6452 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 24 / Friday, February 4, 2022 / Proposed Rules 

1 17 U.S.C. 708(a). 

2 Id. 

3 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(2). 

4 Id. 104A(e)(1)(C). 

5 37 CFR 202.3(b)(2)(i)(C). 

6 Id. 202.12(c). 

7Compare 37 CFR 201.6 with id. 201.33(e), 

201.39(g), 202.12(c). 

8A list of all recent rulemakings can be found on 

the Copyright Office’s website at https://

www.copyright.gov/rulemaking/. 

9Registration Modernization, 83 FR 52336 (Oct. 

17, 2018). 

10 83 FR at 52338. 

at 907–463–2980 or on Marine Band 

Radio VHF–FM channel 16 (156.8 

MHz). The Coast Guard vessels 

enforcing this section can be contacted 

on Marine Band Radio VHF–FM 

channel 16 (156.8 MHz). 

(3) Those in the security zone must 

comply with all lawful orders or 

directions given to them by the COTP or 

the COTP’s designated representative. 

(d) Enforcement officials. The U.S. 

Coast Guard may be assisted in the 

patrol and enforcement of the safety 

zone by Federal, State, and local 

agencies. 

(e) Enforcement period. This section 

is effective from March 6, 2022, through 

March 17, 2022, but will only be subject 

to enforcement from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

each day. 

Dated: February 1, 2022. 

M.S. Gillman, 

Commander, U.S. Coast Guard, Acting 

Captain of the Port Southeast Alaska. 

[FR Doc. 2022–02510 Filed 2–3–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

Copyright Office 

37 CFR Parts 201 and 202 

[Docket No. 2022–1] 

Remitter Payment Options and Deposit 

Account Requirements 

AGENCY: U.S. Copyright Office, Library 

of Congress. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Copyright Office is 

issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking 

regarding regulations related to remitter 

payments for Office services and 

requirements for maintaining a deposit 

account. Currently, payment options are 

addressed in various sections of Office 

regulations, and the method of payment 

accepted varies depending on the 

service provided. Additionally, payment 

methods currently referenced in the 

regulations may not necessarily reflect 

the types that the Office can accept or 

may choose to accept in the future. 

Amendments in this rulemaking are 

intended to consolidate regulatory 

provisions related to payment options 

and update regulations to articulate 

current Office practices. The Office also 

is proposing to simplify requirements 

for maintaining a deposit account and to 

clarify procedures related to 

noncompliant accounts. The Office 

invites public comments on this 

proposed rule. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received no later than 11:59 p.m. 

Eastern Time on March 7, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: For reasons of governmental 

efficiency, the Copyright Office is using 

the regulations.gov system for the 

submission and posting of public 

comments in this proceeding. All 

comments are therefore to be submitted 

electronically through regulations.gov. 

Specific instructions for submitting 

comments are available on the 

Copyright Office website at http://

copyright.gov/rulemaking/remitter

paymentoptions. If electronic 

submission of comments is not feasible 

due to lack of access to a computer and/ 

or the internet, please contact the Office 

using the contact information below for 

special instructions. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Megan Efthimiadis, Assistant to the 

General Counsel, by email at meft@

copyright.gov or telephone at (202) 707– 

8350. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

A. Remitter Payments 

The Copyright Act provides the 

Copyright Office with the authority to 

collect fees for its services, such as 

registration of a copyright claim and 

recordation of a transfer of copyright 

ownership.1 General fee-setting 

authority is provided in 17 U.S.C. 

708(a), which enumerates ten services 

for which fees shall be required, along 

with providing authority ‘‘to fix fees for 

other services.’’ 2 Several sections of the 

Copyright Act provide the Copyright 

Office with explicit authority to collect 

fees for services not listed in section 

708(a), such as designating an agent to 

receive notifications of claimed 

infringement 3 and filing a notice of 

intent to enforce a restored copyright.4

A number of other fees are set pursuant 

to the Copyright Office’s general 

regulatory authority, such as the fee for 

providing notice to libraries and 

archives of normal commercial 

exploitation or availability of a 

copyrighted work at a reasonable price 

under 17 U.S.C. 108(h)(2)(B). 

The majority of regulations addressing 

payment methods accepted by the 

Copyright Office for the fees it charges 

appear in 37 CFR 201.6; a number of 

other provisions address payment 

methods for specific services. Some of 

the payment options vary depending on 

the service—for example, the Office 

accepts payment by ‘‘electronic funds 

transfer, credit or debit card, or deposit 

account’’ for online applications for 

registration,5 while it accepts payment 

by ‘‘money order, check, bank draft, 

deposit account,’’ and most major credit 

cards for registration of foreign works 

restored under 17 U.S.C. 104A.6 Some 

services may be paid for with cash (only 

in person); others may not.7 The 

different payment methods across 

provisions can lead to confusion if not 

spelled out in regulations. 

As part of broader modernization 

efforts, the Office is reviewing its 

regulations and updating them where 

necessary to reflect current and 

anticipated practices.8 The Office is 

undertaking this rulemaking as part of 

those efforts, which the Office 

anticipates will result in an integrated, 

unified IT system for its services, 

including payment processing. 

The Office issued a notification of 

inquiry (‘‘NOI’’) on Registration 

Modernization on October 17, 2018,9

that invited public comment on a 

number of issues concerning regulations 

and practices related to the registration 

of copyright claims. Among the 

questions, the Office asked whether it 

should eliminate ‘‘payment options via 

check or money order’’ for copyright 

registration applications.10 This 

proposed rule, in part, reflects feedback 

that the Office received from 

commenters regarding payment 

methods. As this notice of proposed 

rulemaking does not address every issue 

raised in that notification of inquiry or 

by commenters, the Office reserves 

judgment on any matters not expressly 

discussed herein; no inference should 

be drawn from the Office’s silence on 

any particular point. The comments 

received in response to the notification 

of inquiry that were not addressed by 

this proposed rule will continue to be 

evaluated by the Office as system 

development progresses. 

B. Deposit Accounts 

The Copyright Office maintains a 

system of deposit accounts for frequent 

users of Office services. An individual 

or entity may establish a deposit 

account, make contributions to that 

account, and charge copyright fees 

against the balance instead of sending 


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11The Copyright Act does, however, authorize 

the Office to ‘‘request the Secretary of the Treasury 

to invest in interest-bearing securities in the United 

States Treasury any portion of the fees that, as 

determined by the Register, is not required to meet 

current Deposit Account demands.’’ 17 U.S.C. 

708(d)(2). 

12U.S. Copyright Office, Rules and Regulations 

for the Registration of Claims to Copyright at 16 

(1910). 

13 37 CFR 201.6(b). 

14 Id. 

15Administration of Copyright Office Deposit 

Accounts, 76 FR 9229 (Feb. 17, 2011). 

16 76 FR at 9229. 

17 Id. at 9230 (citing 74 FR 33930 (July 14, 2009)). 

18 Id. 

19 Id. (citing 75 FR 62345 (Oct. 8, 2010)). 

20 Id. 

21For more information on the Office’s 

modernization efforts generally, see https://

www.copyright.gov/copyright-modernization/. 

22Modernizing Copyright Recordation, 82 FR 

22771 (May 18, 2017). 

23See Ent. Software Ass’n Modernizing Copyright 

Recordation Comments at 6–7; Software and Info. 

Ass’n of Am. Modernizing Copyright Recordation 

Comments at 2; Motion Picture Ass’n of Am. 

Modernizing Copyright Recordation Comments at 

2–3; Author Services Modernizing Copyright 

Recordation Comments at 2; Copyright All. 

Modernizing Copyright Recordation Comments at 2; 

Am. Ass’n of Indep. Music, Recording Indus. Ass’n 

of Am., & Nat’l Music Publishers’ Ass’n 

Modernizing Copyright Recordation Comments at 

3–4; Intell. Prop. Owners Ass’n Modernizing 

Copyright Recordation Comments at 2. Comments 

are available at https://copyright.gov/rulemaking/ 

recordation-modernization/. 

24Registration Modernization, 83 FR 52336 (Oct. 

17, 2018). 

25 83 FR at 52338. 

26See Am. Intell. Prop. Law Ass’n Registration 

Modernization 2018 NOI Comments at 2; Copyright 

All. Registration Modernization 2018 NOI 

Comments at 8; Int’l Trademark Ass’n Registration 

Modernization 2018 NOI Comments at 3–4; Motion 

Picture Ass’n of Am. Registration Modernization 

2018 NOI Comments at 4; Nat’l Music Publishers’ 

Ass’n Registration Modernization 2018 NOI 

Comments at 6–7; Shaftel & Schmeltzer Registration 

Modernization 2018 NOI Comments at 4. Comments 

are available at https://copyright.gov/rulemaking/ 

reg-modernization/. 

27See Administration of Copyright Office Deposit 

Accounts, 76 FR 9229, 9231 (Feb. 17, 2011) (‘‘[T]he 

Copyright Office acknowledged in its October 8, 

2010 notice that Deposit Accounts remain a useful 

and efficient option for copyright owners who 

frequently use its services, including, but not 

limited to, registration, and announced that it will 

continue to offer Deposit Accounts for the 

foreseeable future, reserving its prerogative to 

revisit the question of their utility and cost to the 

Office at a later time.’’). 

28Fees, 59 FR 38369, 38371 (July 28, 1994). 

29 59 FR at 38400. 

separate payments with applications 

and other requests for services. This 

process has been valued by deposit 

account holders, who have found it to 

be more efficient and less expensive 

than alternatives, and also to facilitate 

good recordkeeping and accounting 

practices—for example, by allowing 

companies to track and attribute specific 

payments to specific projects and 

business units. 

Although the Copyright Act does not 

require the Copyright Office to offer and 

maintain deposit accounts,11 the Office 

has done so as a convenience to highvolume users of its services since 

1910.12 Under current regulations, 

deposit account holders are required to 

engage in a minimum of 12 transactions 

per year and maintain a minimum 

balance (no less than $450) to hold a 

deposit account.13 In addition, the 

regulations direct the Office to close a 

deposit account if it is overdrawn twice 

within any 12-month period and offer 

deposit account holders the option of 

automatic replenishment of their 

account via bank account or credit 

card.14

These existing administrative 

requirements were created through a 

final rule that went into effect May 1, 

2011.15 The rule arose from a 

proceeding that the Copyright Office 

began on July 14, 2009, to solve 

problems associated with the 

suspension of paper registration 

applications for lack of deposit account 

funds.16 The Office had initially 

proposed to eliminate the ability to pay 

for paper applications using deposit 

accounts and to require deposit account 

holders to file their applications 

electronically.17 After considering 

public comments on the proposal, the 

Office ‘‘was persuaded that mandatory 

electronic application was not the most 

appropriate solution to its problem of 

underfunded paper applications.’’ 18

The Office explored other options for 

addressing this problem and 

subsequently proposed the above 

account-maintenance requirements.19

Following favorable public comments, 

the Office promulgated the current 

regulations.20

The Copyright Office more recently 

has been reviewing its deposit account 

regulations as part of its broader 

modernization efforts.21 In May 2017, as 

part of those efforts, the Office sought 

comments on recordation 

modernization and solicited public 

comments on ‘‘whether or not to 

continue allowing remitters to pay 

through deposit accounts . . . including 

whether potential users of deposit 

accounts would be willing to pay a 

surcharge for the development and 

maintenance of an automated deposit 

account system.’’ 22 All respondents 

opposed the elimination of deposit 

accounts.23

In October 2018, the Copyright Office 

sought public comment on issues 

related to modernization of the 

registration system.24 Although the 

October 17, 2018, NOI did not expressly 

mention deposit accounts, it sought 

comment on whether the Office should 

eliminate ‘‘payment options via check 

or money order.’’ 25 In answering that 

question, several respondents reiterated 

support for deposit accounts.26

Through its review, the Office has 

identified several areas where the 

current regulations could be improved. 

As a threshold matter, the Office 

recognizes that many stakeholders 

benefit from the ability to maintain 

deposit accounts, and the Office 

continues to support their availability.27

The intent of this proceeding is to 

ensure that the Office is able to continue 

to provide deposit accounts in an 

efficient and cost-effective manner that 

aligns with user expectations, the 

overall operations of the Office, and the 

broader goals of the copyright system. 

First, although the regulations 

prescribe minimum transaction and 

balance requirements, they do not 

prescribe any procedure for addressing 

noncompliant deposit accounts. The 

Copyright Office has periodically 

reviewed existing deposit accounts for 

noncompliance and has an internal 

procedure for closing noncompliant 

deposit accounts. The process is 

designed to provide clear notice to 

noncompliant deposit account holders 

and an opportunity to cure within a 

reasonable time period. Communicating 

a process through regulations would 

increase transparency, clarity, and 

certainty. 

Second, the establishment and 

maintenance of deposit accounts create 

costs to the Copyright Office above other 

payment methods. These costs include 

staff time to establish, maintain, and 

reconcile accounts and invest excess 

balances, as well as developing and 

sustaining internal controls necessary to 

manage unused deposit account 

balances (which the Office must hold as 

a fiduciary for deposit account holders 

until they use the funds or the Office 

refunds them). 

The Copyright Office previously 

proposed establishing fees in 

connection with the creation and 

maintenance of deposit accounts,28

though it ultimately decided against 

doing so. In 1994, the Office, after 

noting that ‘‘the Copyright Office 

deposit account system involves 

substantial benefits to the depositors 

and substantial costs to the Copyright 

Office,’’ proposed a fee of $50 to open 

a deposit account and an annual 

maintenance fee of $50 (the average cost 

of providing the service at the time).29

Along with the fees, the Office proposed 

eliminating the minimum 12 


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30 Id. at 38401. 

31Fees, 63 FR 15802, 15803 (Apr. 1, 1998) (noting 

that, based on the comments received in response 

to the fees proposed in 1994, see 59 FR at 38400, 

‘‘the Office decided not to move forward with any 

charges’’ for maintaining deposit accounts). 

32 63 FR at 15803. 

33 37 CFR 201.6(b)(2). 

34Library of Congress & U.S. Copyright Office, 

Modified U.S. Copyright Office Provisional IT 

Modernization Plan at 7 (Sept. 1, 2017), http://

www.copyright.gov/reports/itplan/modified

modernization-plan.pdf. 

35See Operations Updates During the COVID–19 

Pandemic, U.S. Copyright Office, https://

www.copyright.gov/coronavirus/. 

36These amounts were $9,154.66 in 2018 and 

$6,498.30 in 2019. 

37The Office already has a model for this: Fees 

for registration applications submitted via paper are 

higher than the fees for electronic applications. See 

37 CFR 201.3. 

38 76 FR at 9229. 

39 In the fourth quarter of FY2011, paper 

registration applications amounted to about 16% of 

all applications. See Annual Report of the Register 

of Copyrights, Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 

2011, at 22. Currently, they amount to less than 1% 

of all applications. See Registration Processing 

Times, U.S. Copyright Office, https://

www.copyright.gov/registration/docs/processingtimes-faqs.pdf (last visited Jan. 4, 2022). 

40 Deposit Account balances will be reviewed and 

recorded at the end of the final day of each month. 41See 37 CFR 2.6(b)(11); see also Deposit Account 

Rules and Information, U.S. Patent and Trademark 

Office, https://www.uspto.gov/learning-andresources/fees-and-payment/deposit-account-rulesand-information (last visited Jan. 4, 2022). 

transactions per year requirement.30 The 

Office subsequently abandoned 

implementing any fees following public 

comment.31 The Office maintained that 

position again in 1998, as part of a 

general fee rulemaking, explaining that 

‘‘the use of deposit accounts is 

beneficial both to the holder and the 

Office.’’ 32

Third, the current deposit account 

regulations allow for automatic 

replenishment of funds and state that a 

deposit account that was closed due to 

a second overdraft within a 12-month 

period ‘‘can be re-opened only if the 

holder elects to fund it through 

automatic replenishment.’’ 33 But the 

Copyright Office does not have the 

practical ability to accept automatic 

replenishment, either as a convenience 

for replenishment or as a means for reopening a closed account, via the mostcommonly used payment methods. 

Pay.gov—a U.S. Treasury Department 

system for secure processing of 

payments to federal government 

agencies that the Office uses to 

administer payment for electronic 

services—currently only allows 

automatic payments via ACH; it does 

not permit automatic payments to be 

made by other payment methods, such 

as credit cards. Accordingly, the 

regulations need to be revised to reflect 

current Office capabilities. 

II. Proposed Rule 

Having carefully considered the above 

issues, including relevant public 

comments in prior proceedings, the 

Copyright Office now issues a proposed 

rule amending its regulations regarding 

remitter payments and deposit accounts 

and invites further public comment on 

any aspects of the amended rules. 

A. Remitter Payments 

The Copyright Office proposes 

amending its regulations governing 

remitter payments as follows. First, the 

Office proposes to consolidate all 

regulations related to the types of 

payment methods it will accept for 

services into a single set of provisions. 

This will ensure accuracy and 

consistency in payment methods across 

the Office’s services, particularly as the 

Office moves to an integrated enterprise 

IT system.34 The rule enumerates the 

payment methods accepted for three 

different avenues: Electronic payments, 

mailed payments, and payments 

provided in person at the Office’s Public 

Information Office. Electronic payments 

must be made through Pay.gov, which 

accepts most common types of 

electronic payment methods. For mailed 

payments, the Office will only accept 

checks or money orders. The Office will 

accept checks, money orders, credit 

card, debit card, and currency for 

services requested in person, along with 

electronic payments made via Pay.gov if 

done by appointment at the Public 

Information Office kiosk. 

Although cash transactions are the 

costliest transactions to process, the 

Copyright Office notes that, prior to the 

pandemic-related suspension of inperson services,35 the Public 

Information Office received a not 

insignificant volume of cash 

payments,36 and that eliminating the 

acceptance of cash might limit access to 

Office services for some individuals. 

The Office will continue to explore 

ways to ensure the widest accessibility 

of its services while exercising fiscal 

responsibility, including the possibility 

of adding a surcharge to cash payments 

to offset their processing costs and 

incentivizing payment through less 

expensive methods.37

B. Deposit Accounts 

The Copyright Office proposes 

simplifying requirements to maintain a 

deposit account and identifying in 

regulations the deposit account closure 

procedures. First, the Office proposes 

that a deposit account holder no longer 

be required to engage in a minimum 

number of transactions per year. The 

Office proposes to eliminate this 

requirement for several reasons. For 

one, as noted above, the rationale that 

led to the creation of the minimumtransactions requirement—that without 

a minimum-transaction requirement 

deposit account holders would neglect 

account balances and leave ‘‘insufficient 

funds to process a paper 

application’’ 38—has lessened. The 

percentage of service requests the Office 

receives by paper, as opposed to 

electronically, has declined significantly 

since the requirement was created and 

is expected to continue to drop; 39 a 

lower proportion of paper applications 

reduces the likelihood of deposit 

account holders overdrawing because 

the Office’s electronic system will not 

process a request if a deposit account 

lacks sufficient funds. Additionally, the 

imposition of a service charge for a 

deposit account that falls below the 

minimum balance, as discussed below, 

will create additional incentives for 

deposit account holders to maintain 

sufficient funds for service requests. 

Finally, the costs associated with 

monitoring transaction numbers 

outweigh any benefit the minimumtransaction requirement provides in 

reducing overdrafts. For deposit account 

holders, the elimination of the 

minimum-transaction requirement 

should ease their own regulatory 

burdens. 

Second, the Copyright Office proposes 

imposing a service charge of $25 for 

each month a deposit account balance is 

below $450.40 As pointed out above, 

this will incentivize deposit account 

holders to maintain sufficient funds in 

deposit accounts to avoid overdrafts. 

The Office notes that the U.S. Patent 

and Trademark Office currently imposes 

a similar service charge in connection 

with its deposit accounts.41 The 

Copyright Office will not assess the 

service charge until the last day of the 

first full calendar month in which the 

account balance remains below the 

minimum balance in order to provide 

deposit account holders with sufficient 

opportunity to replenish the account 

before incurring the charge, and an 

account with less than $25 at the end of 

a month will be inactivated by the 

Office rather than incur the service 

charge. 

Third, the proposed rules provide for 

the inactivation of accounts in two 

circumstances. One is when an account 

has had no activity for 24 months. 

Though the Office proposes to eliminate 

the minimum-transactions requirement, 

providing for inactivation when an 

account goes unused for such a 

prolonged period will reduce the costs 


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associated with maintaining unused 

accounts. The other circumstance is 

after several unsuccessful attempts to 

contact the deposit account holder. 

Undeliverable accounts create burdens 

for the Copyright Office, and these 

procedures will alleviate them. 

Fourth, the rules spell out the 

Copyright Office’s procedures for 

closing noncompliant deposit accounts, 

including the circumstances for closure 

and the process for returning any 

remaining funds to the deposit account 

holder. Currently, the Office’s closure 

procedures are not explicitly set out in 

regulations. Adding them will provide 

additional transparency, clarity, and 

certainty regarding Office deposit 

account policies. 

Finally, the Copyright Office is 

eliminating references to automatic 

replenishment of deposit accounts. At 

this time, Pay.gov lacks the ability to 

provide such automatic replenishment. 

List of Subjects 

37 CFR Part 201 

Copyright, General provisions. 

37 CFR Part 202 

Preregistration and registration of 

claims to copyright. 

For reasons stated in the preamble, 

the Copyright Office proposes to amend 

37 CFR parts 201 and 202 as follows: 

PART 201—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 201 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 17 U.S.C. 702. 

■ 2. Amend § 201.3 by redesignating 

paragraphs (d)(2) through (17) as 

paragraphs (d)(3) through (18), 

respectively, and adding new paragraph 

(d)(2). 

The addition reads as follows: 

§ 201.3 Fees for registration, recordation, 

and related services, special services, and 

services performed by the Licensing 

Division. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

Registration, recordation and related services Fees 

($) 

*******

(2) Service charge for each month when the deposit account balance at the end of the month is below $450 ........................................... 25 

* * * * * * * 

■ 3. Amend § 201.6 by revising 

paragraphs (a) and (b) to read as follows: 

§ 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 

payment in money is received. In the 

event the fee is not paid, the 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) Service charge. The service charge 

prescribed at § 201.3(d)(2) is assessed at 

the end of the first full calendar month 

after a deposit account balance falls 

below the minimum balance 

requirement. 

(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. 

(iii) Undeliverable deposit accounts 

will continue to be charged the fee 

prescribed at § 201.3(d)(2) at the end of 

each month if the account balance 

remains below $450 throughout that 

period. 

(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 

inactivate a deposit account that has 

insufficient funds at the end of the 

month to pay the service charge for 

maintaining a deposit account with an 

account balance below $450. 

(5) Closure. (i) An inactive deposit 

account will be closed no sooner than 

30 days from the date of inactivation if 

insufficient funds to pay the service 

charge remain in the deposit account or 

if the service charge for maintaining a 

deposit account with an account 

balance below $450 at the end of the 

month has not been paid. 

(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 

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 


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6456 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 24 / Friday, February 4, 2022 / Proposed Rules 

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). 

* * * * * 

■ 5. Amend § 201.33 by revising 

paragraph (e) to read as follows: 

§ 201.33 Procedures for filing Notices of 

Intent to Enforce a restored copyright under 

the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. 

* * * * * 

(e) Fee. The filing fee for recording 

Notices of Intent to Enforce is 

prescribed in § 201.3(c). 

* * * * * 

§ 201.39 [Amended] 

■ 6. Remove § 201.39(g)(3). 

PART 202—PREREGISTRATION AND 

REGISTRATION OF CLAIMS TO 

COPYRIGHT 

■ 7. The authority citation for part 202 

continues to read as follows: 

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

§ 202.3 [Amended] 

■ 8. Amend § 202.3 by removing 

(b)(2)(i)(C) and redesignating paragraph 

(b)(2)(i)(D) as (b)(2)(i)(C). 

■ 9. Amend § 202.12 by revising 

paragraph (c)(2) to read as follows: 

§ 202.12 Restored copyrights. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(2) Fee. The filing fee for registering 

a copyright claim in a restored work is 

prescribed in § 201.3(c) of this chapter. 

* * * * * 

■ 10. Amend § 202.16 by revising 

paragraph (c)(5) to read as follows: 

§ 202.16 Preregistration of copyrights. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(5) Fee. The filing fee for 

preregistration is prescribed in 

§ 201.3(c). 

* * * * * 

■ 11. Amend § 202.23 by revising 

paragraph (e)(2) to read as follows: 

§ 202.23 Full term retention of copyright 

deposits. 

* * * * * 

(e) * * * 

(2) Payment in the amount prescribed 

in § 201.3(d) of this chapter payable to 

the U.S. Copyright Office, must be 

received in the Copyright Office within 

60 calendar days from the date of 

mailing of the Copyright Office’s 

notification to the requestor that fullterm retention has been granted for a 

particular copyright deposit. 

* * * * * 

Dated: January 24, 2022. 

Kimberley Isbell, 

Acting General Counsel and Associate 

Register of Copyrights. 

[FR Doc. 2022–01776 Filed 2–3–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 1410–30–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

38 CFR Part 17 

RIN 2900–AR01 

VA Pilot Program on Graduate Medical 

Education and Residency 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans 

Affairs proposes to revise its medical 

regulations to establish a new pilot 

program on graduate medical education 

and residency, as required by section 

403 of the John S. McCain III, Daniel K. 

Akaka, and Samuel R. Johnson VA 

Maintaining Internal Systems and 

Strengthening Integrated Outside 

Network Act of 2018. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before April 5, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be 

submitted through www.Regulations.gov 

or mailed to, Paul B. Greenberg, Deputy 

Chief, Office of Academic Affiliations, 

(14AA), Department of Veterans Affairs, 

810 Vermont Ave. NW, Washington, DC 

20420. Comments should indicate that 

they are submitted in response to ‘‘RIN 

2900–AR01—VA Pilot Program on 

Graduate Medical Education and 

Residency.’’ Comments received will be 

available at regulations.gov for public 

viewing, inspection or copies. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul 

B. Greenberg, Deputy Chief, Office of 

Academic Affiliations, (14AA), 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 

Vermont Ave. NW, Washington, DC 

20420, (202) 461–9490. (This is not a 

toll-free telephone number.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

403 of the John S. McCain III, Daniel K. 

Akaka, and Samuel R. Johnson VA 

Maintaining Internal Systems and 

Strengthening Integrated Outside 

Network Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115–182, 

hereafter referred to as the MISSION 

Act) mandated the Department of 

Veterans Affairs (VA) create a pilot 

program to establish additional medical 

residency positions authorized under 

section 7302 of title 38 United States 

Code (U.S.C.) (note to 38 U.S.C. 7302) at 

certain covered facilities. This proposed 

rule would establish substantive and 

procedural requirements to allow VA to 

administer this pilot program in a 

manner consistent with section 403 of 

the MISSION Act. 

Section 7302(e)(1) of title 38 United 

States Code (U.S.C.) permits VA to both 

establish medical residency programs in 

VA facilities and ensure that such 

established programs have a sufficient 

number of residents. Section 403 of the 

MISSION Act created a note to section 

7302 to expand VA’s authority to 

establish medical residency positions in 

covered facilities to include non-VA 

facilities such as health care facilities of 

the Department of Defense and Indian 

Health Service. Section 403 of the 

MISSION Act further provides 

parameters for VA to determine those 

covered facilities in which residents 

will be placed. For instance, section 403 

requires VA to consider certain factors 

to determine whether there is a clinical 

need for providers in areas where 

residents would be placed. Section 403 

also requires prioritized placement of 

residents under the pilot program in 

Indian Health Service facilities, Indian 

tribal or tribal organization facilities, 

certain underserved VA facilities, or 

other covered facilities. Section 403 

additionally authorizes VA to pay 

resident stipends and benefits regardless 

of whether such residents are assigned 

to a VA facility, and requires VA to pay 

certain startup costs of new residency 

programs (such as curriculum 

development and faculty salaries) if 

residents are placed in such programs 

under the pilot program. The authority 

for the pilot was initially scheduled to 

expire on August 7, 2024; however, it 

was subsequently extended to August 7, 

2031, under section 5107 of Public Law 

116–169. 

Before detailing the regulations we 

propose to implement this mandated 

pilot program, we provide a brief 

summary of VA’s administration of its 

Graduate Medical Education (GME) 

programming under 38 U.S.C. 7302(e), 

to establish a basic understanding of 

VA’s understand of the conduct of GME 

programming in general. Under section 

7302(e)(1), VA establishes new medical 

residency programs in VA facilities and 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1