Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 21 / Friday, January 31, 1997 / Proposed Rules 4669

NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS

ADMINISTRATION

36 CFR Part 1256

RIN 3095–AA55

Domestic Distribution of United States

Information Agency Materials in the

Custody of the National Archives

AGENCY: National Archives and Records

Administration.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The National Archives and

Records Administration (NARA) is

proposing regulations which will govern

the domestic distribution of USIA

materials prepared for dissemination

abroad that are in the custody of NARA.

Public Law 101–246, section 202,

requires the Archivist of the United

States to issue necessary regulations to

ensure that persons seeking release of

such USIA materials in the United

States have secured and paid for

necessary rights and licenses. This

proposed rule would affect members of

the public who wish to use or obtain

copies of USIA audiovisual records

transferred to NARA.

DATES: Comments must be received in

writing on or before April 1, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to

the Regulation Comment Desk (NPOL),

National Archives and Records

Administration, 8601 Adelphi Rd.,

College Park, MD 20740–6001.

Comments may be faxed to 301–713–

7270.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Nancy Allard at 301–713–7360,

extension 226.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On

February 16, 1990, Public Law 101–246

(104 Stat. 49) amended the United

States Information and Educational

Exchange Act (22 U.S.C. 1461) to

provide for the domestic release of

motion pictures, videotapes, sound

recordings and other materials 12 years

after initial dissemination abroad, or, if

not disseminated, 12 years from the

preparation of the material. Previously,

section 501 of the United States

Information and Educational Exchange

Act of 1948 (22 U.S.C. 1461) had

prevented the domestic dissemination

by the United States Information

Agency of such materials prepared for

dissemination abroad in perpetuity

unless specifically and individually

released by Congressional legislation.

The amended law allows release and

dissemination once the 12-year

threshold has been met and instructs

NARA to provide regulations to ensure

that any copyrights or underlying rights

that may exist in these USIA materials

have been protected and releases

obtained prior to dissemination in the

United States. For the public this

amended law provides access and

potential use of over 35,000 USIA

motion picture films, 3,000 USIA

videotape productions, and over 20,000

sound recordings of Voice of America

(VOA) radio broadcasts that have been

selected as permanently valuable

audiovisual records and have been

transferred into the custody of the

Motion Picture, Sound and Video

Branch of NARA. These regulations

only apply to USIA records in NARA’s

custody that were prepared for

dissemination abroad.

This proposed rule is a significant

regulatory action for purposes of

Executive Order 12866 of September 30,

1993. As such, it has been reviewed by

the Office of Management and Budget.

As required by the Regulatory

Flexibility Act, it is hereby certified that

this rule will not have a significant

impact on small entities. This proposed

rule does not contain any information

collections subject to the Paperwork

Reduction Act.

List of Subjects in 36 CFR Part 1256

Archives and records, Copyright,

Reports and recordkeeping

requirements.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, NARA proposes to amend 36

CFR chapter XII, Part 1256 as follows:

PART 1256—RESTRICTIONS ON THE

USE OF RECORDS

1. The authority citation for part 1256

is revised to read as follows:

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 2101–2118; 22 U.S.C.

1461(b).

2. By adding a new Subpart C

consisting of §§ 1256.50 through

1256.60 to read as follows:

Subpart C—Domestic Distribution of United

States Information Agency Materials in the

Custody of the National Archives

Sec.

1256.50 Scope of subpart.

1256.52 Purpose.

1256.54 Definition.

1256.56 Transfer of USIA audiovisual

records to NARA.

1256.58 Domestic distribution of USIA

audiovisual records in NARA custody.

1256.60 Fees.

Subpart C—Domestic Distribution of

United States Information Agency

Materials in the Custody of the

National Archives

§ 1256.50 Scope of subpart.

This subpart prescribes procedures

governing the public availability of

audiovisual records and other materials

subject to 22 U.S.C. 1461(b) that have

been transferred to the National

Archives of the United States by the

United States Information Agency

(USIA).

§ 1256.52 Purpose.

This subpart implements Section 501

of the United States Information and

Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (22

U.S.C. 1461), as amended by Section

202 of Public Law 101–246 (104 Stat.

49, Feb. 16, 1990). This subpart

prescribes procedures by which the

public may inspect and obtain copies of

USIA audiovisual records and other

materials prepared for dissemination

abroad that have been transferred to

NARA for preservation and domestic

distribution.

§ 1256.54 Definition.

For the purposes of this subpart—

‘‘Audiovisual records’’ mean motion

picture films, videotapes, and sound

recordings, and other materials

regardless of physical form or

characteristics that were prepared for

dissemination abroad.

§ 1256.56 Transfer of USIA audiovisual

records to NARA.

The provisions of 44 U.S.C. 2107 and

36 CFR part 1228 apply to the transfer

of USIA audiovisual records to NARA,

and to their deposit with the National

Archives of the United States. At the

time the audiovisual records are

transferred to NARA, the Director of

USIA, in accordance with § 1228.184(e)

of this chapter, will also transfer any

production or title files bearing on the

ownership of rights in the productions

in connection with USIA’s official

overseas programming.

§ 1256.58 Domestic distribution of USIA

audiovisual records transferred to NARA.

No USIA audiovisual records in the

National Archives of the United States

that were prepared for dissemination

abroad will be available for copying

until it has been at least 12 years since

such materials were first disseminated

abroad, or, in the case of materials

prepared for foreign dissemination but

not disseminated abroad, until it has

been at least 12 years since the

preparation of the materials.

(a) Access to USIA audiovisual

records that neither have copyright

protection nor contain copyright

material. USIA audiovisual records

prepared for dissemination abroad that

NARA determines neither have

copyright protection nor contain

copyrighted material are available for

examination and copying in accordance

with the regulations set forth in Parts
4670 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 21 / Friday, January 31, 1997 / Proposed Rules

1Note: This document was received at the Office

of the Federal Register on January 24, 1997.

1252, 1253, 1254, 1256, and 1258 of this

chapter. In determining whether

materials have copyright protection or

contain copyrighted material, NARA

will rely on information contained

within or affixed to individual records

(e.g., copyright notices); information

contained within relevant USIA

production, title, or other files that have

been transferred to NARA by USIA;

information provided by requesters

pursuant to paragraph (b)(2) of this

section (e.g., evidence from the

Copyright Office that copyright has

lapsed or expired); and information

provided by copyright or license

holders.

(b) Reproduction of USIA audiovisual

records that either have copyright

protection or contain copyrighted

material. (1) USIA audiovisual records

prepared for dissemination abroad that

NARA determines may have copyright

protection or may contain copyrighted

material will be made available for

examination in NARA research facilities

in accordance with the regulations set

forth in this chapter.

(2) Copies of USIA audiovisual

records prepared for dissemination

abroad that NARA determines may have

copyright protection or may contain

copyrighted material will be provided to

persons seeking the release of such

materials in the United States once

NARA has:

(i) Ensured, in accordance with

paragraph (b)(3) of this section, that the

persons seeking copies have secured

and paid for necessary United States

rights and licenses;

(ii) Been provided with evidence from

the Copyright Office sufficient to

determine that copyright protection in

the materials sought, or relevant

portions therein, has lapsed or expired;

or

(iii) Received a requester’s signed

certification in accordance with

paragraph (b)(4) of this section that the

materials sought will be used only for

purposes permitted by the Copyright

Act of 1976, as amended, including the

fair use provisions of 17 U.S.C. 107. No

copies of USIA audiovisual records will

be provided until the fees authorized

under part 1258 of this chapter have

been paid to NARA.

(3) If NARA has determined that a

USIA audiovisual record prepared for

dissemination abroad may have

copyright protection or may contain

copyrighted material, persons seeking

the release of such material in the

United States may obtain copies of the

material by submitting to NARA written

evidence from all copyright and/or

license owner(s) that any necessary fees

have been paid or waived and any

necessary licenses have been secured.

(4) If NARA has determined that a

USIA audiovisual record prepared for

dissemination abroad may have

copyright protection or may contain

copyrighted material, persons seeking

the release of such material in the

United States may obtain copies of the

material by submitting to NARA the

following certification statement:

I, (printed name of individual), certify that

my use of the copyrighted portions of the

(name or title and NARA identifier of work

involved) provided to me by the National

Archives and Records Administration

(NARA), will be limited to private study,

scholarship, or research purposes, or for

other purposes permitted by the Copyright

Act of 1976, as amended. I understand that

I am solely responsible for the subsequent

use of the copyrighted portions of the work

identified above.

(c) In every instance where a copy of

an audiovisual record is provided under

this subpart, and NARA has determined

that the work being reproduced may

have copyright protection or may

contain copyrighted material, NARA

shall provide a warning notice of

copyright.

(d) Nothing in this section shall limit

NARA’s ability to make copies of USIA

audiovisual records for preservation,

arrangement, repair and rehabilitation,

description, exhibition, security, or

reference purposes.

§ 1256.60 Fees.

Copies or reproductions of

audiovisual records will only be

provided under this subpart upon

payment of fees in accordance with 44

U.S.C. 2116(c) and 22 U.S.C. 1461(b)(3).

Dated: January 24, 1997.

John W. Carlin,

Archivist of the United States.

[FR Doc. 97–2362 Filed 1–30–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7515–01–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 61 and 69

[CC Docket Nos. 96–262, 94–1, 91–213, 96–

263; FCC No. 96–488]

Access Charge Reform; Price Cap

Performance Review for Local

Exchange Carriers; Transport Rate

Structure and Pricing; Usage of the

Public Switched Network by

Information Service and Internet

Access Providers

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking (NPRM) begins a review of

the Commission’s interstate access

charge rules, together with its price cap

rules, to establish fair rules of

competition for both the local and long

distance markets and determine the

extent to which it must revise these

rules in light of the local competition

and Bell Operating Company entry

provisions of the 1996 Act and state

actions to open local networks to

competition, the effects of potential and

actual competition on incumbent LEC

pricing for interstate access, and the

impact of the Act’s mandate to preserve

and enhance universal service. The

Commission outlines two possible

approaches for addressing claims that

existing access charge levels are

excessive, for establishing a transition to

access charges that more closely reflect

economic costs, and for deregulating

incumbent LEC exchange access

services as competition develops in the

local exchange and exchange access

markets. The first approach is a marketbased approach under which the

Commission would rely on potential

and actual competition from new

facilities-based providers and entrants

purchasing unbundled network

elements to drive prices for interstate

access services toward economic cost.

The second approach is a prescriptive

one under which the Commission

would specify the nature and timing of

the changes to the existing rate levels.

DATES: Comments for the notice of

proposed rulemaking are due January

27, 1997,1 and replies are due February

13, 1997. Comments for the notice of

inquiry are due no later than March 3,

1997, and replies are due April 1, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Richard Lerner, Attorney, Common

Carrier Bureau, Competitive Pricing

Division, (202) 418–1530. For additional

information concerning the information

collections contained in this Report and

Order contact Dorothy Conway at 202–

418–0217, or via the Internet at

dconway@fcc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a

summary of the Commission’s Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking adopted

December 23, 1996, and released

December 24, 1996. The full text of this

Proposed Rulemaking is available for

inspection and copying during normal

business hours in the FCC Reference

Center (Room 239), 1919 M St., NW.,

Washington, DC. The complete text also