Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 248 / Thursday, December 26, 2013 / Proposed Rules 78309 

By direction of the Commission. 

Donald S. Clark, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2013–30633 Filed 12–24–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6750–01–P 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

U.S. Copyright Office 

37 CFR Parts 201 and 210 

[Docket No. 2012–7] 

Mechanical and Digital Phonorecord 

Delivery Compulsory License 

AGENCY: U.S. Copyright Office, Library 

of Congress. 

ACTION: Request for additional 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Copyright Office 

(‘‘Office’’ or ‘‘Copyright Office’’) of the 

Library of Congress requests additional 

public comments on clarifying the terms 

in the Monthly and Annual Statements 

of Account for the making and 

distribution of phonorecords. 

DATES: Additional comments on the 

proposed rule published July 27, 2012 

(77 FR 44179), must be received in the 

Office of the General Counsel of the 

Copyright Office no later than 5 p.m. 

Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on January 

30, 2014. Reply comments must be 

received no later than 5 p.m. EDT on 

February 14, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: The Copyright Office 

strongly prefers that comments be 

submitted electronically. A comment 

submission page is posted on the 

Copyright Office Web site at http://

www.copyright.gov/docs/section115/

soa/comments/. The Web site interface 

requires submitters to complete a form 

specifying name and other required 

information, and to upload comments as 

an attachment. To meet accessibility 

standards, all comments must be 

uploaded in a single file in either the 

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 maximum file size is 6 

megabytes (MB). The name of the 

submitter and organization should 

appear on both the form and the face of 

the comments. All comments will be 

posted publicly on the Copyright Office 

Web site exactly as they are received, 

along with names and organizations if 

provided. If electronic submission of 

comments is not feasible, please contact 

the Copyright Office at (202) 707–8380 

for special instructions. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

William Roberts, Senior Counsel to the 

Register of Copyrights, or Stephen 

Ruwe, Attorney Advisor, Copyright GC/ 

I&R, P.O. Box 70400, Washington, DC 

20024. Telephone: (202) 707–8380. 

Telefax: (202) 707–8366. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 

27, 2012, the Copyright Office published 

a notice of proposed rulemaking 

(‘‘NPRM’’) and request for comments 

concerning new regulations that would 

amend the requirements for reporting 

Monthly and Annual Statements of 

Account for the making and distribution 

of phonorecords under the compulsory 

license, 17 U.S.C. 115, to bring the 

regulations up to date to accommodate 

certain rates and terms proposed by the 

Copyright Royalty Judges (‘‘Judges’’) 

that provided for a multi-step process 

for calculating royalties for certain new 

services, including limited offerings, 

mixed service bundles, paid locker 

services and purchased content locker 

services. Mechanical and Digital 

Phonorecord Delivery Compulsory 

License; Notice of proposed rulemaking, 

77 FR 44179, July 27, 2012. 

The NPRM noted that the existing 

regulations addressing Statements of 

Account are designed to address flat 

penny rates, such as those that are still 

applicable for the making and 

distribution of physical phonorecords, 

permanent digital downloads and 

ringtones. The Office also observed that 

the current regulations do not 

specifically accommodate the more 

complex methods for calculating the 

royalties contained in the Judges’ May 

17, 2012 proposed rule, announced in 

the context of the Judges’ royalty rate 

adjustment proceeding in Docket No. 

2011–3 CRB Phonorecords II. See, 77 FR 

29259, May 17, 2012. In order to address 

this concern, the Copyright Office, 

acting under the authority set forth in 17 

U.S.C. 115(c)(5), initiated a rulemaking 

to amend the Statement of Account 

provisions. In large part, the proposed 

regulations incorporate by reference the 

methodology adopted by the Judges in 

their 2009 determination, which are 

mirrored in the regulations adopting 

new rates and terms for the current 

licensing period. However, the NPRM 

identified a number of issues associated 

with the new rate structure that require 

careful consideration before adoption. 

See, 77 FR at 44181–185. 

In response to joint motions by 

several parties requesting more time to 

provide input, the Office decided to 

extend the comment and reply comment 

periods. Mechanical and Digital 

Phonorecord Delivery Compulsory 

License; Notice of proposed rulemaking: 

Extension of comment and reply 

comment periods. 77 FR 55783, Sept. 

11, 2012; Mechanical and Digital 

Phonorecord Delivery Compulsory 

License; Extension of reply comment 

periods. 77 FR 68075, Nov. 15, 2012. 

The Office withheld further action in 

this rulemaking pending the Judges’ 

adoption of final rates and terms. 

On November 13, 2013, the Judges 

issued final rates and terms for the 

section 115 license. Adjustment of 

Determination of Compulsory License 

Rates for Mechanical and Digital 

Phonorecord, Final rule. 78 FR 67938, 

Nov. 13, 2013. The final rates and terms 

differed from the 2012 proposed rates 

and terms in certain respects, due in 

part to actions taken by the Judges. 

Specifically, the Judges referred material 

questions of law to the Register of 

Copyrights concerning their authority to 

adopt certain terms relating to 

statements of account. Order Referring 

Material Questions of Law and Setting 

Briefing Schedule (March 27, 2013). The 

Judges also referred novel material 

questions of substantive law to the 

Register concerning their authority to 

adopt certain terms. Order Referring 

Novel Questions of Law and Setting 

Briefing Schedule (May 17, 2013). In 

light of the Register’s timely responses 

to these referred questions, the Judges 

declined to adopt certain terms 

contained in the May 17, 2012 proposed 

rule. Adjustment of Determination of 

Compulsory License Rates for 

Mechanical and Digital Phonorecord. 

Final rule. 78 FR 67938, Nov. 13, 2013. 

The Office finds that the conclusion 

of the recent proceeding and adoption of 

new rates and terms for the current 

licensing period may be pertinent to the 

issues raised in this rulemaking. 

Likewise, due to the passage of time 

since the issuance of the NPRM, 

marketplace developments and changes 

in business models may be relevant to 

the amendment of the regulations. 

Consequently, the Office has decided to 

extend an opportunity for such 

additional comments and supporting 

information. Interested parties are 

strongly encouraged to offer information 

and/or documentation to support 

arguments or conclusions offered in 

their comments. Any additional 

comments must be received in the 

Office of the General Counsel of the 

Copyright Office no later than January 

30, 2014, and reply comments no later 

than February 14, 2014. 

Dated: December 17, 2013. 

Maria A. Pallante, 

Register of Copyrights. 

[FR Doc. 2013–30777 Filed 12–24–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 1410–30–P 


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