24056 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 78 / Friday, April 22, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

project period extensions involving the 

obligation of additional Federal funds, 

would result in the projects receiving 

multiple years of continuation funding 

within one year. 

The waiver and extension enables 

these projects to receive their 

continuation funding over one 

additional period, not to exceed 1 year. 

By spreading out their continuation 

funding over an additional year, IES 

allows these grantees to properly budget 

their activities for the remaining years of 

the project, including an additional 

year 6. 

Final Waivers and Extensions: The 

Department believes it is in the best 

interest of the public to extend project 

periods for one year and allow 

continuation funding to be provided 

during the additional year. 

Correspondingly, the Secretary waives 

the requirements in 34 CFR 75.250, 

which prohibit project periods 

exceeding five years. Any activities 

carried out under these continuation 

awards must be consistent with the 

scope and objectives of the grantees’ 

applications as approved in the relevant 

grant competition. The requirements for 

continuation awards are set forth in 34 

CFR 75.253. 

Exemption From Proposed Rulemaking 

Under section 191 of the Education 

Sciences Reform Act, 20 U.S.C. 9581, 

IES is not subject to section 437(d) of 

the General Education Provisions Act, 

20 U.S.C. 1232(d), and is therefore not 

required to offer interested parties the 

opportunity to comment on matters 

relating to grants. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification 

Because notice-and-comment 

rulemaking is not necessary for this 

action, the Regulatory Flexibility Act 

(96 Pub. L. 354, 5 U.S.C. 601–612) does 

not apply. 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

This final waiver and extension of the 

project period does not contain any 

information collection requirements. 

Intergovernmental Review 

These competitions are not subject to 

Executive Order 12372 and the 

regulations in 34 CFR part 79. 

Accessible Format: On request to the 

program contact person listed under 

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, 

individuals with disabilities can obtain 

this document in an accessible format. 

The Department will provide the 

requestor with an accessible format that 

may include Rich Text Format (RTF) or 

text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 

file, braille, large print, audiotape, or 

compact disc, or other accessible format. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

The official version of this document is 

the document published in the Federal 

Register. You may access the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the 

Code of Federal Regulations at 

www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can 

view this document, as well as all other 

documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Portable Document Format 

(PDF). To use PDF you must have 

Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at the site. 

You may also access documents of the 

Department published in the Federal 

Register by using the article search 

feature at www.federalregister.gov. 

Specifically, through the advanced 

search feature at this site, you can limit 

your search to documents published by 

the Department. 

Mark Schneider, 

Director, Institute of Education Sciences. 

[FR Doc. 2022–08557 Filed 4–21–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

Copyright Office 

37 CFR Part 201 

[Docket No. 2021–6] 

Copyright Claims Board: Initiating of 

Proceedings and Related Procedures; 

Correction 

AGENCY: U.S. Copyright Office, Library 

of Congress. 

ACTION: Final rule; correction. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Copyright Office is 

issuing a correction governing the fee to 

designate a service agent under the 

Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims 

Enforcement Act of 2020. The correction 

reverses an inadvertent reservation 

instruction. 

DATES: Effective April 25, 2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Megan Efthimiadis, Assistant to the 

General Counsel, by email at meft@

copyright.gov, or by telephone at 202– 

707–8350. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In FR Doc. 

2022–06264 at 87 FR 16989 in the issue 

of Friday, March 25, 2022, on page 

17000 in the first and second columns, 

amendatory instruction 2 and the 

accompanying regulatory text is 

corrected to read as follows: 

■ 2. In § 201.3: 

■ a. Redesignate table 1 to paragraph (d) 

and table 1 to paragraph (e) as table 2 

to paragraph (d) and table 3 to 

paragraph (e), respectively; and 

■ b. Add paragraph (g)(1). 

The addition reads as follows: 

§ 201.3 Fees for registration, recordation, 

and related services, special services, and 

services performed by the Licensing 

Section and the Copyright Claims Board. 

* * * * * 

(g) * * * 

TABLE 4 TO PARAGRAPH (g) 

Copyright Claims Board fees Fees 

($) 

(1) Initiate a proceeding before 

the Copyright Claims Board: 

(i) First payment ........................ 40 

(ii) Second payment .................. 60 

* * * * * 

Dated: April 15, 2022. 

Shira Perlmutter, 

Register of Copyrights and Director of the 

U.S. Copyright Office. 

Approved by: 

Carla D. Hayden, 

Librarian of Congress. 

[FR Doc. 2022–08655 Filed 4–21–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 1410–30–P 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

Copyright Office 

37 CFR Parts 201 and 221 

[Docket No. 2021–2] 

Small Claims Expedited Registration 

Procedures: Clarification 

AGENCY: U.S. Copyright Office, Library 

of Congress. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Copyright Office is 

amending its regulations to clarify the 

rules governing the expedited 

registration option under the Copyright 

Alternative in Small-Claims 

Enforcement Act of 2020. The 

amendment clarifies that when a 

Copyright Claims Board proceeding 

cannot continue because a registration is 

still pending, the Board may hold 

proceedings in abeyance at any point 

before a final determination is issued. 

The rule also describes the process for 

the Board to receive registration 

certificates when they are issued while 

a proceeding is pending, allows parties 

to request expedited registration before 

a proceeding becomes active, and 

corrects non-substantive typographical 

errors. 

DATES: Effective April 22, 2022. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 78 / Friday, April 22, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 24057 

1Public Law 116–260, sec. 212, 134 Stat. 1182, 

2176 (2020). 

2 86 FR 16156, 16161 (Mar. 26, 2021). 

3 86 FR 21990, 21991 (quoting 17 U.S.C. 1505(d)). 

4 86 FR 46119 (Aug. 18, 2021). 

5 Id. at 46123 (codified at 37 CFR 221.1(b)). 

6 Id. (codified at 37 CFR 221.1(b)). 

7 17 U.S.C. 1505(b)(2); 86 FR 46119, 46123 

(codified at 37 CFR 221.1(b)). 

8 Id. at 1505(b)(2)–(3). 

9 86 FR 46119, 46123 (codified at 37 CFR 

221.1(b)). 

10 17 U.S.C. 1505(b)(2). 

11 Id. at 1505(b)(1)(B). 

12 86 FR 21990, 21992. 

13 86 FR 46119, 46122–23 (codified at 37 CFR 

221.2(c)(1)). 

14 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A). 

15 JEM Broad. Co. v. F.C.C., 22 F.3d 320, 326 (D.C. 

Cir. 1994) (internal citation omitted). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Megan Efthimiadis, Assistant to the 

General Counsel, by email at meft@

copyright.gov, or by telephone at 202– 

707–8350. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Copyright Alternative in SmallClaims Enforcement (‘‘CASE’’) Act of 

2020 1 directs the Copyright Office to 

establish the Copyright Claims Board 

(‘‘CCB’’ or ‘‘Board’’), a voluntary 

tribunal within the Office comprised of 

three Copyright Claims Officers who 

have the authority to render 

determinations on certain copyright 

claims for economic recoveries within 

the statutory limit. The Office issued a 

notification of inquiry (‘‘NOI’’) and 

subsequent notices of proposed 

rulemaking (‘‘NPRM’’) to describe the 

CASE Act’s legislative background and 

regulatory scope and to ask for public 

input on various topics.2 One NPRM 

addressed ‘‘regulations allowing the 

Copyright Office to make a decision, on 

an expedited basis, to issue or deny 

copyright registration for an 

unregistered work that is at issue before 

the Board.’’ 3

In August 2021, the Librarian of 

Congress, after consulting with the 

Register of Copyrights, issued a final 

rule promulgating regulations to govern 

the expedited registration process.4 The 

final rule contained the following 

language: ‘‘[i]f the proceeding cannot 

continue because of a pending 

registration, the Copyright Claims Board 

shall hold proceedings in abeyance until 

the claimant or counterclaimant 

provides the Copyright Claims Board 

with the certificate of registration or the 

registration number on the certificate of 

registration or certificate preview.’’ 5

The final rule also only allowed a party 

to initiate the expedited registration 

process once ‘‘the proceeding has 

become active.’’ 6

II. Final Rule 

The Board asked the Office to clarify 

two points regarding the regulations. 

First, the Board asked to clarify that 

neither the regulations nor the CASE 

Act require that a CCB proceeding must 

be held in abeyance immediately at the 

point the Board discovers that the claim 

concerns a work with a pending 

registration. The Office had 

promulgated a rule reflecting that the 

CASE Act allows for a proceeding to be 

held in abeyance where ‘‘the proceeding 

may not proceed further because a 

registration certificate for the work is 

pending.’’ 7 The CASE Act also states 

that ‘‘if the proceeding is held in 

abeyance for more than 1 year, the 

Copyright Claims Board may, upon 

providing written notice to the parties to 

the proceeding, and 30 days to the 

parties to respond to the notice, dismiss 

the proceeding without prejudice’’ and 

that the Board cannot issue a final 

determination for a claim involving a 

work that has been denied registration.8

The CASE Act does not offer additional 

guidance on when a proceeding may not 

proceed further due to a pending 

registration certificate. 

Where a registration application is 

pending for a work at issue before the 

Board, the Board has the authority to 

hold the proceeding in abeyance at any 

point where it believes the pendency 

means that the proceeding should not 

proceed further. If a work’s eligibility 

for copyright registration is not at issue, 

the Board may not have any reason to 

delay the proceeding while the 

Copyright Office considers the 

application. In other circumstances, the 

Board may decide to halt the 

proceedings until after the Copyright 

Office makes a registration decision. 

The amended regulations reflect that it 

is within the Board’s discretion, up to 

the issuance of its final determination, 

to determine whether and when a 

proceeding may not proceed further due 

to a pending registration. 

Second, the Board asked the Office to 

clarify the procedures related to 

submitting a registration certificate and 

lifting the abeyance. The regulations 

state that proceedings will be held in 

abeyance due to a pending registration 

‘‘until the claimant or counterclaimant 

provides the Copyright Claims Board 

with the certificate of registration or the 

registration number on the certificate of 

registration or certificate preview.’’ 9

While this process complies with the 

requirement that ‘‘the proceeding shall 

be held in abeyance pending submission 

of the certificate to the Copyright Claims 

Board,’’ 10 the rule did not explain that 

where party submits a registration 

number, and not the registration 

certificate, the Office will provide a 

copy of the certificate to the Board to 

include in the proceeding’s record. 

While the Office hopes to automate this 

process in the future, parties should 

contact the Board when submitting the 

registration number, so the Board can 

notify the Office to complete the 

certificate submission process. In all 

circumstances, the parties to the 

proceeding will be given ‘‘an 

opportunity to address the registration 

certificate’’ before the Board renders a 

determination.11

The Board also suggested that the 

Office allow a claimant or 

counterclaimant to request expedited 

registration before a proceeding 

becomes active, with the Board’s 

permission. While the Office’s NPRM 

stated that a rule that only allowed a 

claimant or counterclaimant to request 

expedited registration after a proceeding 

becomes active would ‘‘ensure that 

registration applicants do not invoke the 

CCB to receive special handling 

treatment at a discounted rate when not 

genuinely intending to pursue their 

claim through the CCB,’’ 12 at this point 

the Office agrees that the Board should 

have the authority to allow a claimant 

or counterclaimant with a pending 

application to request expedited 

registration prior to a proceeding 

becoming active. In particular, the 

amendment will allow claimants or 

counterclaimants to receive an earlier 

registration decision where 

copyrightability is unclear. The Office is 

implementing the Board’s suggestion in 

the final rule, but will revisit this rule 

if the aforementioned concerns 

materialize. 

Finally, while the final rule clearly 

stated that an expedited registration 

request applied to a ‘‘registration 

application,’’ the language describing 

the fee stated that it applied to ‘‘each 

request’’ without noting that this 

specifically referred to an application 

request.13 This final rule clarifies that 

language and also removes minor 

typographical errors. 

These amendments constitute a 

change to a ‘‘rule[ ] of agency . . . 

procedure[ ] or practice’’ 14 and do not 

‘‘alter the rights or interests of 

parties.’’ 15 Therefore, these 

amendments are not subject to the 

notice and comment requirements of the 

Administrative Procedure Act and are 

being issued as a final rule. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
24058 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 78 / Friday, April 22, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

List of Subjects 

37 CFR Part 201 

Copyright, General provisions. 

37 CFR Part 221 

Copyright, Claims. 

Final Regulations 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the U.S. Copyright Office 

amends chapter II, subchapters A and B, 

of title 37 Code of Federal Regulations 

as follows: 

SUBCHAPTER A—COPYRIGHT OFFICE 

AND PROCEDURES 

PART 201—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 201 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 17 U.S.C. 702. 

Section 201.10 also issued under 17 U.S.C. 

304. 

■ 2. In § 201.3, revise paragraph (d)(8) to 

read as follows: 

§ 201.3 Fees for registration, recordation, 

and related services, special services, and 

services performed by the Licensing 

Section and the Copyright Claims Board. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(8) Small claims expedited registration fee per registration application request ........................ 50 

* * * * * 

PART 221—REGISTRATION 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 221 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 17 U.S.C. 702, 1510. 

■ 4. In § 221.1, revise paragraph (b) to 

read as follows: 

§ 221.1 Registration requirement. 

* * * * * 

(b) For a work that has not yet been 

registered, a claimant or 

counterclaimant who has a pending 

application to register the work must 

indicate on its claim or counterclaim 

notice that the work is pending 

registration and must include the work’s 

service request (SR) number that was 

assigned to the copyright registration 

claim. If the Copyright Claims Board, in 

its discretion, at any time determines 

that the proceeding may not proceed 

forward because of a pending 

registration, the Copyright Claims Board 

shall issue an order holding the 

proceeding in abeyance until it is 

provided with the certificate of 

registration or the registration number 

on the certificate of registration or 

certificate preview. Under this 

provision, the Copyright Claims Board 

can decide to hold the proceeding in 

abeyance at any point in the proceeding, 

but must dismiss the proceeding 

without prejudice if it is notified that 

the registration application was refused. 

If the proceeding has been held in 

abeyance for more than one year, the 

Copyright Claims Board may dismiss 

the claim or counterclaim without 

prejudice after providing thirty days’ 

written notice to all parties to the 

proceeding. 

■ 5. In § 221.2, revise paragraphs (b) and 

(e) to read as follows: 

§ 221.2 Small claims expedited 

registration. 

* * * * * 

(b) Initiating small claims expedited 

registration. The small claims expedited 

registration process can only be initiated 

after the claimant or counterclaimant 

has completed an application for 

copyright registration and either the 

Copyright Claims Board has issued an 

order holding the proceedings in 

abeyance pursuant to § 221.1(b) and has 

granted the applicant permission to 

request an expedited registration or the 

proceeding has become active. To 

initiate the small claims expedited 

registration process, the qualifying 

claimant or counterclaimant must make 

a request and pay the required fee set 

forth in § 201.3(d). Parties must not 

attempt to initiate small claims 

expedited registration by using the 

Copyright Office’s electronic registration 

system (eCO). 

* * * * * 

(e) Granted requests. If the request for 

expedited registration under this section 

is granted, the Office will make every 

attempt to examine the application 

within 10 business days after notice of 

the request is delivered by the Copyright 

Claims Board to the Copyright Office’s 

Office of Registration Policy and 

Practice, although the Copyright Office 

cannot guarantee that all applications 

will be examined within that timeframe. 

* * * * * 

Dated: April 15, 2022. 

Shira Perlmutter, 

Register of Copyrights and Director of the 

U.S. Copyright Office. 

Approved by: 

Carla D. Hayden, 

Librarian of Congress. 

[FR Doc. 2022–08654 Filed 4–21–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 1410–30–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R01–OAR–2021–0672; FRL–9558–02– 

R1] 

Air Plan Approval; New Hampshire; 

Boston-Manchester-Portsmouth Area 

Second 10-Year Limited Maintenance 

Plan for 1997 Ozone NAAQS 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is approving a State 

Implementation Plan (SIP) revision 

submitted by the State of New 

Hampshire. On July 29, 2021, the State 

submitted its 1997 ozone national 

ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) 

Limited Maintenance Plan (LMP) for the 

Boston-Manchester-Portsmouth 

(Portsmouth) area. EPA is approving the 

Portsmouth area LMP because it 

provides for the maintenance of the 

1997 ozone NAAQS through the end of 

the second 10-year portion of the 

maintenance period. The effect of this 

action will be to make certain 

commitments related to maintenance of 

the 1997 ozone NAAQS in the 

Portsmouth maintenance area part of the 

New Hampshire SIP and therefore 

federally enforceable. This action is 

being taken in accordance with the 

Clean Air Act. 

DATES: This rule is effective on May 23, 

2022. 

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket 

Identification No. EPA–R01–OAR– 

2021–0672. All documents in the docket 

are listed on the https://

www.regulations.gov website. Although 

listed in the index, some information is 

not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other 

information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Certain other 

material, such as copyrighted material, 

is not placed on the internet and will be 

publicly available only in hard copy 

form. Publicly available docket 

materials are available at https://

www.regulations.gov or at the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 

Region 1 Regional Office, Air and 

Radiation Division, 5 Post Office 

Square—Suite 100, Boston, MA. EPA 

requests that, if at all possible, you 

contact the contact listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to 

schedule your inspection. The Regional 

Office’s official hours of business are 

Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 

4:30 p.m., excluding legal holidays and 

facility closures due to COVID–19. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1