37 CFR 201 - GENERAL PROVISIONS

The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress (“Office”) will be holding public hearings on the possible exemptions to the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. In accordance with the Copyright Act, as amended by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Office is conducting its triennial rulemaking proceeding to determine whether there are particular “classes of works” as to which users are, or are likely to be, adversely affected in their ability to make noninfringing uses if they are prohibited from circumventing such technological measures. The first day of hearings will be dedicated to demonstrations of technology relevant to the rulemaking proceeding.

The United States Copyright Office (“Office”) seeks comments on proposals to exempt certain classes of works from the prohibition on circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. The Office has initiated a rulemaking proceeding in accordance with provisions added by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) which provide that the Librarian of Congress (“Librarian”), upon the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, may exempt certain classes of works from the prohibition against circumvention. The purpose of this proceeding is to determine whether there are particular classes of works as to which users are, or are likely to be, adversely affected in their ability to make noninfringing uses due to the prohibition on circumvention. This notice publishes the classes of works received by the Office, which were proposed by several parties in the comment period that ended on December 1, 2011.

The United States Copyright Office is proposing to amend its regulations to discontinue use of the Form CO application as an option for applying for copyright registration; and remove the references to CON 1 and CON 2 sheets. Form CO applications comprise only a small percentage of all applications submitted but they contain a significant number of errors, thus requiring a disproportionate amount of the Office's time, effort and resources to process. The proposed amendments would remove references to Form CO and would instead allow applicants a choice to file an application for registration either by filing the application electronically or by using the appropriate printed application form that relates to the subject matter of the application (i.e., Form TX for nondramatic literary works, Form PA for works of the performing arts, Form VA for works of visual art, Form SR for sound recordings, and Form SE for serials). Additionally, the proposed amendment would remove the references to CON 1 and CON 2 sheets, which were never developed or made available to the public, and would instead refer only to the continuation sheets currently available for applicants filing paper applications.

The United States Copyright Office is preparing to conduct proceedings in accordance with provisions added by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act which provide that the Librarian of Congress, upon the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, may exempt certain classes of works from the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. The purpose of this rulemaking proceeding is to determine whether there are particular classes of works as to which users are, or are likely to be, adversely affected in their ability to make noninfringing uses due to the prohibition on circumvention. This notice requests written comments from all interested parties, including representatives of copyright owners, educational institutions, libraries and archives, scholars, researchers and members of the public, in order to elicit evidence on whether noninfringing uses of certain classes of works are, or are likely to be, adversely affected by this prohibition on the circumvention of measures that control access to copyrighted works.

The Copyright Office is issuing this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to solicit public comment on proposals to update its interim regulations governing the designation by online service providers of agents to receive notifications of claimed copyright infringement as provided for in the Copyright Act.

The Copyright Office is extending for one year the interim rule relating to fees for special handling of registration claims that have been pending for at least six months. Currently, the interim rule is set to expire on July 1, 2011, and this extension will change the expiration date to July 1, 2012.

The Copyright Office is amending its regulations governing notices of termination of certain grants of transfers and licenses of copyright under section 203 of the Copyright Act. The amendments are intended to clarify the recordation practices of the Copyright Office regarding the content of certain notices of termination, and the circumstances under which such notices will be accepted by the Office. In particular, they clarify that the Copyright Office will record section 203 notices of termination of grants for works created after 1977 even when the agreement to make a grant was made before 1978.

The Copyright Office is amending its regulations to set the minimum level of activity required to hold a deposit account at 12 transactions per year; require deposit account holders to maintain a minimum balance in that account; require the closure of a deposit account the second time it is overdrawn within any 12-month period; and offer deposit account holders the option of automatic replenishment of their account via their bank account or credit card.