16306 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 64 / Wednesday, April 4, 2007 / Proposed Rules 

under the requirements in paragraph 

(c)(2)(ii) of this section. The petition 

should include all relevant information 

and views on which the petitioner 

relies, including any data, e.g., 

qualitative or quantitative consumer 

research, that show consumer 

understanding of the purpose and intent 

of the alternative labeling. 

(ii) The term ‘‘pasteurized’’ may be 

used in lieu of ‘‘irradiated’’ or any of its 

derivatives if the irradiation process is: 

(A) Reasonably certain to achieve 

destruction or elimination in the food of 

the most resistant microorganism of 

public health significance that is likely 

to occur in the food; 

(B) At least as protective of the public 

health as a process or treatment that is 

defined as pasteurization in this 

chapter; 

(C) Effective for a period that is least 

as long as the shelf life of the food when 

stored under normal and moderate 

abuse conditions; and 

(D) The subject of a notification to the 

Secretary of Health and Human Services 

(the Secretary) that includes 

effectiveness data regarding the process 

or treatment and the Secretary has not 

made a determination in 120 days after 

the receipt of the notification that the 

process or treatment involved has not 

been shown to meet the requirements 

provided in paragraph (c)(2)(ii)(A), (B), 

and (C) of this section. 

(3) For an irradiated food not in 

packaged form that has, as a result of the 

irradiation, undergone a material change 

in its characteristics or conditions of 

use, the required logo and the following 

disclosure statements, ‘‘irradiated,’’ or 

any of its derivatives, or an alternate 

term as provided in paragraph (c)(2) of 

this section in conjunction with 

language describing the material change 

in the characteristics of the food or 

conditions of use as a result of the 

irradiation, shall be displayed to the 

purchaser with either of the following: 

(i) The labeling of the bulk container 

plainly in view or 

(ii) A counter sign, card, or other 

appropriate device bearing the 

information that the product has been 

treated with radiation. As an alternative, 

each item of food may be individually 

labeled. In either case, the information 

must be prominently and conspicuously 

displayed to purchasers. The labeling 

requirement applies only to a food that 

has been irradiated, not to a food that 

merely contains an irradiated ingredient 

but that has not itself been irradiated. 

* * * * * 

Dated: March 27, 2007. 

Jeffrey Shuren, 

Assistant Commissioner for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 07–1636 Filed 4–3–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4160–01–S 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

Copyright Office 

37 CFR Part 202 

[Docket No. RM 2007–3] 

Registration of Claims to Copyright—

Renewals 

AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of 

Congress. 

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Copyright Office is 

proposing to amend its regulations 

governing applications for registration 

of claims to the renewal term of 

copyright. This notice seeks public 

comment on the proposed amended 

regulations, which will take into 

account the fact that, since January 1, 

2006, all applications for renewal have 

necessarily related to works which are 

subject to automatic renewal and, thus, 

are already in their renewal terms, 

making impossible any 28th– year 

registration of claims to the renewal 

term. 

DATES: Comments are due May 4, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: If hand delivered by a 

private party, an original and five copies 

of a comment or reply comment should 

be brought to Library of Congress, U.S. 

Copyright Office, 2221 S. Clark Street, 

11th Floor, Arlington, VA. 22202, 

between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. The 

envelope should be addressed as 

follows: Office of the General Counsel, 

U.S. Copyright Office. If delivered by a 

commercial courier, an original and five 

copies of a comment or reply comment 

must be delivered to the Congressional 

Courier Acceptance Site (‘‘CCAS’’) 

located at 2nd and D Streets, NE, 

Washington, DC between 8:30 a.m. and 

4 p.m. The envelope should be 

addressed as follows: Office of the 

General Counsel, U.S. Copyright Office, 

LM–401, James Madison Building, 101 

Independence Avenue, SE, Washington, 

DC. Please note that CCAS will not 

accept delivery by means of overnight 

delivery services such as Federal 

Express, United Parcel Service or DHL. 

If sent by mail (including overnight 

delivery using U.S. Postal Service 

Express Mail), an original and five 

copies of a comment or reply comment 

should be addressed to U.S. Copyright 

Office, Copyright GC/I&R, P.O. Box 

70400, Southwest Station, Washington, 

DC 20024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nanette Petruzzelli, Special Legal 

Advisor for Reengineering, P.O. Box 

70400, Washington, DC 20024–0400. 

Telephone: 202–707–8350. Telefax: 

202–707–8366. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The 1976 Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. 

101, et. seq., carried over provisions for 

the continued protection of certain 

works first published or registered for 

copyright under the 1909 Copyright Act. 

Reenacting and preserving the 

provisions of section 24 of the 1909 law 

for all works which were then in their 

first term of copyright protection, 

Section 304(a) of Title 17 as originally 

enacted in 1976 provided that renewal 

registration had to be made during the 

28th year of the original term of 

copyright in order to secure the 

additional (then 47) years of renewal–

term protection. 17 U.S.C. 304(a) (1976). 

In 1992, Congress enacted a revision 

of section 304(a) of Title 17 which made 

renewal copyright automatic for works 

first published or registered from 

January 1, 1964, through December 31, 

1977. This amendment allowed the 

renewal right to vest without 

registration of: [a] the claim to copyright 

during the original, 28–year term; or, [b] 

the claim to renewal copyright during 

the year immediately prior to the 

beginning of the renewal term (i.e., 

during the 28th year); or, [c] the claim 

to renewal copyright during the renewal 

term. Pub. L. No. 102–307, 106 Stat. 

264, enacted June 26, 1992. In order to 

encourage renewal registration and 

provide a public record of renewal 

rights, however, Congress also amended 

section 304(a) to provide certain 

benefits to a party who undertook the 

renewal registration within the 28th 

year of the original term of copyright. 

These benefits for works with timely 

renewal registrations include: 

1. A certificate of registration 

constitutes prima facie evidence as to 

the validity of the copyright during its 

renewal term and of the facts stated in 

the certificate. 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(4)(B). 

2. A derivative work prepared under 

the authority of a grant of a transfer or 

license of copyright in a work made 

before the expiration of the original term 

of copyright may not continue to be 

used under the terms of the grant during 

the renewal term without the authority 

of the owner of the renewal copyright. 

17 U.S.C. 304(a)(4)(A). 

3. A renewal copyright vests upon the 

beginning of the renewal term in the 


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party who was entitled to claim the 

renewal of copyright at the time the 

application was made as provided 

under 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(2)(A)(i) and 

(B)(i). 

Registration of a claim to the renewal 

term has also been possible since the 

1992 amendment at any time during the 

renewal term, i.e., at any time beyond 

the 28th year of the original term of 

copyright. 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(3)(A)(ii). 

Such renewal registration may be made 

whether or not an original–term 

registration was previously made. If no 

original–term registration was made, the 

renewal term applicant must provide 

information, under the provision of 17 

U.S.C. 409 (11), regarding the original 

term of copyright. Such information 

must demonstrate that the work 

submitted for renewal registration 

complies with all requirements of the 

1909 Act with respect to the existence, 

ownership, or duration of the copyright 

for the original term of the work. The 

Addendum to Form RE has been used 

to provide this information to the 

Copyright Office. 

The 1992 amendment further 

provided that, where no renewal 

registration has been made in the name 

of a party identified as entitled to the 

renewal right in the statute at 

304(a)(1)(B) and (C), an application form 

may be filed at any time during the 

renewal term by any successor or 

assignee of such statutorily–enumerated 

party. Section 304(a)(3). 

II. End of 28th–Year Renewal 

Registration 

The Copyright Act of 1909 ceased to 

be effective on January 1, 1978. For all 

works published before January 1, 1978, 

where the year date in the copyright 

notice on published copies or 

phonorecords distributed by authority 

of the copyright owner was earlier than 

the year date of first publication, claims 

to renewal copyright must have been 

registered during the last year of the 

original copyright term as that term was 

computed from the year date in the 

copyright notice. For purposes of 

renewal registration, this year period 

began on December 31 of the 27th year 

from the year date appearing in the 

notice and ran through December 31 of 

the 28th year from the year date 

appearing in the notice rather than 

being computed from the year date of 

actual first publication. This 

ameliorative principle arose from case 

law under the 1909 Act and essentially 

benefitted the copyright owner by 

providing an alternative to the complete 

loss of copyright in instances of a 

wrong, i.e., earlier, year date in the 

copyright notice. Further, for works 

governed by the 1909 copyright law, in 

effect until December 31, 1977, the 

original copyright term for a published 

work was computed from the date of 

first publication; the original term for a 

work first registered in unpublished 

form was computed from the date of 

registration in the Copyright Office. 

On January 1, 1978, the Copyright Act 

of 1976, Pub. L. No. 94–553, 90 Stat. 

2541 (October 19, 1976), became 

effective. The extensively revised 

copyright law provided that any work 

unpublished and not registered as of 

January 1, 1978, or published on or after 

that date, was to be governed by the 

1976 statute and was to receive a term 

of protection provided by section 302 of 

the statute. However, for any copyright, 

the first term of which was subsisting on 

January 1, 1978, such term was to last 

28 years with a possibility of a 47–year 

renewal term. Further, Pub. L. No. 105–

298, 112 Stat. 2827, enacted October 27, 

1998, changed the renewal term for 

works under copyright protection as of 

that date from 47 to 67 years. 

Thus, works first published or 

registered for their original term of 

copyright on or before December 31, 

1977, constitute the category of works 

for which the renewal structure is 

applicable. Any such work could have 

an original term of copyright of 28 years, 

assuming compliance with all 

applicable requirements of the 1909 

statute, and no work governed by the 

carried–over renewal provisions of 

section 304(a) of Title 17 may possess 

an original term of copyright extending 

beyond December 31, 2005, i.e., 28 years 

after December 31, 1977. Thus, 

December 31, 2005, was the last day on 

which a work first published or 

originally registered as unpublished 

during the effective period of the 1909 

copyright law could have been 

submitted for renewal registration 

during the 28th year of its original term 

of copyright and be eligible for the 

benefits listed above. 

III. Continuation of Post–28th Year 

Renewal Registration 

After January 1, 2006, works that were 

first published or registered as 

unpublished for the original term of 

copyright between 1964 and 1977 will 

continue to be amenable to renewal 

registration. Concerning works eligible 

for renewal registration since 1992, 

statutory claimants and successors or 

assignees of such statutory claimants 

may file applications for the renewal 

term. 

A claim to the renewal term must be 

registered in the name of the statutory 

claimant in whom the renewal 

copyright vested on the last day of the 

original term of copyright. 17 U.S.C. 

304(a)(2)(A)(ii) and (2)(B)(ii). This is 

true even when that claimant is no 

longer the owner of the copyright in the 

renewal term. If the statutory claimant 

in whom the renewal vested is the 

current owner and that claimant is 

submitting the renewal claim, that fact 

must be indicated on the renewal 

application. 

Where there is a successor or assignee 

of any statutory renewal claimant (the 

party who was the owner of the renewal 

term as determined on the last day of 

the original 28–year term of copyright), 

the successor or assignee may file the 

renewal application. 17 U.S.C. 

304(a)(3)(A)(ii). Consistent with the 

Offices long–standing regulation at 37 

CFR 202.3(b)(10), as a general rule, only 

one registration can be made for the 

same version of a particular work. This 

rule applies to renewal claims, 

including those filed by a successor or 

assignee. For example, if a successor–

in–interest filed a renewal claim in 2006 

and later assigned his interest to 

someone else, that person could not file 

a renewal claim. 

In the case of an application filed by 

a successor or assignee, the renewal 

application must identify the party in 

whom the renewal copyright vested by 

virtue of 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(1)(B) and (C) 

but in whose name no previous renewal 

registration has been made; must 

indicate the basis upon which copyright 

in the renewal term vested in that party; 

and must identify the party filing as 

successor or assignee of the statutory 

claimant under 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(3) and 

the manner by which such successor/ 

assignee secured the renewal copyright. 

When such an application has been 

filed by a successor or assignee in the 

name of the statutory claimant as 

described in 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(1)(B) and 

(C), the Office will generally not accept 

subsequent claims filed by other 

successors or assignees whose rights are 

derived from the same statutory 

claimant. 

Where a successor or assignee claims 

the renewal right from the same 

statutory claimant as does another 

successor or assignee, the Copyright 

Office may, however, inquire 

concerning the particular situation and, 

if appropriate, may allow adverse 

renewal claims from both successors/ 

assignees to be placed on the public 

record. Applications in which two or 

more persons or organizations adversely 

claim the copyright to the renewal term 

in a particular work will be handled as 

the Office’s Compendium of Copyright 

Practices, Compendium II (1984), 

§ 108.06, indicates: adverse claims will 

be registered if, after the Office inquires 


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concerning the claims, each claim, on 

its own merits, is determined to meet all 

applicable statutory and regulatory 

requirements. In such a case, 

correspondence between the parties 

filing competing renewal claims and the 

Copyright Office will be maintained 

within Office records and subject to 

public inspection according to 

regulations found at 37 CFR 201.2. In 

cases where adverse renewal claims are 

not accepted by the Copyright Office, 

however, if a public record of renewal 

ownership is sought by particular 

successors or assignees of the same 

statutory claimant as indicated in the 

filing of a previous claim by another 

successor or assignee, the document of 

transfer of the renewal copyright may be 

recorded in the Copyright Office. 

IV. Renewal Registration Procedures 

Under the proposed amendment, the 

Copyright Office will provide a revised 

application form for the registration of 

renewal claims. The proposed revised 

Form RE, as well as the proposed 

revised Form RE/CON (for use when 

additional information must be 

supplied) and Form RE/ADDENDUM (to 

be filed if the work, or the collective 

work in which it was first published, 

was not registered during the original 

term) may be viewed on the Copyright 

Office website at www.copyright.gov/ 

proposedforms. Following issuance of a 

final rule, these new forms will be 

available on the Copyright Office 

website at www.copyright.gov as well as 

through postal mail upon request. Any 

requests to the Copyright Office for 

application forms for registration of 

claims to the renewal term will be filled 

with the newly revised form; the forms 

currently in use will be obsolete and the 

new forms must be used to file such 

renewal claims. 

One of the major changes to the form 

will facilitate the filing of applications 

by successors or assignees of the 

statutory renewal claimants listed at 17 

U.S.C. 304(a)(1)(B) and (C). During the 

past several years, those successors or 

assignees of statutory claimants who 

wished to file an application to the 

renewal term, 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(3)(ii), 

had to seek advice from the Copyright 

Office because of the lack of appropriate 

application–form instructions for the 

successor or assignee situation; this has 

been addressed in the revised 

application form. 

V. Summary of Revisions to Regulation 

at 37 CFR 202.17 

The proposed revision of this 

regulatory section, 202.17, is extensive 

and essentially reorders much of the 

information which previously appeared 

within this section. The most important 

change in information concerns the end 

of the 28th–year renewal registration 

possibility. 

1. Section 202.17(a) more specifically 

explains the relevant statutory changes 

of 1992 regarding renewal rights and 

sets out the distinction between pre–

1964 works and post–1964 works with 

respect to renewal registration. 

2. Section 202.17(b) expands the list 

of terms defined to include ‘‘statutory 

claimant,’’ ‘‘assignee and successor,’’

and ‘‘vest’’ as those terms relate 

specifically to the provisions of this 

renewal registration regulation. 

3. Section 202.17(c) explains the 

relevant time periods for both original 

term registration and renewal term 

registration and their optional character 

as they are set out in the 1992 revision 

of section 304(a) of Title 17. 

4. Section 202.17(d) explains the 

benefits of 28th–year renewal 

registration under the 1992 revision to 

section 304(a) of Title 17 and indicates 

that such benefits have no longer been 

available since January 1, 2006, because 

the regime of 28th–year renewal 

registration has ended. 

5. Section 202.17(e) sets out the 

parties entitled to the renewal right 

under 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(1)(B) and (C). 

This section also: 

a. clarifies that, in any derivative 

work which may be the subject of a 

renewal application, a renewal claim 

may be filed only in the new matter, 

revisions, or changes incorporated into 

that derivative work and which form the 

basis of the protected authorship for 

purposes of registration. 

b. clarifies that renewal claims for a 

work may, under certain circumstances, 

be filed under the posthumous work 

category and also under an individual 

claimant category but with the 

Copyright Office’s taking no position as 

to which of such claims may be 

adjudicated to be valid. 

For purposes of the copyright statute’s 

renewal provision, the term 

‘‘posthumous work’’ means a work 

concerning which no copyright 

assignment or other contract for 

exploitation of the work has occurred 

during the author’s lifetime and which 

is unpublished at the time of the 

author’s death. Compendium of 

Copyright Office Practices, 

Compendium II (1984), 1317.03(a), 

citing Bartok v. Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., 

523 F.2d 941 (2d Cir. 1975), and H.R. 

Rep. No. 1476, 94th Cong., 2d Sess 139 

(1976). Two parties claiming renewal 

copyright who take different positions 

as to whether a particular work falls 

under the specific definition of 

‘‘posthumous’’ which Congress adopted 

from Bartok may, thus, file separate and 

competing claims in such a situation. 

c. explains several situations 

concerning the filing of a renewal 

registration claim where an executor or 

a party appointed to fulfill such duties 

may be the appropriate filer of a renewal 

claim or where conflicting claims 

between an administrator of a will and 

the author’s next of kin may be accepted 

by the Copyright Office. 

The Office has also added a phrase, 

for purposes of § 202.17(e)(2)(iii)(C), 

qualifying that an executor appointed 

under a will must still be acting in that 

capacity at the time of registration when 

a renewal claim is filed. The phrase ‘‘if 

still acting in that capacity at the time 

of registration’’ is added to help 

claimants make decisions concerning 

their renewal submissions where an 

executor of a will may or may not be 

able to act in the filing of a renewal 

claim. For the uncertainties and varying 

situations concerning the presence or 

absence of an executor or administrator 

and the possibility of the next of kin’s 

claiming as an appropriate section 304 

statutory class, see e.g. Silverman v. 

Sunrise Pictures Corp., 290 F. 804 (2d 

Cir.), cert. denied, 262 U.S. 758 (1923); 

Gibran v. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 153 F. 

Supp. 854 (S.D.N.Y. 1957), aff’d sub. 

nom. Gibran v. National Committee of 

Gibran, 255 F.2d 121 (2d Cir.), cert. 

denied, 358 U.S. 828 (1958); Capano 

Music v. Myers Music, Inc., 605 F. Supp. 

692 (S.D.N.Y. 1985). 

6. Section 202.17(f) clarifies the 

situations in which successors and 

assignees of the section 304(a)(1)(B) and 

(C) statutory renewal claimants may file 

applications for renewal registration. 

7. Section 202.17(g) indicates the 

information necessary on a renewal 

application form for a work for which a 

previous, original–term registration has 

been made. 

8. Section 202.17(h) indicates the 

information necessary on a renewal 

application form and the required 

accompanying deposit materials in 

situations for works where no original–

term registration has been made. 

Concerning the Form RE/Addendum to 

be used in this situation of no original–

term registration, regulatory 

§ 202.17(h)(3)(vii) explains that the 

applicant must provide within the 

application an averment that all 

authorized copies of the work which 

were publicly distributed in the United 

States or elsewhere before March 1, 

1989, carried a statutorily correct 

copyright notice. 

March 1, 1989, is the effective date of 

the Berne Convention Implementation 

Act of 1988 [BCIA], making the presence 

of a copyright notice on copies of a 


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work, published in the U.S., with the 

authorization of the copyright owner, 

optional. Before March 1, 1989, 

however, any copy, including any 

reprint copy, of a work published in this 

country or elsewhere, even though such 

work may have been first published 

under the 1909 Copyright Act, must 

have carried a statutorily required 

copyright notice. See 17 U.S.C. 405. 

List of Subjects in 37 CFR Part 202 

Claims to copyright, Copyright, 

Registration requirements, Renewals 

Proposed Regulations 

In consideration of the foregoing, the 

Copyright Office proposes to amend Part 

202 of 37 CFR, Chapter II, in the manner 

set forth below: 

1. The authority citation for part 202 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 17 U.S.C. 408(f), 702. 

2. Section 202.17 is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 202.17 Renewals 

(a) General. 

(1) This section concerns renewal for 

copyrights originally secured from 

January 1, 1964, through December 31, 

1977, either by publication with the 

required copyright notice or by 

registration as an unpublished work. 

Renewal registration for these works is 

optional. 

As provided in Pub. L. No. 102–307, 

106 Stat. 264, enacted June 26, 1992, 

renewal registration made during the 

last year of the original 28–year term of 

copyright differs in legal effect from 

renewal registration made during the 

67–year extended renewal term. In the 

latter instance, the copyright is renewed 

automatically at the expiration of the 

original 28–year term. 

In the former instance, renewal by 

registration during the last year of the 

original 28–year term vested the 

renewal copyright in the statutory 

claimant living on the date of 

registration. 

(2) Works for which copyright was 

secured before 1964 are governed by the 

provisions of 17 U.S.C. 304(a) in effect 

prior to the 1992 date of enactment of 

Pub. L. No. 102–307. The copyrights in 

such works could have been renewed by 

registration only within the last 

calendar year of the original 28–year 

term of copyright protection. If renewal 

registration was not made during that 

period of time, copyright protection was 

lost when the original term of copyright 

expired and cannot be regained. 

(3) Works restored to copyright by the 

Uruguay Round Agreements Act are 

governed in their copyright term of 

protection by Pub. L. No. 103–465, 108 

Stat. 4809, 4976 (December 8, 1994). 

Under 17 U.S.C. 104A(a)(1)(A) and (B), 

as amended, any work in which 

copyright is restored subsists for the 

remainder of the term of copyright that 

the work would have been otherwise 

granted in the United States. Such term 

includes the remainder of any 

applicable renewal term. 

(4) Automatic restoration of copyright 

in certain foreign works that were in the 

public domain in the United States may 

have occurred under the Uruguay 

Round Agreements Act and may be 

protected by copyright or neighboring 

rights in their ‘‘source country,’’ as 

defined at 17 U.S.C. 104A(h)(8). 

(b) Definitions. 

(1) For purposes of this section, the 

terms assignee and successor, as they 

pertain to 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(3)(A)(ii), 

refer to a party which has acquired the 

renewal copyright in a work by 

assignment or by other means of legal 

succession from the statutory claimant 

[as that claimant is defined in 17 U.S.C. 

304(a)(1)(B) and (C)] in whom the 

renewal copyright vested but in whose 

name no renewal registration was 

previously made. 

(2) For purposes of this section, a 

work has been copyrighted when it has 

been published with a proper copyright 

notice or, in the case of an unpublished 

work, when it has been registered for 

copyright. 

(3) For purposes of this section, the 

term posthumous work means a work 

that was unpublished on the date of the 

death of the author and with respect to 

which no copyright assignment or other 

contract for exploitation of the work 

occurred during the author’s lifetime. 

(4) For purposes of this section, the 

term statutory claimant means: 

(i) a party who was entitled to claim 

copyright for the renewal term at the 

time renewal registration was made 

either as a proprietary claimant ,17 

U.S.C. 304(a)(2)(A)(i), or as a personal 

claimant, 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(2)(B)(i), if 

registration was made during the 

original term of copyright; or, 

(ii) if the original copyright term 

expired, a party who was entitled to 

claim copyright for the renewal term as 

of the last day of the original term of 

copyright as either a proprietary or a 

personal claimant, 17 U.S.C. 

304(a)(2)(A)(ii) and (a)(2)(B)(ii). 

(5) For purposes of this section, the 

term to vest means to give a fixed, non–

contingent right of present or future 

enjoyment of the renewal copyright in a 

work. If renewal registration was made 

during the 28th year of the original term 

of copyright, the renewal copyright 

vested in the party or parties entitled to 

claim such copyright at the time of 

registration as provided by 17 U.S.C. 

304(a)(1)(B) and (C). Although the 

vested right may have been determined 

by registration during the 28th year of 

the original term, the exercise of such 

right did not commence until the 

beginning of the renewal term, as 

provided in 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(2). If 

renewal registration was not made 

during the 28th year, the renewal 

copyright automatically vested upon the 

beginning of the renewal term in the 

party or parties entitled to claim such 

copyright on the last day of the original 

term as provided by 17 U.S.C. 

304(a)(2)(A)(ii) and (B)(ii). 

(c) Time limits: original term and 

renewal term registration. 

(1) Under 17 U.S.C. 304(a), prior to its 

amendment of June 26, 1992, a 

registration for the original term of 

copyright must have been made during 

the 28 years of that original term, and 

a renewal registration must also have 

been made during the 28th year of that 

term. Pub. L. No. 102–307, 106 Stat. 264 

(June 26, 1992) amended section 304(a) 

for works originally copyrighted from 

January 1, 1964, through December 31, 

1977, and provided for optional 

original–term registration and optional 

renewal registration. 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(2), 

(a)(3) and 409(11). For such works, 

claims to renewal copyright could have 

been registered during the last year of 

the original term but such registration 

was not required in order to enjoy 

statutory protection during the renewal 

term. 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(3)(B). 

(2) A renewal registration can be 

made at any time during the renewal 

term. 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(3)(A)(ii). If no 

original–term registration was made, 

renewal registration remains possible; 

but the Register may request 

information, under 17 U.S.C. 409(11), 

regarding the original term of copyright. 

Such information must demonstrate that 

the work complies with all requirements 

of the 1909 Act with respect to the 

existence, ownership, or duration of the 

copyright for the original term of the 

work. The Form RE/Addendum is used 

to provide this information. 

(3) Renewal registration is currently 

available for works copyrighted from 

January 1, 1964, through December 31, 

1977. Under the provisions of 17 U.S.C. 

304(a)(3)(A)(ii), renewal registration 

may be made any time during the 67–

year renewal term for such works 

according to the procedure indicated in 

paragraph (h) of this section. Such 

renewal registration is optional and is 

not a condition of the subsistence of the 

copyright for the 67–year renewal term. 

17 U.S.C. 304(a)(3)(B). In the case of 

such works for which no registration 

was made during the original term of 


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16310 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 64 / Wednesday, April 4, 2007 / Proposed Rules 

copyright, renewal registration may be 

made by submission of a Form RE/ 

Addendum. The Addendum, an adjunct 

to the renewal form, concerns the facts 

of first publication for a work and 

assures the Copyright Office that the 

work as it existed in its original term of 

copyright was in compliance with the 

1909 copyright law, 17 U.S.C. 1, et. seq. 

(1909 Act, in effect through December 

31, 1977), whose provisions govern such 

works. 

(d) Benefits of 28th–year renewal 

registration. 

Prior to January 1, 2006, renewal 

registration was available during the 

28th year of the original term of 

copyright for works copyrighted from 

January 1, 1964, through December 31, 

1977. As provided in Pub. L. No. 102–

307, 106 Stat. 264, registration made 

during the 28th year of the original term 

of copyright provided the following 

benefits to the registrant: 

(1) The certificate of registration 

constituted prima facie evidence as to 

the validity of the copyright during its 

renewal term and of the facts stated in 

the certificate. 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(4)(B). 

(2) A derivative work prepared under 

the authority of a grant of a transfer or 

license of copyright in a work made 

before the expiration of the original term 

of copyright could not continue to be 

used under the terms of the grant during 

the renewal term without the authority 

of the owner of the renewal copyright. 

17 U.S.C. 304(a)(4)(A). 

(3) The renewal copyright vested 

upon the beginning of the renewal term 

in the party entitled to claim the 

renewal of copyright at the time the 

application was made as provided 

under 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(2)(A)(i) and 

(B)(i). 

(e) Statutory parties entitled to claim 

copyright for the renewal term under 

section 304(a). 

(1) Renewal claims must be registered 

in the name of the party or parties 

entitled to claim copyright for the 

renewal term as provided in paragraphs 

2 through 4 of this section and as 

specified in 17 U.S.C. 304(a). If a work 

was a new version of a previously 

published or registered work, renewal 

registration may be claimed only in the 

new matter. 

(2) If the renewal claim was submitted 

during the last, i.e., the 28th, year of the 

original term of copyright, the claim had 

to be registered in the name[s] of the 

statutory claimant[s] entitled to claim 

the renewal copyright on the date on 

which the claim was submitted to the 

Copyright Office. If the renewal claim is 

submitted during the sixty–seven year 

extended renewal term, the renewal 

claim can be registered only in the 

name[s] of the statutory claimant[s] 

entitled to claim the renewal on the last 

day (December 31) of the original term 

of copyright. These eligible renewal 

claimants are listed below: 

(i) The person who, on the applicable 

day, was the copyright proprietor is the 

appropriate renewal claimant in any 

posthumous work or any periodical, 

encyclopedia, or other composite work 

upon which the copyright was 

originally secured by the proprietor 

(ii) The person who, on the applicable 

day, was the copyright proprietor is the 

appropriate claimant in any work 

copyrighted by a corporate body 

(otherwise than as assignees or licensees 

of the individual author), or by an 

employer for whom such work was 

made for hire. 

(iii) For any other copyrighted work, 

including a contribution by an 

individual author to a periodical or to 

an cyclopedic or other composite work, 

the appropriate claimants, in 

descending order of eligibility, are the 

person who, on the applicable day, was: 

(A) the author(s) of the work, if still 

living; 

(B) the widow(er) and/or child(ren) of 

the author, if the author was deceased 

on the applicable day; 

(C) the author’s executor(s), if still 

acting in that capacity on the applicable 

day, provided the author had a will and 

neither the author, nor any widow(er) or 

child of the author is still living; 

(D) the author’s next of kin, in the 

absence of a will and if neither the 

author nor any widow, widower or 

child of the author is living. 

(3) The provisions of paragraphs (e)(1) 

and (2) of this section are subject to the 

following qualification: 

Notwithstanding the definition of 

‘‘posthumous work’’ in paragraph (b)(4) 

of this section, a renewal claim may be 

registered in the name of the proprietor 

of a work, as well as in the name of the 

appropriate claimant under paragraph 

(e)(2)(iii) of this section, in any case in 

which a contract for exploitation of the 

work but no copyright assignment in the 

work has occurred during the author’s 

lifetime. However, registration by the 

Copyright Office in this case should not 

be interpreted as evidencing the validity 

of either claim. 

(4) The provisions of paragraphs 

(e)(2)(iii)(C) and (D) of this section are 

subject to the following qualifications: 

(i) In any case where: 

(A) the author has left a will which 

names no executor; or, 

(B) the author has left a will which 

names an executor who cannot or will 

not serve in that capacity; or, 

(C) the author has left a will which 

names an executor who has been 

discharged upon settlement of the 

estate, removed before the estate has 

been completely administered, or is 

deceased at the time of the renewal 

registration submission, the renewal 

claim may be registered either in the 

name of an administrator cum 

testamento annexo (administrator c.t.a.) 

or an administrator de bonis non cum 

testamento annexo (administrator 

d.b.n.c.t.a.) so appointed by a court of 

competent jurisdiction. 

(ii) In any case described in paragraph 

(e) of this section, except in the case 

where the author has left a will without 

naming an executor and a court–

appointed administrator c.t.a. or 

administrator d.b.n.c.t.a. is in existence 

at the time of renewal registration, the 

renewal claim also may be registered in 

the name of the author’s next of kin. 

However, registration by the Copyright 

Office of conflicting renewal claims in 

such a case should not be interpreted as 

evidencing the validity of either claim. 

(f) Successors/assignees entitled to file 

an application for the renewal term 

under section 304(a).(1) The provisions 

of paragraph (e) of this section are 

subject to the following qualifications: 

(i) Where no renewal registration has 

been made in the name of a person or 

entity identified in paragraphs (e)(2)(i), 

(ii) and (iii) of this section, a renewal 

application may be filed at any time 

during the renewal term by any 

successor or assignee of such person or 

entity. 

(ii) In such cases described in 

paragraph (f)(1)(i) of this section, the 

renewal application must identify the 

party in whom the renewal copyright 

vested; must indicate the basis upon 

which copyright for the renewal term 

vested in that party; must identify the 

party who is the successor or assignee 

of the statutory claimant under 17 

U.S.C. 304(a)(3); and, must give the 

manner by which such successor/ 

assignee secured the renewal copyright. 

(iii) When such a claim has been filed 

by a successor or assignee in the name 

of the statutory claimant as described in 

paragraph (e)(2)(i), (ii) and (iii) of this 

section, generally no subsequent claims 

may be filed by other successors or 

assignees whose rights are derived from 

the same statutory claimant. If a public 

record of renewal ownership is sought 

by other successors or assignees of the 

same statutory claimant, the document 

of transfer of the renewal copyright, 

either the renewal in its entirety or in 

part, may be recorded in the Copyright 

Office. 

(iv) Where a successor or assignee 

claims the renewal right from the same 

statutory claimant as does another 

successor or assignee, the Copyright 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 64 / Wednesday, April 4, 2007 / Proposed Rules 16311 

Office may inquire concerning the 

situation and, if appropriate, may allow 

adverse renewal claims from the 

successors/assignees to be placed on the 

public record. In such cases, 

correspondence between the parties 

filing competing renewal claims and the 

Copyright Office will be, as always, 

maintained within Office records and 

subject to public inspection according to 

regulations found at 37 CFR 201.2. 

(g) Application for renewal 

registration for a work registered in its 

original 28–year term. 

(1) Each application for renewal 

registration shall be submitted on Form 

RE. All forms are available free of charge 

via the Internet by accessing the 

Copyright Office homepage at http:// 

www.copyright.gov. Copies of Form RE 

are also available free upon request to 

the Public Information Office, United 

States Copyright Office, Library of 

Congress, 101 Independence Avenue, 

Washington, DC 20559–6000. 

(2) (i) An application for renewal 

registration may be submitted by any 

eligible statutory renewal claimant as 

specified in paragraph (e) of this section 

or by the duly authorized agent of such 

claimant, or by the successor or assignee 

of such claimant as provided under 

paragraph (f) of this section or by the 

duly authorized agent of such successor 

or assignee. 

(ii) An application for renewal 

registration shall be accompanied by the 

required fee as set forth in 37 CFR 201.3. 

The application shall contain the 

information required by the form and its 

accompanying instructions, and shall 

include a certification. The certification 

shall consist of: 

(A) A designation of whether the 

applicant is the renewal claimant, or a 

successor or assignee, or the duly 

authorized agent of such claimant or of 

such successor or assignee (whose 

identity shall also be given); 

(B) The handwritten signature of such 

claimant, successor or assignee, or 

agent, accompanied by the typewritten 

or printed name of that person; 

(C) A declaration that the statements 

made in the application are correct to 

the best of that person’s knowledge; and 

(D) The date of certification. 

(3) Once a renewal registration has 

been made, the Copyright Office will 

not accept another application for 

renewal registration on behalf of the 

same renewal claimant. 

(h) Renewal with addendum 

registration for an unregistered work. 

(1) General. For published works 

copyrighted from January 1, 1964, 

through December 31, 1977, where no 

registration was made during the 

original term of copyright and where 

renewal registration is sought during the 

67–year renewal term, the Form RE/ 

Addendum must be used to provide 

information concerning the original 

term of copyright. The Form RE/ 

Addendum requires a separate fee and 

the deposit of one copy or phonorecord 

of the work as first published (or 

identifying material in lieu of a copy or 

phonorecord). The effective date of 

registration for a renewal claim 

submitted on a Form RE/Addendum is 

the date the Copyright Office receives an 

acceptable completed application, the 

required fees, and an acceptable deposit 

for the work. 

(2) Time Limits. A renewal claim 

accompanied by an Addendum to Form 

RE may be filed at any time during the 

67–year renewal term. 

(3) Content. The Form RE/Addendum 

must contain the following information: 

(i) The title of the work; 

(ii) The name of the author(s); 

(iii) The date of first publication of the 

work; 

(iv) The nation of first publication of 

the work; 

(v) The citizenship of the author(s) on 

the date of first publication of the work; 

(vi) The domicile of the author(s) on 

the date of first publication of the work; 

(vii) An averment that, at the time of 

first publication, and thereafter until 

March 1, 1989 [effective date of the 

Berne Implementation Act of 1988], all 

the copies or phonorecords of the work, 

including reprints of the work, 

published, i.e., publicly distributed in 

the United States or elsewhere, under 

the authority of the author or other 

copyright proprietor, bore the copyright 

notice required by the Copyright Act of 

1909 and that United States copyright 

subsists in the work; 

(viii) For works of United States 

origin which were subject to the 

manufacturing provisions of section 16 

of the Copyright Act of 1909 as it 

existed at the time the work was 

published, the Form RE/Addendum 

must also contain information about the 

country of manufacture and the 

manufacturing processes; and 

(ix) The handwritten signature of the 

renewal claimant or successor or 

assignee, or the duly authorized agent of 

the claimant or of the successor or 

assignee. The signature shall be 

accompanied by the printed or 

typewritten name of the person signing 

the Addendum and by the date of the 

signature; and shall be immediately 

preceded by a declaration that the 

statements made in the application are 

correct to the best of that person’s 

knowledge. 

(4) Fees. Form RE and Form RE/ 

Addendum must be accompanied by the 

required fee for each form as required in 

37 CFR 201.3. 

(5) Deposit requirement. One copy or 

phonorecord or identifying material of 

the work as first published in 

accordance with the deposit 

requirements set out in 37 CFR 202.20 

and 202.21 is required. 

(6) Waiver of the deposit requirement. 

Where the renewal applicant asserts that 

it is either impossible or otherwise an 

undue hardship to satisfy the deposit 

requirements of 37 CFR 202.20 and 

202.21, the Copyright Office, at its 

discretion, may, upon receipt of an 

acceptable explanation of the inability 

to submit such copy or identifying 

material, permit the deposit of the 

following in descending order of 

preference. In every case, however, 

proof of the copyright notice showing 

the content and location of the notice as 

it appeared on copies or phonorecords 

of the work as first published must be 

included. 

(i) A reproduction of the entire work 

as first published (e.g., photocopy, 

videotape, audiotape, CD–ROM, DVD 

are examples of physical media which 

may hold reproductions of a work as 

first published). If the work is a 

contribution to a periodical, a 

reproduction of only the contribution 

(including the relevant copyright notice) 

will suffice. 

(ii) A reprint of the work (e.g., a later 

edition, a later release of a phonorecord, 

or the like). The reprint must show the 

copyright notice as it appeared in the 

same location within the first published 

copy of the work as well as the exact 

content of the copyright notice 

appearing in the first published edition. 

If the copyrightable content of the 

reprint differs from that of the first 

published edition, an explanation of the 

differences between the two editions is 

required. 

(iii) Identifying material including a 

reproduction of the greatest feasible 

portion of the copyrightable content of 

a work including a photocopy or 

photograph of the title page, title screen, 

record label or the like, as first 

published, and a photocopy or 

photograph showing the copyright 

notice content and location as first 

published. The Copyright Office may 

request deposit of additional material if 

the initial submission is inadequate for 

examination purposes. 

Dated: March 28, 2007. 

Marybeth Peters, 

Register of Copyrights. 

[FR Doc. E7–6174 Filed 4–3–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 1410–30–S 


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