: (B) The title of the work(s); and (C) The name of the 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) Access will be afforded as follows to pending applications for registration, the deposit material accompanying them, and pending documents for recordation that were submitted within the twelve month period immediately preceding the request for access: (i) In the case of applications for registration and deposits accompanying them, upon the request of the copyright claimant or his/her authorized representative, and (ii) 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. (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 addressed to Copyright GC/I&R, P.O. Box 70400, Washington, DC 20024. (6) Direct public access will not be permitted to any financial or accounting records, including records maintained on Deposit Accounts. (7) The Copyright Office maintains administrative staff manuals referred to as its “Compendium of Office Practices I” and “Compendium of Office Practices II” for the general guidance of its staff in making registrations and recording documents. The manuals, as amended and supplemented from time to time, are available for purchase from the National Technical Information Service (Compendium I) and the Government Printing Office (Compendium II). They are also available for public inspection and copying in the Records Research and Certifications Section. As the Office updates and revises certain chapters of Compendium II, it will make the information available on the Copyright Office's Web site. This information is also available for public inspection and copying in the Records Research and Certifications 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 Certifications 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. [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]
§ 201.3 Fees for registration, recordation, and related services, special services, and services performed by the Licensing Division.(a) General. This section prescribes the fees for registration, recordation, and related services, special services, and services performed by the Licensing Division. (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)(10). (3) Licensing Division service fee. This is a fee for a service performed by the Licensing Division. (c) Registration, recordation and related service fees. The Copyright Office has established the following fees for these services:
(d) Special Service Fees. The Copyright Office has established the following fees for special services:
(e) Licensing Division service fees . The Copyright Office has established the following fees for certain services performed by the Licensing Division:
[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]
§ 201.4 Recordation of transfers and certain other documents.(a) General. (1) This section prescribes conditions for the recordation of transfers of copyright ownership and other documents pertaining to a copyright under section 205 of title 17 of the United States Code, as amended by Pub. L. 94–553. The filing or recordation of the following documents is not within the provisions of this section: (i) Certain contracts entered into by cable systems located outside of the 48 contiguous States (17 U.S.C. 111(e); see 37 CFR 201.12); (ii) 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 37 CFR 201.11; 201.17; 201.28); (iii) Original, signed notices of intention to obtain compulsory license to make and distribute phonorecords of nondramatic musical works (17 U.S.C. 115(b); see 37 CFR 201.18); (iv) License agreements, and terms and rates of royalty payments, voluntarily negotiated between one or more public broadcasting entities and certain owners of copyright (17 U.S.C. 118; see 37 CFR 201.9); (v) Notices of termination (17 U.S.C. 203, 304(c) and (d); see 37 CFR 201.10); and (vi) Statements regarding the identity of authors of anonymous and pseudonymous works, and statements relating to the death of authors (17 U.S.C. 302). (2) A transfer of copyright ownership has the meaning set forth in section 101 of title 17 of the United States Code, as amended by Pub. L. 94–553. A document shall be considered to “pertain to a copyright” if it has a direct or indirect relationship to the existence, scope, duration, or identification of a copyright, or to the ownership, division, allocation, licensing, transfer, or exercise of rights under a copyright. That relationship may be past, present, future, or potential. (3) For purposes of this section: (i) A sworn certification is an affidavit under the official seal of any officer authorized to administer oaths within the United States, or if the original is located outside of the United States, under the official seal of any diplomatic or consular officer of the United States or of a person authorized to administer oaths whose authority is proved by the certificate of such an officer, or a statement in accordance with section 1746 of title 28 of the United States Code; and (ii) An official certification is a certification, by the appropriate Government official, that the original of the document is on file in a public office and that the reproduction is a true copy or the original. (b) Forms. The Copyright Office does not provide forms for the use of persons recording documents. (c) Recordable documents. Any transfer of copyright ownership (including any instrument of conveyance, or note or memorandum of the transfer), or any other document pertaining to a copyright, may be recorded in the Copyright Office if it is accompanied by the fee set forth in paragraph (d) of this section, and if the requirements of this paragraph with respect to signatures, completeness, and legibility are met. (1) To be recordable, the document must bear the actual signature or signatures of the person or persons who executed it. Alternatively, the document may be recorded if it is a legible photocopy or other legible facsimile reproduction of the signed document, accompanied by a sworn certification or an official certification that the reproduction is a true copy of the signed document. Any sworn certification accompanying a reproduction shall be signed by at least one of the parties to the signed document, or by an authorized representative of that person. (2) To be recordable, the document must be complete by its own terms. (i) A document that contains a reference to any schedule, appendix, exhibit, addendum, or other material as being attached to the document or made a part of it shall be recordable only if the attachment is also submitted for recordation with the document or if the reference is deleted by the parties to the document. If a document has been submitted for recordation and has been returned by the Copyright Office at the request of the sender for deletion of the reference to an attachment, the document will be recorded only if the deletion is signed or initialed by the persons who executed the document or by their authorized representatives. In exceptional cases a document containing a reference to an attachment will be recorded without the attached material and without deletion of the reference if the person seeking recordation submits a written request specifically asserting that: (A) The attachment is completely unavailable for recordation; and (B) The attachment is not essential to the identification of the subject matter of the document; and (C) It would be impossible or wholly impracticable to have the parties to the document sign or initial a deletion of the reference. (ii) If a document otherwise recordable under this title indicates on its face that it is a self-contained part of a larger instrument (for example: if it is designated “Attachment A” or “Exhibit B”), the Copyright Office will raise the question of completeness, but will record the document if the person requesting recordation asserts that the document is sufficiently complete as it stands. (iii) When the document submitted for recordation merely identifies or incorporates by reference another document, or certain terms of another document, the Copyright Office will raise no question of completeness, and will not require recordation of the other document. (3) To be recordable, the document must be legible and capable of being reproduced in legible microform copies. (d) Fees. The fees for recordation of a document are prescribed in §201.3(c). (e) Recordation. The date of recordation is the date when a proper document under paragraph (c) of this section and a proper fee under paragraph (d) of this section are all received in the Copyright Office. After recordation the document is returned to the sender with a certificate of record. (17 U.S.C. 205, 702, 708) [43 FR 35044, Aug. 8, 1978, as amended at 53 FR 123, Jan. 5, 1988; 56 FR 59885, Nov. 26, 1991; 64 FR 29521, June 1, 1999; 65 FR 39819, June 28, 2000; 67 FR 69136, Nov. 15, 2002; 70 FR 38022, July 1, 2005]
§ 201.5 Corrections and amplifications of copyright registrations; applications for supplementary registration.(a) General. (1) This section prescribes conditions relating to the filing of an application for supplementary registration, to correct an error in a copyright registration or to amplify the information given in a registration, under section 408(d) of title 17 of the United States Code, as amended by Pub. L. 94–553. For the purposes of this section: (i) A basic registration means any of the following: (A) A copyright registration made under sections 408, 409, and 410 of title 17 of the United States Code, as amended by Pub. L. 94–553; (B) A renewal registration made under section 304 of title 17 of the United States Code, as so amended; (C) A registration of claim to copyright made under title 17 of the United States Code as it existed before January 1, 1978; or (D) A renewal registration made under title 17 of the United States Code as it existed before January 1, 1978; and (ii) A supplementary registration means a registration made upon application under section 408(d) of title 17 of the United States Code, as amended by Pub. L. 94–553, and the provisions of this section. (2) No correction or amplification of the information in a basic registration will be made except pursuant to the provisions of this §201.5. As an exception, where it is discovered that the record of a basic registration contains an error that the Copyright Office itself should have recognized at the time registration was made, the Office will take appropriate measures to rectify its error. (b) Persons entitled to file an application for supplementary registration; grounds of application. (1) Supplementary registration can be made only if a basic copyright registration for the same work has already been completed. After a basic registration has been completed, any author or other copyright claimant of the work, or the owner of any exclusive right in the work, or the duly authorized agent of any such author, other claimant, or owner, who wishes to correct or amplify the information given in the basic registration for the work may file an application for supplementary registration.1 (2) Supplementary registration may be made either to correct or to amplify the information in a basic registration. For the purposes of this section: (i) A correction is appropriate if information in the basic registration was incorrect at the time that basic registration was made, and the error is not one that the Copyright Office itself should have recognized; (ii) An amplification is appropriate: (A) To supplement or clarify the information that was required by the application for the basic registration and should have been provided, such as the identity of a co-author or co-claimant, but was omitted at the time the basic registration was made, or (B) To reflect changes in facts, other than those relating to transfer, license, or ownership of rights in the work, that have occurred since the basic registration was made. (iii) Supplementary registration is not appropriate: (A) As an amplification, to reflect a change in ownership that occurred on or after the effective date of the basic registration or to reflect the division, allocation, licensing or transfer of rights in a work; or (B) To correct errors in statements or notices on the copies of phonorecords of a work, or to reflect changes in the content of a work; and (iv) Where a basic renewal registration has been made for a work during the last year of the relevant first-term copyright, supplementary registration to correct the renewal claimant or basis of claim or to add a renewal claimant is ordinarily possible only if the application for supplementary registration and fee are received in the Copyright Office within the last year of the relevant first-term copyright. If the error or omission in a basic renewal registration is extremely minor, and does not involve the identity of the renewal claimant or the legal basis of the claim, supplementary registration may be made at any time. In an exceptional case, however, supplementary registration may be made to correct the name of the renewal claimant and the legal basis of the claim at any time if clear, convincing, objective documentation is submitted to the Copyright Office which proves that an inadvertent error was made in failing to designate the correct living statutory renewal claimant in the basic renewal registration. (c) Form and content of application for supplementary registration. (1) An application for supplementary registration shall be made on a form prescribed by the Copyright Office, shall be accompanied by the appropriate fee identified in §201.3(c) and shall contain the following information: (i) The title of the work as it appears in the basic registration, including previous or alternative titles if they appear; (ii) The registration number of the basic registration; (iii) The year when the basic registration was completed; (iv) The name or names of the author or authors of the work, and the copyright claimant or claimants in the work, as they appear in the basic registration; (v) In the case of a correction: (A) The line number and heading or description of the part of the basic registration where the error occurred; (B) A transcription of the erroneous information as it appears in the basic registration; (C) A statement of the correct information as it should have appeared; and (D) If desired, an explanation of the error or its correction; (vi) In the case of an amplification: (A) The line number and heading or description of the part of the basic registration where the information to be amplified appears; (B) A clear and succinct statement of the information to be added; and (C) If desired, an explanation of the amplification; (vii) The name and address: (A) To which correspondence concerning the application should be sent; and (B) To which the certificate of supplementary registration should be mailed; and (viii) The certification shall consist of: (A) The handwritten signature of the author, other copyright claimant, or owner of exclusive right(s) in the work, or of the duly authorized agent of such author, other claimant or owner (who shall also be identified); (B) The typed or printed name of the person whose signature appears, and the date of signature; and (C) A statement that the person signing the application is the author, other copyright claimant, or owner of exclusive right(s) in the work, or the authorized agent of such author, other claimant, or owner, and that the statements made in the application are correct to the best of that person's knowledge. (2) The form prescribed by the Copyright Office for the foregoing purposes is designated “Application for Supplementary Copyright Registration (Form CA)”. Copies of the form are available free upon request to the Copyright Information Section, Library of Congress, Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20559-6000. (3) Copies, phonorecords or supporting documents cannot be made part of the record of a supplementary registration and should not be submitted with the application. (d) Effect of supplementary registration. (1) When a supplementary registration is completed, the Copyright Office will assign it a new registration number in the appropriate class, and issue a certificate of supplementary registration under that number. (2) As provided in section 408(d) of title 17, the information contained in a supplementary registration augments but does not supersede that contained in the basic registration. The basic registration will not be expunged or cancelled. [43 FR 773, Jan. 4, 1978, as amended at 56 FR 59885, Nov. 26, 1991; 57 FR 60482, Dec. 21, 1992; 60 FR 34168, June 30, 1995; 62 FR 35421, July 1, 1997; 63 FR 59236, Nov. 3, 1998; 63 FR 66042, Dec. 1, 1998; 64 FR 29521, June 1, 1999; 65 FR 39819, June 28, 2000; 65 FR 48914, Aug. 10, 2000; 66 FR 34372, June 28, 2001; 73 FR 37838, July 2, 2008]
§ 201.6 Payment and refund of Copyright Office fees.(a) In general. All fees sent to the Copyright Office should be in the form of a money order, check or bank draft payable to the Register of Copyrights. Coin or currency sent to the Office in letters or packages will be at the remitter's risk. Remittances from foreign countries should be in the form of an International Money Order or Bank Draft payable and immediately negotiable in the United States for the full amount of the fee required. Uncertified checks are accepted subject to collection. 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 payment in money is received. In the event the fee is not paid, the registration or other record shall be expunged. (b) Deposit accounts. Persons or firms having a considerable amount of business with the Copyright Office may, for their own convenience, prepay copyright expenses by establishing a Deposit Account. (c) Refunds. Money remitted to the Copyright Office for original, basic, supplementary or renewal registration 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 statutory fee will be refunded, but amounts of $50 or less will not be refunded unless specifically requested, and refunds of less than $2 may be made in postage stamps. Before making any refund for fees remitted in relation to nonregistration 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 fee set by statute for the service. (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 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. (17 U.S.C. 702, 708(c)) [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]
§ 201.7 Cancellation of completed registrations.(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 de minimis 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 mailed, 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 title 17 U.S.C., Chapters 1 through 8, 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 remitter 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 mailed, 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 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) For a work published after January 1, 1978, the only claimant given on the application was deceased on the date the application was certified; (x) A work is not anonymous or pseudonymous and statements on the application and/or copy vary so much that the author cannot be identified; and (xi) Statements on the application conflict or are so unclear that the claimant cannot be adequately identified. (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 remitter. 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]
§ 201.8 Disruption of postal or other transportation or communication services.(a) 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 that has delayed the receipt by the Copyright Office of deposits, applications, fees, 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. (b) At the request of any person who provides satisfactory evidence that he or she has attempted to deliver a deposit, application, fee 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, the Register shall assign, as the date of receipt of the deposit, application, fee or other material, the date on which the Register determines the material would have been received but for the disruption or suspension of services, if the deposit, application, fee or other material was actually received in the Copyright Office within one month after the disruption or suspension of services has terminated. (c) Timing. The request shall be made: (1) With respect to an application for copyright registration, no earlier than the date on which the claimant receives the certificate of registration and no later than one year after the date on which the claimant receives the certificate of registration; provided, however, that a request may be made prior to receipt of a certificate of registration— (i) If the Copyright Office has communicated with the claimant relating to the application and the claimant makes the request as part of a response to the communication from the Office; or (ii) If the Register determines that good cause exists to entertain a request prior to the issuance of a certificate of registration; (2) With respect to a transfer of copyright ownership or other document submitted for recordation pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 205, no later than one year after the date on which the person submitting the transfer or document receives the certificate of recordation; (3) With respect to any other material, no later than one year after the date on which the material was actually received in the Copyright Office. (d) In cases in which a certificate or registration or a certificate of recordation has already been issued, the original certificate must be returned to the Copyright Office along with the request. (e) For purposes of paragraph (b) of this section, satisfactory evidence shall consist of: (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 2 days) from receipt by the delivery service to the date on which delivery was to be made to the Copyright Office; (3) Other documentary evidence which the Register deems equivalent to the evidence set forth in paragraphs (e)(1) and (2) of this section; or (4) A sworn statement 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, the material would have been received by the Copyright Office by a particular date. (f) 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, (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. (g) Requests pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section shall be addressed to: Chief, Copyright Office Receipt, Analysis and Control Division, Copyright Office, and if delivered by hand they should be brought to the Copyright Information Section, Library of Congress, James Madison Memorial Building, Room 401, First and Independence Avenue, SE., Washington, DC. If mailed, the request should be addressed to Chief, Receipt, Analysis and Control Division, P.O. Box 71380, Washington, DC 20024–1380. [66 FR 62944, Dec. 4, 2001; 66 FR 63920, Dec. 11, 2001; 73 FR 37838, July 2, 2008]
§ 201.9 Recordation of agreements between copyright owners and public broadcasting entities.(a) License agreements voluntarily negotiated between one or more owners of copyright in published nondramatic musical works and published pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works, and one or more public broadcasting entities, and terms and rates of royalty payments agreed to among owners of copyright in nondramatic literary works and public broadcasting entities will be filed in the Copyright Office, Licensing Division by recordation upon payment of the fee prescribed by §201.3. The document submitted for recordation shall meet the following requirements: (1) It shall be an original instrument of agreement; or it shall be a legible photocopy or other full-size facsimile reproduction of an original, accompanied by a certification signed by at least one of the parties to the agreement, 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 agreement, 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. 118. (b) The fee for recordation of a voluntary license agreement under this section is the basic recordation fee as prescribed in §201.3(c). (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 record. (17 U.S.C. 207 and 17 U.S.C. 118, 702, 708(11), as amended by Pub. L. 94–553) [42 FR 16777, Mar. 30, 1977, as amended at 46 FR 33249, June 29, 1981; 56 FR 59885, Nov. 26, 1991; 64 FR 29521, June 1, 1999]
§ 201.10 Notices of termination of transfers and licenses.This section covers notices of termination of transfers and licenses under sections 203, 304(c) and 304(d) of title 17, of the United States Code. 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 sections 304(c) and 304(d) of title 17, U.S.C., 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 section 304 of title 17, U.S.C., 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 section 203 of title 17, U.S.C., 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 section 203 of title 17, U.S.C., 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 section 304(c) or section 304(d), whichever applies, of title 17, U.S.C., 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 section 203 of title 17, U.S.C., 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 elswhere 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 personal service, or by first-class mail sent to an address which, after a reasonable investigation, is found to be the last known address of the grantee or successor in title. (2) The service provision of section 203, section 304(c) or section 304(d) of title 17, U.S.C., 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 section 203, section 304(c), or section 304(d) of title 17, U.S.C., 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 that do not materially affect the adequacy of the information required to serve the purposes of section 203, section 304(c), or section 304(d) of title 17, U.S.C., whichever applies, shall not render the notice invalid. (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. (1) A copy of the notice of termination will be recorded in the Copyright Office upon payment of the fee prescribed by paragraph (2) of this paragraph (f) and upon compliance with the following provisions: (i) The copy submitted for recordation shall be a complete and exact duplicate of the notice of termination as served and shall include the actual signature or signatures, or a reproduction of the actual signature or signatures, appearing on the notice; 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; and (ii) The copy submitted for recordation shall 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. (2) The fee for recordation of a document is prescribed in §201.3(c). (3) The date of recordation is the date when all of the elements required for recordation, including the prescribed fee and, if required, the statement referred to in paragraph (f)(1)(ii) of this section, have been received in the Copyright Office. After recordation, the document, including any accompanying statement, is returned to the sender with a certificate of record. (4) Recordation of a notice of termination by the Copyright Office is without prejudice to any party claiming that the legal and formal requirements for issuing a valid notice have not been met. [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]
§ 201.11 Satellite carrier statements of account covering statutory licenses for secondary transmissions.(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 section 119(b)(1) of title 17 of the United States Code, as amended by Pub. L. 103–369, in order that certain secondary transmissions by satellite carriers for private home viewing be subject to statutory licensing. (b) Definitions. (1) The terms distributor, network station, private home viewing, satellite carrier, subscriber, superstation, and unserved household have the meanings set forth in section 119(d) of title 17 of the United States Code, as amended by Pub. L. 103–369. (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 section 119(b)(1)(B) and (c)(3) of title 17, by not later than July 30, if the Statement of Account covers the January 1 through June 30 accounting period, and by not 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 Division 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 upon request to the Library of Congress, Copyright Office, Licensing Division, 101 Independence Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20557–6400. (2) The form prescribed by the Copyright Office is designated “Statement of Account for Secondary Transmissions by Satellite Carriers to Home Viewers.” (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 “superstation” 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 “Superstations,” followed by: (i) The call sign of each superstation signal carried for each month of the period covered by the Statement, and (ii) The total number of subscribers to each superstation for each month of the period covered by the Statement. This number is the number of subscribers to each superstation 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 superstation for the six-month period covered by the Statement multiplied by the statutory royalty rate prescribed in §258.3 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 §258.3 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) The handwritten signature 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: (f) Royalty fee payment . (1) All royalty fees shall be paid by a single 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 Division; (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 Division. (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 Division 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 Division 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 Division 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. A telegraphic or similar unsigned communication will be considered to meet this requirement if it clearly identifies the basis of the request, if it is received in the Copyright Office within the required 30-day period, and if a written request meeting all the conditions of this paragraph (h)(3) is also received in the Copyright Office within 14 days after the end of such 30-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: (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 Division, 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 Division 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 Division 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 Division 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]
§ 201.12 Recordation of certain contracts by cable systems located outside of the forty-eight contiguous States.(a) Written, nonprofit contracts providing for the equitable sharing of costs of videotapes and their transfer, as identified in section 111(e)(2) of title 17 of the United States Code as amended by Pub. L. 94–553, will be filed in the Copyright Office Licensing Division 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 legible photocopy or other full-size facsimile reproduction of an original, accompanied by a certification signed by 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. (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 record. [42 FR 53961, Oct. 4, 1977, as amended at 56 FR 59885, Nov. 26, 1991; 64 FR 29521, June 1, 1999]
§ 201.13 Notices of objection to certain noncommercial performances of nondramatic literary or musical works.(a) Definitions. (1) A Notice of Objection is a notice, as required by section 110(4) of title 17 of the United States Code as amended by Pub. L. 94–553, 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 a telegram 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 said 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) Telegram, cablegram, 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. [42 FR 64684, Dec. 28, 1977]
§ 201.14 Warnings of copyright for use by certain libraries and archives.(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 amended by Pub. L. 94–553. 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 amended by Pub. L. 94–553. 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: (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 8 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. [42 FR 59265, Nov. 16, 1977]
§§ 201.15-201.16 [Reserved]§ 201.17 Statements of Account covering compulsory licenses for secondary transmissions by cable systems.(a) General. This section prescribes rules pertaining to the deposit of Statements of Account and royalty fees in the Coypright Office as required by section 111(d)(2) of title 17 of the United States Code 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 broa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
