[Federal Register: July 8, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 130)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 36829-36830]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08jy99-21]
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Office
37 CFR Part 212
[Docket No. RM 99-4A]
Design Protection for Vessel Hulls
AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: Section 1313(c) of title 17 permits a party damaged by the
registration of a vessel hull design to request cancellation of the
design. The Copyright Office is requesting interested parties to
comment on the process and procedures that should be adopted for the
cancellation of registrations of vessel hull designs.
DATES: Comments should be submitted no later than August 6, 1999. Reply
comments are due no later than September 7, 1999.
ADDRESSES: An original and 10 copies of comments and reply comments
should be mailed to: Office of the General Counsel, Copyright Office,
P.O. Box 70400, Southwest Station, Washington, D.C. 20024. If delivered
by hand, an original and 10 copies should be brought to: Office of the
Copyright General Counsel, Room LM-403, James Madison Memorial
Building, 101 Independence Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20559-6000.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David O. Carson, General Counsel, or
William J. Roberts, Senior Attorney, Office of the General Counsel,
Copyright Office, P.O. Box 70400, Southwest Station, Washington, D.C.
20024. Telephone: (202) 707-8380. Telefax: (202) 707-8366.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As part of the amendments made to the
Copyright Act by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Public Law 105-
304, Congress enacted design protection for vessel hulls. Chapter 13 of
the Copyright Act creates certain exclusive rights for owners of
original designs of vessel hulls provided registration of the design
[[Page 36830]]
is made within two years after the date on which the design is first
made public. Registration of designs is made at the Copyright Office.
The Copyright Office has adopted interim regulations, effective
July 1, 1999, implementing the registration system for vessel hull
designs. The interim regulations did not, however, address procedures
for cancelling registrations upon petition of an interested party. This
Notice of Inquiry seeks public comment as to what type of process and
procedures the Copyright Office should adopt for the cancellation of
registrations. Persons submitting comments are invited to combine those
comments with the comments they submit relating to the interim
regulations, which are due on the same date.
Section 1313(c) of title 17 provides that ``[a]ny person who
believes he or she is or will be damaged by a registration under this
chapter may, upon payment of the prescribed fee, apply to the
[Register] at any time to cancel the registration on the ground that
the design is not subject to protection under this chapter.'' 17 U.S.C.
1313(c). Upon receipt of such application, the Register must provide
the owner of the design with the request for cancellation and ``the
owner shall have a period of 3 months after the date on which such
notice is mailed to present arguments to the [Register] to support the
validity of the registration.'' Id. The Register is granted authority
to establish regulations by which the opposing parties may ``appear and
be heard in support of their arguments,'' and is directed to cancel the
registration if she determines that ``the design is not subject to
protection under this chapter.'' Id.
Because the Copyright Office has just published interim regulations
creating the registration process for vessel hull designs and has yet
to make a registration, it was not necessary to immediately adopt
cancellation regulations. The Office is now seeking comment on the
appropriate structure and procedures for cancelling registrations. In
considering a process, commenters should bear in mind that the fees for
cancellation proceedings will be set at a level designed to recover the
actual cost of the proceedings.
The Office specifically seeks comment to the following inquiries.
First is the issue of who should conduct a cancellation proceeding.
Should the proceeding be conducted by staff of the Copyright Office,
and, if so, should it be conducted by staff of the Examining Division
or by attorneys in the General Counsel's Office? Or, should the Office
hire an administrative law judge (``ALJ'') (preferably one with
knowledge of vessel designs) to conduct the hearings and make findings
of fact? If an ALJ is the preferable choice, how should the ALJ be
paid? Should the ALJ's findings be given presumptive validity, or
should the Register be empowered to make her own findings?
Second, how extensive should the proceeding be to consider the
petition? The statute prescribes that the owner must be given 3 months
to respond to the petition. Should additional written arguments be
permitted in addition to the initial petition and the owner's response?
What type of submissions should be permitted, and what should the time
be? Should the parties be confined to presenting their arguments in
written format, or should oral hearing be allowed as well? How
extensive should such hearings be? Should they be conducted in
accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act requirements for
formal hearings, or according to some other less formal format?
Third, what should be the fee charged by the Copyright Office for
such a proceeding? Because the registration fee is relatively modest,
and because the fee for cancellation proceedings is likely to be
considerably greater, should the obligation to pay for cancellation
proceedings be shared by the party seeking cancellation and the party
who obtained the registration? Should the fee be fixed, or should it be
assessed in whole or in part based on the amount of time the presiding
officer actually expends in reviewing the submissions and conducting
the proceeding? Does the Office have authority to assess fees in that
manner?
The Office welcomes responses to these inquiries, as well as any
other information or comment as to the cancellation process.
Dated: July 1, 1999.
David O. Carson,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 99-17364 Filed 7-7-99; 8:45 am]
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