[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 37, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 1999]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 37CFR201.11]
[Page 352-356]
TITLE 37--PATENTS, TRADEMARKS, AND COPYRIGHTS
CONGRESS
PART 201--GENERAL PROVISIONS--Table of Contents
Sec. 201.11 Satellite carrier statements of account covering statutory licenses for secondary transmissions for private home viewing.
(a) General. This section prescribes rules pertaining to the deposit
of Statements of Account and royalty fees in the Copyright Office as
required by the satellite carrier license of section 119(b)(1) of title
17 of the United States Code, as amended by Pub. L. 103-369, in order
that certain secondary transmissions by satellite carriers for private
home viewing be subject to statutory licensing.
(b) Definitions. (1) The terms distributor, network station, private
home viewing, satellite carrier, subscriber, superstation, and unserved
household have the meanings set forth in section 119(d) of title 17 of
the United States Code, as amended by Pub. L. 103-369.
(2) The terms primary transmission and secondary transmission have
the meanings set forth in section 111(f) of title 17 of the United
States Code.
(c) Accounting periods and deposit. (1) Statements of Account shall
cover semiannual accounting periods of January 1 through June 30, and
July 1 through December 31, and shall be deposited in the Copyright
Office, together with the total statutory royalty fee or the confirmed
arbitration royalty fee for such accounting periods as prescribed by
section 119(b)(1)(B) and (c)(3) of title 17, by not later than July 30,
if the Statement of Account covers the January 1 through June 30
accounting period, and by not later than the immediately following
January 30, if the Statement of Account covers the July 1 through
December 31 accounting period.
(2) Upon receiving a Statement of Account and royalty fee, the
Copyright Office will make an official record of the actual date when
such statement and fee were physically received in the Copyright Office.
Thereafter, the Licensing Division of the Copyright Office will examine
the statement and fee for obvious errors or omissions appearing on the
face of the documents, and will require that any such obvious errors or
omissions be corrected before final processing of the documents is
completed. If, as the result of communications between the Copyright
Office and the satellite carrier, an additional fee is deposited or
changes or additions are made in the Statement of Account, the date that
additional deposit or information was actually received in the Office
will be added to the official record of the case. However, completion by
the Copyright Office of the final processing of a Statement of Account
and royalty fee deposit shall establish only the fact of such completion
and the date or dates of receipt shown in the official record. It shall
in no case be considered a determination that the Statement of Account
was, in fact, properly prepared and accurate, that the correct amount of
the royalty fee had been deposited, that the statutory time limits for
filing had been met, or that any other requirements to qualify for a
statutory license have been satisfied.
(3) Statements of Account and royalty fees received before the end
of the particular accounting period they purport to cover will not be
processed by the Copyright Office. Statements of Account and royalty
fees received after the filing deadlines of July 30 or January 30,
respectively, will be accepted for whatever legal effect they may have,
if any.
(4) In the Register's discretion, four years after the close of any
calendar year, the Register may close out the royalty payments account
for that calendar year, and may treat any funds remaining in such
account and any
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subsequent deposits that would otherwise be attributable to that
calendar year as attributable to the succeeding calendar year.
(d) Forms. (1) Each Statement of Account shall be furnished on an
appropriate form prescribed by the Copyright Office, and shall contain
the information required by that form and its accompanying instructions.
Computation of the copyright royalty fee shall be in accordance with the
procedures set forth in the forms. Copies of Statement of Account forms
are available free upon request to the Licensing Division, United States
Copyright Office, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20557.
(2) The form prescribed by the Copyright Office is designated
``Statement of Account for Secondary Transmissions by Satellite Carriers
to Home Viewers.''
(e) Contents. Each Statement of Account shall contain the following
information:
(1) A clear designation of the accounting period covered by the
Statement.
(2) The designation ``Owner'' followed by:
(i) The full legal name of the satellite carrier. If the owner is a
partnership, the name of the partnership is to be followed by the name
of at least one individual partner;
(ii) Any other name or names under which the owner conducts the
business of the satellite carrier; and
(iii) The full mailing address of the owner. Ownership, other names
under which the owner conducts the business of the satellite carrier,
and the owner's mailing address shall reflect facts existing on the last
day of the accounting period covered by the Statement of Account.
(3) The designation ``Primary Transmitters,'' followed by the call
signs, broadcast channel numbers, station locations (city and state of
license), and a notation whether that primary transmitter is a
``superstation'' or ``network station'' transmitted to any or all of the
subscribers of the satellite carrier during any portion of the period
covered by the Statement of Account.
(4) The designation ``Superstations,'' followed by:
(i) The call sign of each superstation signal carried for each month
of the period covered by the Statement, and
(ii) The total number of subscribers to each superstation for each
month of the period covered by the Statement. This number is the number
of subscribers to each superstation receiving the retransmission on the
last day of each month.
(5) The designation ``Network Stations,'' followed by:
(i) The call sign of each network station carried for each month of
the period covered by the Statement, and
(ii) The total number of subscribers to each network station for
each month of the period covered by the Statement. This number is the
number of subscribers to each network station receiving the
retransmission on the last day of each month.
(6) The total number of subscribers to each superstation for the
six-month period covered by the Statement multiplied by the statutory
royalty rate of 17.5 cents per subscriber, or in the case of syndex-
proof superstations as defined in 37 CFR 258.2, 14 cents (or in lieu
thereof, the arbitrated rate, if applicable).
(7) The total number of subscribers to each network station for the
six-month period covered by the Statement multiplied by the statutory
royalty rate of six (6) cents per subscriber (or, in lieu thereof, the
arbitrated rate, if applicable).
(8) The name, address, business title, and telephone number of the
individual or individuals to be contacted for information or questions
concerning the content of the Statement of Account.
(9) The handwritten signature of:
(i) The owner of the satellite carrier or a duly authorized agent of
the owner, if the owner is not a partnership or a corporation; or
(ii) A partner, if the owner is a partnership; or
(iii) An officer of the corporation, if the owner is a corporation.
The signature shall be accompanied by:
(A) The printed or typewritten name of the person signing the
Statement of Account;
(B) The date of signature;
(C) If the owner of the satellite carrier is a partnership or a
corporation,
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by the title or official position held in the partnership or corporation
by the person signing the Statement of Account;
(D) A certification of the capacity of the person signing; and
(E) The following statement:
I, the undersigned Owner or Agent of the Satellite Carrier, or
Officer or Partner, if the Satellite Carrier is a Corporation or
Partnership, have examined this Statement of Account and hereby declare
under penalty of law that all statements of fact contained herein are
true, complete, and correct to the best of my knowledge, information,
and belief, and are made in good faith.
(18 U.S.C., section 1001 (1986))
(f) Royalty fee payment. All royalty fees may be paid by electronic
transfer of funds, provided the payment is received in the designated
United States Federal Reserve Bank by the filing deadline for the
relevant accounting period. Except in the case of an electronic payment,
the royalty fee payable for the period covered by the Statement of
Account shall accompany that Statement of Account and shall be deposited
at the Copyright Office with it. Payment must be in the form of a
certified check, cashier's check, or a money order, payable to: Register
of Copyrights; or a United States Treasury electronic payment.
(g) Corrections, supplemental payments, and refunds. (1) Upon
compliance with the procedures and within the time limits set forth in
paragraph (g)(3) of this section, corrections to Statements of Account
will be placed on record, supplemental royalty fee payments will be
received for deposit, or refunds will be issued, in the following cases:
(i) Where, with respect to the accounting period covered by a
Statement of Account, any of the information given in the Statement
filed in the Copyright Office is incorrect or incomplete; or
(ii) Where calculation of the royalty fee payable for a particular
accounting period was incorrect, and the amount deposited in the
Copyright Office for that period was either too high or too low.
(2) Corrections to Statements of Account will not be placed on
record, supplemental royalty fee payments will not be received for
deposit, and refunds will not be issued, where the information in the
Statements of Account, the royalty fee calculations, or the payments
were correct as of the date on which the accounting period ended, but
changes (for example, addition or deletion of a signal) took place
later.
(3) Requests that corrections to a Statement of Account be placed on
record, that fee payments be accepted, or requests for the issuance of
refunds, shall be made only in the cases mentioned in paragraph (g)(1)
of this section. Such requests shall be addressed to the Licensing
Division of the Copyright Office, and shall meet the following
conditions:
(i) The request must be in writing, must clearly identify its
purpose, and, in the case of a request for a refund, must be received in
the Copyright Office before the expiration of 30 days from the last day
of the applicable Statement of Account filing period, or before the
expiration of 30 days from the date of receipt at the Copyright Office
of the royalty payment that is the subject of the request, whichever
time period is longer. A telegraphic or similar unsigned communication
will be considered to meet this requirement if it clearly identifies the
basis of the request, if it is received in the Copyright Office within
the required 30-day period, and if a written request meeting all the
conditions of this paragraph (g)(3) is also received in the Copyright
Office within 14 days after the end of such 30-day period:
(ii) The Statement of Account to which the request pertains must be
sufficiently identified in the request (by inclusion of the name of the
owner of the satellite carrier and the accounting period in question) so
that it can be readily located in the records of the Copyright Office;
(iii) The request must contain a clear statement of the facts on
which it is based and provide a clear basis on which a refund may be
granted, in accordance with the following procedures:
(A) In the case of a request filed under paragraph (g)(1)(i) of this
section, where the information given in the Statement of Account is
incorrect or incomplete, the request must clearly identify the erroneous
or incomplete
[[Page 355]]
information and provide the correct or additional information:
(B) In the case of a request filed under paragraph (g)(1)(ii) of
this section, where the royalty fee was miscalculated and the amount
deposited in the Copyright Office was either too high or too low, the
request must be accompanied by an affidavit under the official seal of
any officer authorized to administer oaths within the United States, or
a statement in accordance with section 1746 of title 28 of the United
States Code, made and signed in accordance with paragraph (e)(9) of this
section. The affidavit or statement shall describe the reasons why the
royalty fee was improperly calculated and include a detailed analysis of
the proper royalty calculation.
(iv)(A) All requests filed under this paragraph (g) must be
accompanied by a filing fee in the amount of $15 for each Statement of
Account involved. Payment of this fee may be in the form of a personal
or company check, or of a certified check, cashier's check or money
order, payable to: Register of Copyrights. No request will be processed
until the appropriate filing fees are received.
(B) All requests that a supplemental royalty fee payment be received
for deposit under this paragraph (g) must be accompanied by a remittance
in the full amount of such fee. Payment of the supplemental royalty fee
must be in the form of certified check, cashier's check, or money order,
payable to: Register of Copyrights; or electronic payment. No such
request will be processed until an acceptable remittance in the full
amount of the supplemental royalty fee has been received.
(v) All requests submitted under this paragraph (g) must be signed
by the satellite carrier owner named in the Statement of Account, or the
duly authorized agent of the owner, in accordance with paragraph (e)(9)
of this section.
(vi) A request for a refund is not necessary where the Licensing
Division, during its examination of a Statement of Account or related
document, discovers an error that has resulted in a royalty overpayment.
In this case, the Licensing Division will forward the royalty refund to
the satellite carrier owner named in the Statement of Account without
regard to the time limitations provided for in paragraph (g)(3)(i) of
this section.
(4) Following final processing, all requests submitted under this
paragraph (g) will be filed with the original Statement of Account in
the records of the Copyright Office. Nothing contained in this paragraph
shall be considered to relieve satellite carriers from their full
obligations under title 17 of the United States Code, and the filing of
a correction or supplemental payment shall have only such effect as may
be attributed to it by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(h) Interest. (1) Royalty fee payments submitted as a result of late
or amended filings will include interest. Interest will begin to accrue
beginning on the first day after the close of the period for filing
statements of account for all underpayments or late payments of
royalties for the satellite carrier statutory license for secondary
transmissions for private home viewing occurring within that accounting
period. The accrual period will end on the date appearing on the
certified check, cashier's check, money order, or electronic payment
submitted by a satellite carrier, provided that such payment is received
by the Copyright Office within five business days of that date. If the
payment is not received by the Copyright Office within five business
days of its date, the accrual period will end on the date of actual
receipt by the Copyright Office.
(2)(i) The interest rate applicable to a specific accounting period
beginning with the 1992/2 period shall be the Current Value of Funds
Rate, as established by section 8025.40 of the Treasury Financial Manual
and published in the Federal Register, in effect on the first business
day after the close of the filing deadline for that accounting period.
Cable operators wishing to obtain the interest rate for a specific
accounting period may do so by consulting the Federal Register for the
applicable Current Value of Funds Rate, or by contacting the Licensing
Division of the Copyright Office.
(ii) The interest rate applicable to a specific accounting period
earlier than the 1992/2 period shall be the rate fixed
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by the Licensing Division of the Copyright Office pursuant to 37 CFR
201.11(h) in effect on June 30, 1992.
(3) Interest is not required to be paid on any royalty underpayment
or late payment from a particular accounting period if the interest
charge is less than or equal to five dollars ($5.00).
[54 FR 27877, July 3, 1989, as amended at 55 FR 49998, Dec. 4, 1990; 56
FR 29589, June 28, 1991; 57 FR 61834, Dec. 29, 1992; 59 FR 67635, Dec.
30, 1994; 60 FR 34168, June 30, 1995; 60 FR 57937, Nov. 24, 1995; 63 FR
30635, June 5, 1998]