[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 28, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58680-58681]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-29044]



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Copyright Office
[Docket No. 94-3 CARP-CD 90-92]


Distribution of 1990, 1991 and 1992 Cable Royalty Funds

AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

ACTION: Initiation of arbitration.

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SUMMARY: The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is announcing 
initiation of the 180 day arbitration period for the distribution of 
1990-92 cable compulsory license royalties.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 4, 1995.

ADDRESSES: All hearings and meetings for the 1990-92 cable distribution 


[[Page 58681]]
proceeding shall take place in the James Madison Memorial Building, 
Room 414, First and Independence Avenue, SE., Washington, D.C. 20540.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marilyn J. Kretsinger, Acting General 
Counsel or William Roberts, Senior Attorney for Compulsory Licenses, 
Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel (CARP), P.O. Box 70977, Southwest 
Station, Washington, D.C. 20024. Telephone: (202) 707-8380. Telefax: 
(202) 707-8366.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Section 251.72 of 37 CFR provides:

    If the Librarian determines that a controversy exists among the 
claimants to either cable, satellite carrier, or digital audio 
recording devices and media royalties, the Librarian shall publish 
in the Federal Register a declaration of controversy along with a 
notice of initiation of an arbitration proceeding. Such notice 
shall, to the extent feasible, describe the nature, general 
structure and schedule of the proceeding.

The notice published today fulfills the requirements of Sec. 251.72 for 
the distribution of cable compulsory license royalties for the years 
1990-92.
    On December 15, 1994, the Copyright Office published a notice in 
the Federal Register requesting comment as to the existence of 
controversies to the distribution of the 1990 cable royalty fund, 59 FR 
64714 (December 15, 1994). In response to this notice, copyright owners 
identified the existence of controversies for distribution of the 1990 
fund, as well as the 1991 and 1992 funds. The copyright owners 
requested that the Office consolidate the 1990-92 funds into a single 
distribution proceeding.
    On March 21, 1995, the Office published a notice consolidating the 
1990-1992 cable royalty funds into a single distribution proceeding, 
and announced the precontroversy discovery schedule, 60 FR 14971 (March 
21, 1995). The Office also announced in that notice that controversies 
to the 1990-92 cable royalty funds would be declared, and arbitration 
initiated, on November 17, 1995, 60 FR at 14975.
    In order to prepare for the commencement of proceedings, and to 
afford the cable royalty claimants the full use of the prescribed 180 
days for arbitration, the Copyright Office has completed the selection 
of the arbitrators in accordance with 17 U.S.C. 802. The arbitrators 
for the 1990-92 cable distribution proceeding are:

The Honorable Mel R. Jiganti, Chairperson
The Honorable John B. Farmakides
The Honorable Ronald P. Wertheim

These arbitrators have signed their agreements to serve in the 
proceeding and have, pursuant to agreement by the cable claimants, 
begun background work in preparation for the commencement of the 
proceeding.

II. Joint Motion to Defer Commencement

    On November 8, 1995, the parties to the proceeding filed a joint 
motion requesting a delay in the initiation of proceedings to December 
29, 1995. They cited as their reasons: the time needed to produce the 
volume of discovery documents their motions to compel have generated; 
the time needed to evaluate the data contained in those discovery 
documents; the time needed to amend their direct cases in response to 
the granting of JSC's motion to add an additional issue to the 
proceeding; the potential for additional motions to be filed if 
discovery documents are not furnished as ordered; the difficulty of 
scheduling witnesses during the holidays and the loss of working days 
due to the holidays; the concern that the 180 day period will not be 
sufficient unless actual testimony begins on the heels of the 
initiation of the proceeding after all preliminary matters have been 
resolved; and a desire to have the mechanics of paying the arbitrators 
worked out before the initiation of proceedings.
    The Copyright Office partially granted the joint motion to allow a 
delay to December 4, 1995, of the initiation of the 1990-92 cable 
royalty distribution proceeding in an Order dated November 13, 1995. 
See Order in Docket No. 94-3 CARP-CD 90-92 (November 13, 1995). In 
issuing its ruling, the Office noted in the Order that it engaged the 
services of the arbitrators on the basis of a starting date the parties 
themselves agreed to last spring and that any extension of the starting 
date would require amending the arbitrator's contracts and 
consideration of their loss of time to do other work. The Office 
therefore concluded that the six week delay requested by the parties 
would work a hardship on it and the arbitrators and decided that a 
December 4 commencement date was more appropriate. Id.

III. Initiation of Proceeding

    Pursuant to Sec. 251.72 of the CARP rules, the Copyright Office of 
the Library of Congress is formally announcing the existence of Phase I 
controversies to the distribution of cable compulsory license royalties 
for 1990, 1991 and 1992, and is initiating an arbitration proceeding 
under chapter 8 of title 17 to resolve the distribution of those funds. 
The arbitration proceeding commences on December 4, 1995, and runs for 
a period of 180 days, by which time the arbitrators shall make their 
report to the Librarian of Congress by June 1, 1996 in accordance with 
Sec. 251.53 of the rules.
    A meeting between the copyright claimants participating in the 
distribution proceeding and the arbitrators shall take place at 10 a.m. 
on Monday, December 4, 1995, at the above described address to discuss 
the hearing schedule, arbitrator billing and payment, and any other 
necessary procedural matters. The meeting is open to the public. Copies 
of the hearing schedule, once finalized, will be available at the 
Copyright Office upon request.

    Dated: November 21, 1995.
Marybeth Peters,
Register of Copyrights.
    Approved by:
James H. Billington,
The Librarian of Congress.
[FR Doc. 95-29044 Filed 11-27-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-33-P