Source: http://ecfr.io/Title-37/pt37.1.354
Timestamp: 2018-10-15 22:11:21
Document Index: 407399346

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 354', 'art 354', '§354', '§354', '§354', '§354', '§354']

[37 CFR 354] Title 37 Part 354 : Code of Federal Regulations ';
Title 37 Part 354
§354.1 Material questions of copyright law.
(i) Content. The motion should be captioned “Motion of [Participant(s)] Requesting Referral of Material Question of Substantive Law.” The motion should set forth, at the outset, the precise legal question for which the moving party is seeking interlocutory referral to the Register of Copyrights. The motion should then proceed to explain, with brevity, why the issue meets the criteria for potential referral under paragraph (a) of this section and why the interests of fair and efficient adjudication would be best served by obtaining interlocutory guidance from the Register of Copyrights. The motion should not include argument on the merits of the issue, but may include a suggested schedule of briefing that would make reasonable provision for comments and legal arguments, in such a way as to avoid delay and duplication.
(a) Mandatory referrals. If the material question of substantive law described in §354.1(a) is a novel question of law, referral to the Register of Copyrights by the Copyright Royalty Judges is mandatory. A “novel question of law” is a question of law that has not been determined in the prior decisions, determinations, or rulings under the Copyright Act of the Copyright Royalty Judges, the Librarian of Congress, the Register of Copyrights, the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panels (to the extent they are consistent with the current decisions, determinations, or rulings of the Register of Copyrights or the Librarian of Congress), or the former Copyright Royalty Tribunal.
(b) Procedures. The procedures set forth for the discretionary referral of material questions of copyright law to the Register of Copyrights by the Copyright Royalty Judges, set forth in §354.1, shall also govern the mandatory referral of novel questions, except that the Register of Copyrights' decision will be timely if it is delivered to the Copyright Royalty Judges within 30 days after the Register of Copyrights has received all of the briefs or comments of the participants. The Copyright Royalty Judges will not issue a final determination in a proceeding where the referral of a novel question to the Register of Copyrights under this part is pending, unless this 30-day period has expired. The legal interpretation embodied in the timely delivered response of the Register of Copyrights in resolving material questions of substantive law is binding upon the Copyright Royalty Judges and will be applied by them in their final determination in the relevant proceeding.
If, during the 14-day period of a discretionary referral of a material question of law under §354.1, the Register of Copyrights determines that the question is a “novel” one within the meaning of §354.2(a), the Register may notify the Copyright Royalty Judges of that determination. The Copyright Royalty Judges will be bound by such a determination by the Register of Copyrights and will regard the Register's decision as timely delivered if it is received within the 30-day period applicable to novel question referrals.