[Federal Register: November 3, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 212)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 59233-59235]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03no98-11]
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Office
37 CFR, Part 201
[Docket No. 98-11]
Designation of Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed
Infringement
AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.
ACTION: Interim regulations.
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SUMMARY: The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is issuing
interim regulations governing the designation by online service
providers of agents to receive notifications of claimed infringement.
The regulations are issued on an interim basis without opportunity for
comment due to the necessity of having regulations in place immediately
upon enactment of the Online Copyright Infringement Liability
Limitation Act. These regulations will be replaced by more complete
regulations to be promulgated following notice and opportunity for
comment.
EFFECTIVE DATE: The interim regulations are effective November 3, 1998.
ADDRESSES: An original and fifteen copies of the comments shall be
delivered to: Office of the General Counsel, Copyright Office, LM-403,
James Madison Memorial Building, 101 Independence Avenue, SE,
Washington, DC, or mailed to: David Carson, General Counsel, Copyright
GC/I&R, P.O. Box
[[Page 59234]]
70400, Southwest Station, Washington, D.C. 20024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David O. Carson, General Counsel, or
Jennifer L. Hall, Senior Attorney, Copyright GC/I&R, PO Box 70400,
Southwest Station, Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: (202) 707-8380.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On October 28, 1998, President Clinton signed into law the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act, Pub. L. 105-______ (1998). Title II of the
Act (subtitled the ``Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation
Act'') amended chapter 5 of the copyright law, title 17 United States
Code, to provide limitations for service provider liability relating to
material online. Specifically, new subsection 512(c) provides
limitations on service provider liability with respect to material
residing, at the direction of a user, on a system or network that the
service provider controls or operates, if the conditions set forth in
subsection 512(c)(1) are satisfied.
The limitations on liability established in subsection 512(c) apply
to a service provider only if the service provider has designated an
agent to receive notifications of claimed infringement by providing
contact information for that agent (1) to the Copyright Office and (2)
through the service provider's publicly accessible website. 17 U.S.C.
512(c)(2). The required information includes: (A) The name, address,
telephone number, and electronic mail address of the agent; and (B)
other contact information that the Register of Copyrights deems
appropriate. Id. The Register of Copyrights shall maintain a current
directory of designated agents, and make the listing available to the
public for inspection, and may require payment of a fee by service
providers to cover the costs of maintaining the directory. Id.
Because the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act
was effective on its date of enactment, and because online service
providers may wish immediately to designate agents to receive
notification of claimed infringement in order to meet the requirements
of section 512(c)(2), the Copyright Office herein establishes interim
regulations governing the designation of agents to receive notification
of claimed infringement. The Office finds, for good cause, that notice
and public procedure for issuance of these interim regulations would be
impracticable, because of the necessity of having a procedure for
designation of agents in place immediately upon the enactment of the
Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act. These interim
regulations will be effective immediately, but the Office will publish
a notice of proposed rulemaking within the next several weeks seeking
comments on more comprehensive final regulations governing the
designation of agents to receive notification of claimed infringement.
Interim designations filed pursuant to these interim regulations will
be valid until the effective date of the final regulations. At that
time, service providers wishing to invoke section 512(c)(2) will have
to file new designations that satisfy the requirements of the final
regulations, which will include the payment of the fee required under
the final regulations.
Under section 512(c)(2), a service provider designates an agent by
providing information required by Copyright Office regulations both on
its publicly available website and in a filing with the Copyright
Office. The requirements for such designation during the interim period
prior to issuance of final regulations are governed by the rules set
forth in the new interim regulations set forth in 37 CFR 201.38. During
the interim period the Office will not provide printed forms for filing
such interim designations. In order to satisfy section 512(c)(2),
online service providers must file a document entitled ``Interim
Designation of Agent to Receive Notifications of Claimed Infringement''
which contains all the information required by section 512(c)(2).
Section 512(c)(2) provides that the Office may require payment of a fee
by service providers to cover the costs of maintaining a directory of
agents. The Office concludes that during the interim period, the
appropriate fee for the filing of an interim designation is $20.00, the
fee currently charged for recordation of a document. See 17 U.S.C.
708(a)(4). The fee that will be charged for filing a Designation of
Agent to Receive Notifications of Claimed Infringement under the final
regulations most likely will be higher.
During the interim period before final regulations are promulgated,
each Interim Declaration may be filed only on behalf of a single
service provider. For purposes of these interim regulations, related
companies (e.g., parents and subsidiaries) are considered separate
service providers who would file separate Interim Designations. When it
considers final regulations, the Office will solicit comments as to
whether related companies (e.g., parent and subsidiary companies)
should be permitted to file a single Designation of Agent to Receive
Notifications of Claimed Infringement.
List of Subjects in 37 CFR Part 201
Copyright.
Interim Regulations
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, part 201 of title 37 of
the Code of Federal Regulations is amended to read as follows:
PART 201--GENERAL PROVISIONS
1. The authority for part 201 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 17 U.S.C. 702.
2. Section 201.38 is added to read as follows:
Sec. 201.38 Designation of agent to receive notification of claimed
infringement.
(a) General. This section prescribes interim rules under which
service providers may provide the Copyright Office with designations of
agents to receive notification of claimed infringement under section
512(c)(2) of title 17 of the United States Code, as amended. These
interim rules shall remain in effect until more comprehensive rules
have been promulgated following a notice of proposed rulemaking and
receipt of public comments.
(b) Forms. The Copyright Office does not provide printed forms for
filing an Interim Designation of Agent to Receive Notification of
Claimed Infringement.
(c) Content. An ``Interim Designation of Agent to Receive
Notification of Claimed Infringement'' shall be identified as such by
prominent caption or heading, and shall include the following
information with respect to a single service provider:
(1) The full legal name and address of the service provider;
(2) All names under which the service provider is doing business;
(3) The name of the agent designated to receive notification of
claimed infringement;
(4) The full address, including a specific number and street name
or rural route, of the agent designated to receive notification of
claimed infringement. A post office box or similar designation will not
be sufficient except where it is the only address that can be used in
that geographic location;
(5) The telephone number, facsimile number, and electronic mail
address of the agent designated to receive notification of claimed
infringement.
(d) Signature. The Interim Designation of Agent to Receive
[[Page 59235]]
Notification of Claimed Infringement shall include the signature of the
appropriate officer or representative of the service provider
designating the agent. The signature shall be accompanied by the
printed or typewritten name and title of the person signing the Notice,
and by the date of signature.
(e) Filing. A service provider may file the Interim Designation of
Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement with the Public
Information Office of the Copyright Office, Room LM-401, James Madison
Memorial Building, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Avenue, SE,
Washington, DC, during normal business hours, 9 am to 5 pm. If mailed,
the Interim Designation should be addressed to: Copyright GC/I&R, PO
Box 70400, Southwest Station, Washington, DC 20024. Each designation
shall be accompanied by a filing fee of $20.00. Designations and
amendments will be posted online on the Copyright Office's website
(http://www.loc.gov/copyright).
(f) Amendments. In the event of a change in the information
reported in an Interim Designation of Agent to Receive Notification of
Claimed Infringement, a service provider shall file with the Public
Information Office of the Copyright Office an amended Interim
Designation of Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement,
containing the current information required by section 201.38(c). The
amended Interim Designation shall be signed in accordance with the
requirements of section 201.38(d) and shall be accompanied by a fee of
$20.00.
(g) Termination and dissolution. If a service provider terminates
its operations, the entity shall notify the Copyright Office by
certified or registered mail.
Dated: October 28, 1998.
Marybeth Peters,
Register of Copyrights.
Approved:
James H. Billington,
The Librarian of Congress.
[FR Doc. 98-29382 Filed 11-2-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-30-P