[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 130 (Thursday, July 8, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 36829-36830]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-17364]


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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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