Copyright Office Announces New Recordation Fee for Electronic Title Lists and Policy Change Concerning Section 115 NOI Fees
Issue No. 689 - November 13, 2017
Today, the U.S. Copyright Office published a final rule establishing a separate, lower filing fee for recording documents with the Office when they are submitted with an electronic title list, i.e., a list of certain indexing information about the works to which such documents pertain. The reduced fee should incentivize use of these lists, leading to increased administrative efficiency and providing a less expensive avenue to obtaining the benefits of recording a document with the Copyright Office. As required by 17 U.S.C. § 708, in connection with this fee, the Office conducted a cost study and submitted a proposed fee schedule and analysis to Congress on August 18, 2017, which began a 120-day review period. If no law is enacted stating in substance that Congress does not approve of the fee during this time, the fee will become effective on December 18, 2017.
In addition, though unrelated to the final rule, the same notice announces a policy change, also effective December 18, 2017, to require the payment of fees for the filing of all notices of intention to obtain a compulsory license to make and distribute phonorecords under 17 U.S.C. § 115 (NOIs), including those that are filed in the Office after failed delivery to the copyright owner.
The notice announcing the final rule and policy change is available here.