[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 146 (Wednesday, July 30, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 40780-40783]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-19903]


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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Copyright Office

37 CFR Part 201

[Docket No. 97-5]


Copyright Restoration of Works in Accordance With the Uruguay 
Round Agreements Act; Corrections Procedure

AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This document is issued to advise the public that the 
Copyright Office is proposing a new regulation to govern the filing of 
Correction Notices of Intent to Enforce a Restored Copyright 
[Correction NIEs] under section 104A of the copyright law, as amended 
pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. The effect of the 
proposed regulation is to establish procedures for the correction of 
errors in previously filed Notices of Intent to Enforce a Restored 
Copyright and to provide a suggested format for submitting such 
information.

DATES: Comments must be received by August 29, 1997.

ADDRESS: If delivered by hand, an original and ten (10) copies of 
comments should be delivered to: Library of Congress, Office of the 
General Counsel, Copyright Office, James Madison Memorial Building, 
Room LM-403, First and Independence Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20540. 
If sent by mail, an original and ten (10) copies of comments should be 
addressed to: Nanette Petruzzelli, Acting General Counsel, Copyright 
GC/I&R, PO Box 70400, Southwest Station, Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nanette Petruzzelli, Acting General 
Counsel, or Charlotte Douglass, Principal Legal Advisor to the General 
Counsel, Copyright GC/I&R, PO Box 70400, Southwest Station, Washington, 
DC 20024. Telephone: (202) 707-8380. Telefax: (202) 707-8366.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Copyright Office has promulgated final regulations that provide 
for filing Notices of Intent to Enforce a Restored Copyright (NIEs) 
with the Office. 60 FR 50414 (Sept. 29, 1995). These regulations 
include brief procedures for correcting errors made in recorded NIEs; 
however, more detailed instructions for correcting NIEs have been 
requested. The Office is now proposing more detailed procedures.
    Corrections are provided for by law and by Copyright Office 
regulation. The Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA) states that:

    Minor errors or omissions may be corrected by further notice at 
any time after the notice of intent is filed. Notices of corrections 
for such minor errors or omissions shall be accepted after the 
period established in subsection (d)(2)(A)(i) * * * [and] shall be 
published in the Federal Register * * * .

17 U.S.C. 104A(e)(1)(A)(iii). In its Sept. 29, 1995, regulation, the 
Copyright Office referenced this provision in the law that allows 
correction of minor errors:

    The URAA allows a party who has filed an NIE with the Copyright 
Office to correct minor errors or omissions by further notice at any 
time after the NIE is filed. The procedures and fees are the same 
for filing an NIE which corrects a previously filed NIE, except that 
the party making the correction should refer to the previous NIE's 
volume and page number in the Copyright Office Documents Records, if 
known, on the corrected NIE.

60 FR 50414 (1995).

II. Procedures for Correcting Notices of Intent To Enforce

A. Who May File a Correction Notice of Intent To Enforce (Correction 
NIE)

    Correction NIEs may be filed by or on behalf of the same copyright 
owner or rightholder who filed the original NIE. The ``same copyright 
owner'' includes successors in interest.
    A certification by a third party is not sufficient to authorize a 
correction of an earlier NIE recorded in the name of another party/
copyright owner, unless that third party is also the authorized agent 
of the copyright owner in whose name the original NIE was recorded. An 
authorized agent may file a Correction NIE whether or not that agent 
filed the original NIE.

[[Page 40781]]

B. Definition of Major and Minor Error

    The Copyright Office has received a number of questions about the 
appropriate procedure to correct NIE errors--some of which errors may 
be deemed as major. In responding to these inquiries, the Office had to 
consider the proper timeframe for making corrections to NIEs and 
concludes that major errors, not defined or referenced within the 
statutory provisions, may be corrected only within the two-year period 
of eligibility for initially filing NIEs. Minor errors may be corrected 
at any time under the URAA provisions. (17 U.S.C. 104A(e), as amended.)
    The Office has determined that major errors are errors concerning 
the following NIE statutory requirements: The name of the copyright 
owner or rightholder; the title of the work (as opposed to its 
translation, if any); and a written agency relationship, if applicable. 
The Office considers these items of information to be basic identifiers 
crucial to the effectiveness of adequately informing the public of the 
existence of a particular work which is subject to a Notice of Intent 
to Enforce. The title of a work and the identity of the rights owner in 
the work, including information regarding an agent of the rights owner, 
must be present in the Copyright Office NIE records in order for the 
NIE filer to meet the requirements of the statute and to allow the 
public through a reasonable search to locate the essential information 
within Office NIE records about a given work restored to copyright 
under the URAA. Where the original NIE did not adequately identify the 
owner of the restored work or the title of the restored work or an 
agency relationship, the Office will refuse to record a Correction NIE 
that is submitted after the two-year period following a work's 
restoration to copyright protection.
    Adequate identification of a restored work means that accurate and 
sufficient information concerning the three statutorily required items 
of owner identity, title, and agency relationship, if any, is present 
in the original NIE. The necessary accuracy and sufficiency of 
information for the original NIE includes, but is not limited to, 
completeness of the information, accurate spelling of names and titles, 
and correct sequencing of wording within names and titles so that a 
reasonable search of the NIE records will reveal the work in question. 
The following are examples where original NIEs contain information 
which would not result in a reasonable search revealing the actual, 
correct title or owner identity for the restored work:

Title in original NIE: Robert Meets the Green Rabbit Again
Title in Correction NIE: Here We Go Again-The Green Rabbit and 
Robert
Title in original NIE: Now Are the Times That Try Men's Souls
Title in Correction NIE: Trying Times for Mankind
Owner in original NIE: Kathy and Lori Film Production, Inc.
Owner in Correction NIE: Kathy Lorenzo and Lori Lorenzo

    Where the two-year period has expired and where there is doubt as 
to whether an error is major or minor, i.e., whether the error is such 
that it would fail to inform the public doing a reasonable search of 
the Copyright Office records of the existence of a work that is subject 
to a Notice of Intent to Enforce, the Office will correspond with the 
filer concerning the doubt and, if appropriate, may resolve the doubt 
in favor of the filer and record the Correction NIE .
    Because the regulations of the Copyright Office allow the 
recordation of any document pertaining to a copyright, in instances 
where the Office refuses the recordation of a Correction NIE because 
the two-year period of eligibility for initial filing of an NIE has 
passed, a party may record any document including one concerning rights 
restored under the URAA for a given work but may not designate the 
document on its face to be a Notice of Intent to Enforce or a 
Correction Notice of Intent to Enforce. See 37 CFR 201.4 for Copyright 
Office regulations on recordation of transfers and other documents. All 
documents, including NIEs and Correction NIEs, submitted for 
recordation with the Office are found within the same bibliographic 
database and a reasonable search by title or owner should reveal all 
recordations filed with the Offices concerning the same title or owner 
identity.

C. Multiple NIEs for the Same Work and Correction Cross-References

    When rights in a restored work are owned by several different 
parties, multiple NIEs for the same work may have been submitted. For 
example, one person may own the exclusive right of reproduction and 
public distribution and another the exclusive right of public 
performance. When a work has multiple rights owners, each owner must 
file a separate NIE subject to the requirements for initial filing 
within two years of eligibility. In the instance of multiple owners of 
rights in a single work, if a party is acting on behalf of an earlier 
owner of record in an NIE and purporting to correct that earlier NIE, 
the Office points out that only the NIE record in the name of that 
particular earlier owner will be cross-referenced. Nevertheless, all 
NIE records for a given title will be easily retrievable as a group; if 
the works as recorded bear the same title, the NIE records would appear 
together in any title search of online records.

D. Cancellations and Withdrawals

    The Office will not cancel a recordation of an NIE unless the 
recordation fee is uncollectible. While the recordation of NIEs may 
not, with the exception of an uncollectible fee, be canceled (i.e., 
expunged from the record), a request to record an NIE may be withdrawn 
if the request to withdraw is received before the record of the NIE has 
been made available to the public through the Internet. In order to 
withdraw an NIE, the filer must contact the Documents Unit of the 
Copyright Office before the online record (Copyright Office Publication 
and Interactive Cataloging System (COPICS)) has been made publicly 
available.

E. Fees

    The fee for a correction is the same as that for an initial NIE: 
for one work, the fee is thirty U.S. Dollars; for multiple works that 
meet the conditions for being filed on the same NIE, the fee is thirty 
U.S. Dollars for the first work, plus one dollar for each additional 
work. For NIE filings, including corrections, see 37 CFR 201.33(e) for 
fee information.
    The filing fee partially reimburses the Office for its processing 
costs and the Office does not refund fees for errors made by filers in 
NIEs.

F. Designation for a Correction Notice of Intent To Enforce

    A Correction NIE must be clearly indicated as such, i.e., the 
document filed should bear the title ``Correction Notice of Intent To 
Enforce,'' or ``Correction NIE.'' It must also specify the volume and 
document number for the recordation of the original NIE. This will 
enable the Office to record the correction with the appropriate cross-
reference to the volume and document number of the original NIE.

G. Format Information for Correction NIEs

    The suggested format for filing Correction NIEs generally follows 
the outline of the suggested format for the original filing. This is 
included as Appendix A below.
    The format will be made available over the Internet from where it 
can be downloaded for use. Where a party wishes to correct in the same 
filing NIEs for many titles, he or she can adapt the suggested format 
to allow more space

[[Page 40782]]

for titles. Use of the format enables the filer to furnish information 
prescribed by the original NIE regulation in orderly form.
    When information [either required or optional] has been correctly 
given on the original NIE, the Correction NIE need not repeat that 
information. Filers should include information in the Correction NIE, 
however, that was omitted from the previous NIE and which will help 
identify the restored work(s) involved.
    Correction NIEs must be in English, except for the original title, 
and either typed or printed by hand legibly in dark, preferably black, 
ink. They should be on 8\1/2\'' by 11'' white paper of good quality, 
with at least a 1'' (or 3 cm) margin.

List of Subjects in 37 CFR Part 201

    Copyright, Restoration of copyright.

Proposed Regulation

    In consideration of the foregoing, the Copyright Office proposes to 
amend 37 CFR part 201 in the manner set forth below:

PART 201--GENERAL PROVISIONS

    1. The authority citation for part 201 is revised to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 17 U.S.C. 702.

    2. A new section 201.34 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 201.34  Procedures for filing Correction Notices of Intent to 
Enforce a Copyright Restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.

    (a) General. This section prescribes the procedures for submission 
of corrections of Notices of Intent to Enforce a Copyright Restored 
under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act of December 8, 1994, as required 
by 17 U.S.C. 104A(e), as amended by Public Law 103-465, 108 Stat. 4809, 
4976 (1994).
    (b) Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following 
definitions apply.
    (1) Major error. A major error in filing a Notice of Intent to 
Enforce a Copyright Restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act is 
an error in the name of the copyright owner or rightholder, in the 
title of the work (as opposed to its translation, if any) or concerning 
the written agency relationship where such error fails to adequately 
identify the restored work through a reasonable search of the Copyright 
Office NIE records.
    (2) Minor error. A minor error in filing a Notice of Intent to 
Enforce a Copyright Restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act is 
any error that is not a major error.
    (3) Restored work. For the definition of works restored under the 
URAA, see 37 CFR 201.33.
    (c) Forms. The Copyright Office does not provide forms for 
Correction Notices of Intent to Enforce filed with the Copyright 
Office. It requests that filers of such Correction NIEs follow the 
format set out in Appendix A of this section and give all information 
listed in paragraph (d) of this section. Correction NIEs must be in 
English, and should be typed or legibly printed by hand in dark, 
preferably black ink, on 8 \1/2\'' by 11'' white paper of good quality 
with at least a 1'' (or three cm) margin.
    (d) Requirements for Correction Notice of Intent to Enforce a 
Copyright Restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. (1) A 
correction for a Notice of Intent to Enforce should be clearly 
designated as a ``Correction Notice of Intent to Enforce'' or 
``Correction NIE.''
    (2) Correction Notices of Intent to Enforce should be sent to the 
following address: URAA/GATT, NIEs and Registrations, PO Box 70400, 
Southwest Station, Washington, DC 20024, USA.
    (3) A Correction NIE shall contain the following information:
    (i) The volume and document number of the previous Notice of Intent 
to Enforce [NIE] which is to be corrected;
    (ii) The title of the work as it appears on the previous NIE, 
including alternative titles, if they appear;
    (iii) The English translation of the title, if any, as it appears 
on the previous NIE;
    (iv) A statement of the erroneous information as it appears on the 
previous NIE;
    (v) A statement of the correct information as it should have 
appeared and an optional explanation of its correction; or
    (vi) A statement of the information to be added. This includes 
optional information such as:
    (A) Type of work;
    (B) Rights owned by the party on whose behalf the Correction Notice 
is filed;
    (C) Name of author;
    (D) Source country;
    (E) Year of publication;
    (F) Alternative titles;
    (G) An optional explanation of the added information.
    (vii) The name and address:
    (A) To which correspondence concerning the document should be sent; 
and
    (B) To which the acknowledgment of the recordation of the 
Correction NIE should be mailed; and
    (viii) A certification. The certification shall consist of:
    (A) A statement that, for each of the works named above, the person 
signing the Correction NIE is the copyright owner, or the owner of an 
exclusive right, or the owner's authorized agent, and that the 
information is correct to the best of that person's knowledge;
    (B) The typed or printed name of the person whose signature 
appears;
    (C) The signature and date of signature; and
    (D) The telephone and telefax number at which owner, rightholder, 
or agent thereof can be reached.
    (4) A Correction NIE may cover multiple works in multiple NIE 
documents for one fee provided that: each work is identified by title; 
all the works are by the same author; all the works are owned by the 
same copyright owner or owner of an exclusive right. In the case of 
Correction NIEs, the notice must separately designate each title to be 
corrected, noting the incorrect information as it appeared on the 
previously filed NIE, as well as the corrected information. A single 
notice covering multiple titles need bear only a single certification.
    (5) Copies, phonorecords or supporting documents cannot be made 
part of the record of a Correction NIE and should not be submitted with 
the document.
    (6) Time for Submitting Correction NIEs.
    (i) Major errors. The Copyright Office will accept a Correction NIE 
for a major error concerning a restored work during the 24-month period 
beginning on the date of restoration of the work, as provided for 
original NIEs in Section 104A(d)(2)(A) of title 17.
    (ii) Minor errors. The Office will accept a Correction NIE for a 
minor error or omission concerning a restored work at any time after 
the original NIE has been filed, as provided in Section 
104A(e)(1)(A)(iii) of title 17.
    (e) Fee--(1) Amount. The filing fee for recording Correction NIEs 
is 30 U.S. dollars for each Correction Notice covering one work. For 
single Correction NIEs covering multiple works, that is, for works by 
the same author and owned by the same copyright owner or owner of an 
exclusive right, the fee is 30 U.S. dollars, plus one dollar for each 
additional work covered beyond the first designated work.
    (2) Method of Payment. See 37 CFR 201.33(e)(1)(2).
    (f) Public online access. Information contained in the Correction 
Notice of Intent to Enforce is available online in the Copyright Office 
History Documents (COHD) file through the Library of Congress 
electronic information system,

[[Page 40783]]

available through the Internet. This file is available from computer 
terminals located in the Copyright Office itself or from terminals 
located in other parts of the Library of Congress through the Library 
of Congress Information System (LOCIS). Alternative ways to connect 
through Internet are the World Wide Web (WWW), using the Copyright 
Office Home Page at: http:/www.loc.gov/copyright; directly to LOCIS 
through the telnet address at locis.loc.gov; or the Library of Congress 
through gopher LC MARVEL and WWW which are available 24 hours a day. 
LOCIS is available 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday. For the 
purpose of researching the full Office record of Correction NIEs on the 
Internet, the Office has made online searching instructions accessible 
through the Copyright Office Home Page. Researchers can access them 
through the Library of Congress Home Page on the World Wide Web by 
selecting the copyright link. Select the menu item ``Copyright Office 
Records'' and/or ``URAA, GATT Amends U.S. law.'' Images of the complete 
Correction NIEs as filed will be stored on optical disk and will be 
available from the Copyright Office.

Appendix A to Sec. 201.34--Correction Notice of Intent to Enforce

CORRECTION OF NOTICE OF INTENT TO ENFORCE

1. Name of Copyright Owner (or owner of exclusive right) [If this 
correction notice is to cover multiple works, the author and the 
rights owner must be the same for all works covered by the notice]

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2. Title(s) (or brief description)

    (a) Work No. 1-- ____________________

    Volume and Document Number: ____________________

    English Translation: ____________________

    (b) Work No. 2 (if applicable)-- ____________________

    Volume and Document Number: ____________________

    English Translation: ____________________

    (c) Work No. 3 (if applicable)-- ____________________

    Volume and Document Number: ____________________

    English Translation: ____________________

    (d) Work No. 4 (if applicable)-- ____________________

    Volume and Document Number: ____________________

    English Translation: ____________________

3. Statement of incorrect information on earlier NIE:------------------
4. Statement of correct (or previously omitted) information 
____________________

    Give the following only if incorrect or omitted on earlier NIE:
    (a) Type of work ____________________

    (b) Rights owned ____________________

    (c) Name of author (of entire work) ____________________

    (d) Source Country ____________________

    (e) Year of Publication (Approximate if precise year is unknown) 
____________________

    (f) Alternative titles ____________________

5. Explanation of error ____________________---------------------------

6. Certification and Signature: I hereby certify that for each of 
the work(s) listed above, I am the copyright owner, or the owner of 
an exclusive right, or the owner's authorized agent, the agency 
relationship having been constituted in a writing signed by the 
owner before the filing of this notice, and that the information 
given herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
Name and Address (typed or printed):-----------------------------------
Telephone/Fax:---------------------------------------------------------
As agent for:----------------------------------------------------------
Date and Signature:----------------------------------------------------

    Dated: July 22, 1997.
Marybeth Peters,
Register of Copyrights.
[FR Doc. 97-19903 Filed 7-29-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-30-P