23054 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 79 / Friday, April 24, 2015 / Notices 

1 17 U.S.C. 101 et seq. 

States Courts, Thurgood Marshall 

Federal Judiciary Building, One 

Columbus Circle NE., Suite 7–240, 

Washington, DC 20544, Telephone (202) 

502–1820. 

Dated: April 21, 2015. 

Rebecca A. Womeldorf, 

Secretary, Committee on Rules of Practice 

and Procedure. 

[FR Doc. 2015–09579 Filed 4–23–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 2210–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Office of Justice Programs 

[OJP (OJP) Docket No. 1688] 

Meeting of the Public Safety Officer 

Medal of Valor Review Board 

AGENCY: Bureau of Justice Assistance 

(BJA), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), 

DOJ. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: This is an announcement of a 

meeting (via conference call-in only) of 

the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor 

Review Board to consider a range of 

issues of importance to the Board, to 

include but not limited to: membership/ 

terms; applicant eligibility; the pending 

2013–2014 MOV recommendations; the 

application submissions and review; 

outreach efforts; and to vote on the 

position of Board Chairperson. The 

meeting/conference call date and time is 

listed below. 

DATES: June 18, 2015, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 

p.m. EST. 

ADDRESSES: This meeting will take place 

via conference call. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gregory Joy, Policy Advisor, Bureau of 

Justice Assistance, Office of Justice 

Programs, 810 7th Street NW., 

Washington, DC 20531, by telephone at 

(202) 514–1369, toll free (866) 859– 

2687, or by email at Gregory.joy@

usdoj.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor 

Review Board carries out those advisory 

functions specified in 42 U.S.C. 15202. 

Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 15201, the 

President of the United States is 

authorized to award the Public Safety 

Officer Medal of Valor, the highest 

national award for valor by a public 

safety officer. 

The purpose of this meeting/

conference call is to consider a range of 

issues of importance to the Board, to 

include but not limited to: Membership/ 

terms; applicant eligibility; the pending 

2013–2014 MOV recommendations; the 

application submissions and review; 

outreach efforts; and to vote on the 

position of Board Chairperson. 

This meeting/conference call is open 

to the public at the offices of the Bureau 

of Justice Assistance. For security 

purposes, members of the public who 

wish to participate must register at least 

seven (7) days in advance of the 

meeting/conference call by contacting 

Mr. Joy. All interested participants will 

be required to meet at the Bureau of 

Justice Assistance, Office of Justice 

Programs; 810 7th Street NW., 

Washington, DC, and will be required to 

sign in at the front desk. Note: Photo 

identification will be required for 

admission. Additional identification 

documents may be required. 

Access to the meeting/conference call 

will not be allowed without prior 

registration. Anyone requiring special 

accommodations should contact Mr. Joy 

at least seven (7) days in advance of the 

meeting. Please submit any comments 

or written statements for consideration 

by the Review Board in writing at least 

seven (7) days in advance of the meeting 

date. 

Gregory Joy, 

Policy Advisor/Designated Federal Officer, 

Bureau of Justice Assistance. 

[FR Doc. 2015–09529 Filed 4–23–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–18–P 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

U.S. Copyright Office 

[Docket No. 2015–01] 

Copyright Protection for Certain Visual 

Works 

AGENCY: U.S. Copyright Office, Library 

of Congress. 

ACTION: Notice of Inquiry. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Copyright Office is 

reviewing how certain visual works, 

particularly photographs, graphic 

artworks, and illustrations, are 

monetized, enforced, and registered 

under the Copyright Act. The Office 

seeks commentary on the current 

marketplace for these visual works, as 

well as observations regarding the real 

or potential obstacles that authors, and, 

as applicable, their licensees or other 

representatives face when navigating the 

digital landscape. This work builds 

upon previous studies and public 

inquiries in a number of areas, 

including small claims, the making 

available right, resale royalties, 

registration, recordation, and the 

interoperability of records. As always, 

the Office is interested in the 

perspectives of copyright owners as well 

as users of these creative works. This is 

a general inquiry that will likely lead to 

additional specific inquiries. 

DATES: Comments are due July 23, 2015. 

Reply comments are due August 24, 

2015. 

ADDRESSES: All comments should be 

submitted electronically using the 

comment submission page on the Office 

Web site at http://copyright.gov/policy/ 

visualworks/. To meet accessibility 

standards, submitters must upload 

comments in a single file not to exceed 

six (6) megabytes (MB) in one of the 

following formats: The Adobe Portable 

Document File (PDF) format that 

contains searchable, accessible text (not 

an image); Microsoft Word; 

WordPerfect; Rich Text Format (RTF); or 

ASCII text file format (not a scanned 

document). The form and face of the 

comments must include the submitter’s 

name and organization (if any). The 

Office will post all comments publicly 

on the Office’s Web site exactly as they 

are received, along with names and 

organizations. If electronic submission 

of comments is not feasible, please 

contact the Office at 202–707–8350 for 

special instructions. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Catherine Rowland, Senior Advisor to 

the Register of Copyrights, by telephone 

at 202–707–8350 or by electronic mail at 

crowland@loc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Copyright Act 1 has long 

protected photographs, graphic 

artworks, and illustrations, which 

encompass a wide range of formats, 

from fine art pieces to duplications of 

fine art to media photographs to 

political cartoons and images created to 

enhance or sell popular products or 

services. Whether these works are 

created by one’s own hand or using a 

computer program, significant creative 

talent is frequently involved. The types 

of authorship also vary greatly. Some 

authors are professionals who spend 

many years creating unique portfolios 

for the sake of art or for commercial 

customers, and who publish and license 

their works with the expectation that 

they will be properly attributed and 

compensated. Others are amateurs or 

hobbyists who create or disseminate 

images on an informal basis using 

mobile phones and other consumer 

devices as well as social media. 

Photographs, graphic artworks, and 

illustrations have had a broad impact on 

U.S. culture. Few would question the 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 79 / Friday, April 24, 2015 / Notices 23055 

2Comments of American Society of Media 

Photographers in Response to U.S. Copyright 

Office’s Oct. 22, 2012 Notice of Inquiry on Orphan 

Works and Mass Digitization (‘‘Orphan Works 

NOI’’), at 3 (Feb. 4, 2013). 3Comments of Gerrity Medical Art in Response 

to Orphan Works NOI, at 1 (Feb. 4, 2013). 4U.S. Copyright Office Hearing on Small 

Copyright Claims, Tr. at 266:17–21 (Nov. 16, 2012) 

(Lisa Shaftel, Graphic Artists Guild), available at 

http://copyright.gov/docs/smallclaims/transcripts/. 

5Comments of Association of Medical Illustrators 

in Response to Orphan Works NOI, at 1 (Feb. 4, 

2013). 

6This removal of rights information may violate 

Section 1202 of the Copyright Act but is difficult 

to police. 

7Comments of American Photographic Artists in 

Response to U.S. Copyright Office’s Oct. 17, 2012 

Notice of Inquiry on Remedies for Small Copyright 

Claims (‘‘Small Claims NOI’’), at 3 (Jan. 17, 2012). 

8Comments of Graphic Artists Guild in Response 

to Small Claims NOI, at 3 (Jan. 16, 2012). 

9See http://copyright.gov/docs/smallclaims/. 

10See http://copyright.gov/docs/resaleroyalty/. 

11See http://copyright.gov/docs/making_

available/. 

12See U.S. Dep’t of Commerce Internet Policy 

Task Force, Facilitating the Development of the 

Online Licensing Environment for Copyrighted 

Works, Apr. 1, 2015 Agenda, available at http://

www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/ip-policy/

copyrights; see also U.S. Dep’t of Commerce 

Internet Policy Task Force, Copyright Policy, 

Creativity, and Innovation in the Digital Economy 

(2013) (the ‘‘Green Paper’’). 

iconic importance of photographs like 

Dorothea Lange’s ‘‘Migrant Mother,’’ 

which epitomize eras of American 

history. Photographs that document 

current events often provide gripping 

images that illuminate critically 

important news of the day. For example, 

the remarkable image of firefighters 

raising an American flag amidst the 

wreckage of the World Trade Center 

provides an intense connection to the 

events of September 11, 2001, and is, in 

fact, the subject of recent litigation. 

Media art such as political cartoons 

provide commentary as well as 

entertainment; graphic art is everywhere 

in popular culture and on products; and 

professional illustrations such as those 

depicting medical instruction are 

crucial to educational texts. In short, 

images are ubiquitous and essential to 

life in the twenty-first century. 

Despite the protections afforded by 

the Copyright Act and the prevalence of 

such works in society, authors face 

significant challenges in the modern era. 

Photographers note that ‘‘the average 

revenues for working photographers 

declined over the past year . . . [and] 

visual artists remain the group most 

vulnerable to the unauthorized uses of 

their works while being the group least 

financially able to bear the resulting 

economic losses.’’ 2 An illustrator 

recounts that ‘‘[i]t has been a constant 

battle to educate the good faith persons 

who have used my art [in an] 

unauthorized [manner] because they 

found the works in media where pirates 

had deliberately deleted my copyright 

watermark and published my images 

illegally.’’ 3 Finally, the Graphic Artists 

Guild explains that ‘‘50 percent of the 

people who are infringing are not 

responding before any legal action is 

taken. They are not responding to the 

rights holder or their attorney who asks 

them to stop, to cease and desist, or ask 

for money.’’ 4

Regarding monetization, in the online 

era, many individuals and companies 

seek to use photographs and other 

illustrations to further their businesses. 

Some of these users license images from 

the authors or their representatives, e.g., 

stock photography companies. However, 

many authors are likely missing 

opportunities to monetize their works. 

These difficulties may be heightened 

when photographs, graphic artworks, 

and illustrations are embedded into 

other works that are the subject of 

licenses between third parties. 

Many of these works ‘‘are particularly 

vulnerable to orphaning’’ 5 because the 

identity of the rights holder often is not 

included on the face of a work. In the 

digital world, some authors embed 

copyright information in their works, 

but this rights management information 

may be unlawfully stripped from digital 

copies.6 This, in turn, makes it very 

difficult for potential users to contact 

the copyright owner to obtain a license 

to use visual works they may find (i.e., 

on Web sites), and thus decreases 

artists’ opportunities to monetize their 

works. 

The significant enforcement 

challenges also pose substantial 

difficulties. For example, ‘‘[p]urloining 

of [photographs], whether produced for 

use by multi-national corporations for 

advertising purposes, use on apparel, 

product packaging or reportage, has 

become routine.’’ 7 Authors have found 

that ‘‘[c]opyright infringement is 

rampant, especially by copying of 

digital works and the scanning [of] 

visual works into digital format.’’ 8

Accessing a photograph, graphic 

artwork, or illustration online is 

generally simple and images can 

frequently be copied or downloaded 

with ease, thus making it effortless for 

third parties to use images without 

permission. 

Authors and licensees who try to 

pursue infringements may face an uphill 

battle. Litigation can be costly and 

expensive, and while the monetary 

harm of an individual infringement may 

be low, the impact of numerous 

infringements can be quite high. Similar 

issue are at play with the Copyright 

Act’s notice and takedown procedures, 

which, while a valuable mechanism, 

can provide an incomplete or 

challenging solution for small authors. 

The Copyright Office has been 

concerned for some time about these 

and related issues. For example, in 

recent years, the Office studied and 

proposed the possibility of an 

alternative dispute resolution process 

for copyright claims that have a low 

economic value,9 the possibility of a 

resale royalty for certain visual art 

works,10 and the importance of the 

making available right in the online 

environment.11 The Office has also 

looked extensively at the problem of 

orphaned photographs and artworks, 

and how best to facilitate an exchange 

between a good faith user and a rightful 

owner. 

Aside from legal solutions, the 

Copyright Office is mindful of emerging 

practical solutions. Through an 

academic partnership with Stanford 

Law School, the Office has focused its 

attention on the subject of photographs 

and licensing gridlock. Stanford’s 

students are exploring ways to centrally 

assemble information concerning 

marketplace resources for the licensing 

of photographs and the data standards 

relied upon by copyright owners and 

licensees to engage in such transactions. 

This project will not only serve creators 

and their customers, but will also help 

to inform the Copyright Office as it 

further adopts or, as necessary, 

establishes, global identifying 

information for copyright registration 

and recorded transactions. Across the 

sea, the United Kingdom’s Copyright 

Hub is working on a prototype for 

transactions involving photographs as 

its first major project. And the Internet 

Task Force of the Department of 

Commerce recently explored 

photography questions as part of a 

broader public meeting hosted by the 

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office about 

facilitating the online licensing 

environment.12

Finally, photographers, graphic 

artists, and illustrators face challenges 

when registering their copyrights. Many 

photographers, for example, are prolific, 

creating thousands of works per year or 

even per week or month. Because it can 

be expensive to register these works on 

an individual basis, the Copyright Office 

has provided certain group alternatives. 

At the same time, the Office also must 

provide an effective public record that 

includes sufficient detail regarding who 

has created what. Statutory damages are 

available against a user when an author 

has timely registered a work, and thus 

the granularity of the record is critical. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
23056 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 79 / Friday, April 24, 2015 / Notices 

For this reason, while group options are 

helpful, they have to be carefully 

calibrated. How to improve the 

registration record by leveraging 

technology solutions is thus a priority. 

II. Subjects of Inquiry 

The Office invites comments that 

address the subjects listed below. When 

submitting a comment, please identify 

the nature of your interest in this subject 

(e.g., whether you are a creator, licensee, 

etc.): 

1. What are the most significant 

challenges related to monetizing and/or 

licensing photographs, graphic 

artworks, and/or illustrations? 

2. What are the most significant 

enforcement challenges for 

photographers, graphic artists, and/or 

illustrators? 

3. What are the most significant 

registration challenges for 

photographers, graphic artists, and/or 

illustrators? 

4. What are the most significant 

challenges or frustrations for those who 

wish to make legal use of photographs, 

graphic art works, and/or illustrations? 

5. What other issues or challenges 

should the Office be aware of regarding 

photographs, graphic artworks, and/or 

illustrations under the Copyright Act? 

III. Conclusion 

If there are any additional pertinent 

issues not discussed above, the Office 

encourages interested parties to raise 

those matters in their comments. 

Dated: April 21, 2015. 

Catherine R. Rowland, 

Senior Advisor to the Register of Copyrights. 

[FR Doc. 2015–09575 Filed 4–23–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 1410–30–P 

NATIONAL CREDIT UNION 

ADMINISTRATION 

Sunshine Act: Notice Of Agency 

Meeting 

TIME AND DATE: 2:30 p.m., Wednesday, 

April 29, 2015 

PLACE: Board Room, 7th Floor, Room 

7047, 1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 

22314–3428. 

STATUS: Closed. 

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: 

1. Administrative Action under 

NCUA’s Rules and Regulations. Closed 

pursuant to Exemptions (8), (9)(i)(B), 

(9)(ii). 

2. Consideration of Supervisory 

Action under NCUA’s Rules and 

Regulations. Closed pursuant to 

Exemptions (8), (9)(i)(B), (9)(ii). 

3. Creditor Claim Appeal. Closed 

pursuant to Exemption (6). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gerard Poliquin, Secretary of the Board, 

Telephone: 703–518–6304. 

Gerard Poliquin, 

Secretary of the Board. 

[FR Doc. 2015–09726 Filed 4–22–15; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 7535–01–P 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Sunshine Act Meetings; National 

Science Board 

The National Science Board’s 

Committee on Strategy and Budget, 

Subcommittee on Facilities (SCF), 

pursuant to NSF regulations (45 CFR 

part 614), the National Science 

Foundation Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 

1862n–5), and the Government in the 

Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b), hereby 

gives notice of the scheduling of a 

teleconference for the transaction of 

National Science Board business, as 

follows: 

DATE & TIME: Thursday, April 30, 2015 

at 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. EDT. Open session: 

5:00 to 5:40 p.m.; closed session: 5:40 to 

6:00 p.m. 

SUBJECT MATTER: Open meeting subjects: 

Chairman’s remarks; subcommittee 

member goals for May 2015 through 

May 2016; future directions for the 

subcommittee. Closed meeting subjects: 

approval of closed minutes of February 

2015 subcommittee meeting; discussion 

of regional class research vessels. 

STATUS: Partly open, partly closed. 

This meeting will be held by 

teleconference. A public listening line 

will be available for the open portion of 

the meeting. Members of the public 

must contact the Board Office [call 703– 

292–7000 or send an email message to 

nationalsciencebrd@nsf.gov] at least 24 

hours prior to the teleconference for the 

public listening number. Please refer to 

the National Science Board Web site for 

additional information and schedule 

updates (time, place, subject matter or 

status of meeting) which may be found 

at http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/notices/. The 

point of contact for this meeting is Elise 

Lipkowitz, elipkowi@nsf.gov). 

Ann Bushmiller, 

Senior Counsel to the National Science Board. 

[FR Doc. 2015–09734 Filed 4–22–15; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[NRC–2015–0001] 

Sunshine Act Meeting Notice 

DATE: April 27, May 4, 11, 18, 25, June 

1, 2015. 

PLACE: Commissioners’ Conference 

Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 

Maryland. 

STATUS: Public and Closed. 

Week of April 27, 2015 

Thursday, April 30, 2105 

9:00 a.m. Briefing on the Status of 

Lessons Learned from the 

Fukushima Dai-ichi Accident 

(Public Meeting); (Contact: Jack 

Davis, 301—415–2239) 

This meeting will be webcast live at 

the Web address—http://www.nrc.gov/. 

Week of May 4, 2015—Tentative 

There are no meetings scheduled for 

the week of May 4, 2015. 

Week of May 11, 2015—Tentative 

There are no meetings scheduled for 

the week of May 11, 2015. 

Week of May 18, 2015—Tentative 

Tuesday, May 19, 2015 

9:00 a.m. Briefing on Cumulative 

Effects of Regulation and Risk 

Prioritization Initiatives (Public 

Meeting); (Contact: Steve Ruffin, 

301- 415–1985) 

This meeting will be webcast live at 

the Web address—http://www.nrc.gov/. 

Thursday, May 21, 2015 

9:00 a.m. Briefing on the Results of the 

Agency Action Review Meeting 

(Public Meeting); (Contact: Nathan 

Sanfilippo, 301–415–8744) 

This meeting will be webcast live at 

the Web address—http://www.nrc.gov/. 

Week of May 25, 2015—Tentative 

There are no meetings scheduled for 

the week of May 25, 2015. 

Week of June 1, 2015—Tentative 

There are no meetings scheduled for 

the week of June 1, 2015 

* * * * * 

The schedule for Commission 

meetings is subject to change on short 

notice. For more information or to verify 

the status of meetings, contact Glenn 

Ellmers at 301–415–0442 or via email at 

Glenn.Ellmers@nrc.gov. 

* * * * * 

The NRC Commission Meeting 

Schedule can be found on the Internet 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES