Title 37—Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights--Volume 1
PART 201—GENERAL PROVISIONS
§ 201.1   Communication with the Copyright Office.
(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.
§ 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 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.
§ 201.3   Fees for registration, recordation, and related services, special services, and services performed by the Licensing Section and the Copyright Claims Board.
(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:
Table 1 to Paragraph ( c )
(d) Special service fees. The Copyright Office has established the following fees for special services of the Office:
Table 2 to Paragraph (d)
(e) Licensing Section service fees. The Copyright Office has established the following fees for specific services of the Licensing Section:
Table 3 to Paragraph ( e )
(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:
Table 4 to Paragraph ( g )
§ 201.4   Recordation of transfers and other documents pertaining to copyright.
(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.
§ 201.5   [Reserved]
§ 201.6   Payment and refund of Copyright Office fees.
(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.
§ 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 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.
§ 201.8   Disruption of postal or other transportation or communication services.
(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.
§ 201.9   [Reserved]
§ 201.10   Notices of termination of transfers and licenses.
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.
§ 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 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.
(f) Royalty fee payment. (1) All royalty fees shall be paid by electronic funds transfer using Pay.gov, and payment must be received in the designated bank by the filing deadline for the relevant accounting period. Satellite carriers must provide specific information as part of the EFT and as part of the remittance advice, as listed in the instructions for Pay.gov, the Statement of Account form, and the Office's website.
(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) for each Statement of Account involved. Payment of this fee must be by EFT using Pay.gov. 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 by EFT using Pay.gov. 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.
(vii) A refund payment in the amount of fifty dollars ($50.00) or less will not be refunded unless specifically requested before the statement of account is closed, at which point any excess payment will be treated as part of the royalty fee. A request for a refund payment in an amount of over fifty dollars ($50.00) 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 affirmatively send 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.
(5) 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 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 full payment submitted by a remitter is received by the Copyright Office. The interest rate applicable to a specific accounting period beginning with the 1992/2 period shall be the Current Value of Funds Rate, as posted on the Treasury Department's website 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 consulting the Copyright Office website. 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).
(6) A statement of account shall be considered closed in cases where a licensee fails to reply within ninety days to the request for further information from the Copyright Office or, in the case of subsequent correspondence that may be necessary, ninety days from the date of the last correspondence from the Office.
(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).
§ 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 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.
§ 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 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.
§ 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 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:
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.
§ 201.15   [Reserved]
§ 201.16   Verification of a Statement of Account for secondary transmissions made by cable systems and satellite carriers.
(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(l).
(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)(4)(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)(4)(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(l); 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(l)(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(l)(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.
§ 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 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 these purposes, the full amount of such service fees includes separately itemized fees, such as broadcast fees or broadcast surcharges, that are directly related to the provision of basic service and that a subscriber is required to pay to the cable operator in order to receive secondary transmissions of television or radio broadcast signals. Gross receipts also include fees for non-broadcast tier(s) of services if such purchase is required to obtain tiers of services with broadcast signals, and fees for any other type of equipment, device, or software necessary to receive broadcast signals that is supplied by the cable operator, even if the cable operator offers to provide services through a free software application. 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, franchise 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. In addition, gross receipts shall not include any fees collected from subscribers for the sale of internet services or telephony services when such services are bundled together with cable service; instead, when cable services are sold as part of a bundle of other services, gross receipts shall include fees in the amount that would have been collected if such subscribers received cable service as an unbundled stand-alone product.
(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) Submission of Statement of Account, 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 except for cases where the cable system has ceased operation before the account period closes. 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) A cable system that changes ownership during an accounting period is obligated to file only a single Statement of Account at the end of the accounting period. 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.
(5) 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 shall submit each Statement of Account 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. To file a Statement of Account for an accounting period that includes dates prior to five years from submission of the form, please contact the Licensing Division for instructions.
(e) Contents. In addition to the information requested by the instructions for completion and submission provided on the Office's website or the form itself, each Statement of Account shall contain the following information:
(1) 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.
(2) 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 or, in the case of a cable system ceasing operations during the accounting period, the facts existing on the last day of operations; 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.
(3) 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.
(4) 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)(5) 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 paragraphs (e)(4)(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.
(5) 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.
(6) 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) 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.
(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. 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. 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 387.2(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 (EFT) using Pay.gov, and must be received in the designated bank by the filing deadline for the relevant accounting period. Cable systems must provide specific information as part of the EFT and as part of the remittance advice, as listed in the instructions for Pay.gov, the Statement of Account form and on the Office's website.
(2) A copy of the remittance advice shall be attached to the Statement(s) of Account. In addition, if payment is not made by pay.gov , 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 (k)(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 cable operator 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) To amend or request a refund relating to a Statement of Account for an accounting period that includes dates prior to five years from submission of the form, please contact the Licensing Division for instructions.
(2) Upon compliance with the procedures and within the time limits set forth in paragraph (l)(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 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 (l)(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 (l)(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 (l)(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 (l) 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 must be made by an electronic payment using Pay.gov . 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 (l) must be accompanied by a remittance in the full amount of such fee. Payment of the supplemental royalty fee must be by an electronic payment using Pay.gov . 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 (l) 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)(6) 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 (l)(4)(i) of this section.
(vii) A refund payment in the amount of fifty dollars ($50.00) or less will not be refunded unless specifically requested before the statement of account is closed, at which point any excess payment will be treated as part of the royalty fee. A request for a refund payment in an amount of over fifty dollars ($50.00) 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 affirmatively send the royalty refund to the cable system owner named in the Statement of Account.
(5) 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 underpayments or late payments of royalties for the cable statutory license occurring within that accounting period. The accrual period shall end on the date the payment submitted by a remitter is received by the Copyright Office. The interest rate applicable to a specific accounting period beginning with the 1992/2 period shall be the Current Value of Funds Rate, as posted on the Treasury Department website, in effect on the first business day after the close of the filing deadline for that accounting period. Cable operators 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 consulting the Copyright Office website. 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).
(6) A statement of account shall be considered closed in cases where a licensee fails to reply within ninety days to the request for further information from the Copyright Office or, in the case of subsequent correspondence that may be necessary, ninety days from the date of the last correspondence from the Office.
(7) Following final processing, all requests submitted under this paragraph (l) 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.