[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 212 (Tuesday, November 3, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59233-59235]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-29382]


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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