[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 104 (Friday, May 30, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 32381-32382]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-13579]


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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Copyright Office

37 CFR Parts 252 and 257

[Docket No. 2003--1 CARP]


Filing of Claims for Cable and Satellite Royalties

AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

ACTION: Waiver of regulation.

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SUMMARY: The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is announcing 
alternative methods for the filing of claims to the cable and satellite 
royalty funds for the year 2002, to avoid potential problems with mail 
delivery. Claimants are strongly encouraged to file their cable and 
satellite claims electronically, utilizing the special procedures 
described in this document to ensure that their claims are timely 
received.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 30, 2003.

ADDRESSES: If hand delivered, an original and two copies of each claim 
should be brought to: Office of the Copyright General Counsel, James 
Madison Memorial Building, Room 403, First and Independence Avenue, 
SE., Washington, DC 20540 from July 1, 2003 through July 31, 2003. 
Online submissions should be made to the following: for cable claims 
``http://www.copyright.gov/carp/cable/claims.html''; for satellite 
claims ``http://www.copyright.gov/carp/satellite/claims.html''. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for information about on-line electronic 
filing through the Copyright Office website. If sent by mail, an 
original and two copies of each claim should be addressed to: Copyright 
Arbitration Royalty Panel (CARP), P.O. Box 70977, Southwest Station, 
Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tanya Sandros, Senior Attorney or 
Susan Grimes, CARP Specialist, P.O. Box 70977, Southwest Station, 
Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: (202) 707-8380. Telefax: (202) 252-
3423.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 111 of the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C., places a statutory 
obligation on cable systems who retransmit over-the-air broadcast 
signals to submit royalty fees to the Copyright Office for such 
retransmissions. Distribution of the royalty fees is made to copyright 
owners whose works were embodied in those retransmissions made by cable 
systems. 17 U.S.C. 111(d)(3). In order to claim eligibility for a 
distribution of cable royalty fees, a claimant must submit to the 
Copyright Office a claim during the month of July following the 
calendar year in which the retransmission took place. 17 U.S.C. 
111(d)(4)(A). The regulations governing the content and submission of 
cable claims are found at 37 CFR part 252.
    Likewise, copyright owners whose works were embodied in over-the-
air television broadcast signals retransmitted by satellite carriers 
may seek a distribution of the satellite royalty fees collected by the 
Copyright Office. 17 U.S.C. 119. Eligibility for satellite royalty fees 
is predicated upon the submission of a claim in the month of July 
following the calendar year in which the retransmission took place. 17 
U.S.C. 119(b)(4)(A). The regulations governing the content and 
submission of satellite claims are found at 37 CFR part 257.
    For both cable and satellite, a claim is considered timely filed 
with the Copyright Office if it is hand delivered to the correct office 
within the Copyright Office during the month of July, or if it is 
mailed to the correct address and it bears a July U.S. Postal Service 
postmark. See 37 CFR 252.4 (cable); 37 CFR 257.4 (satellite). The 
regulations do not provide for the filing of cable and satellite claims 
by alternative methods such as electronic submission.
    Unfortunately, the Office has experienced disruptions of postal 
service since October 17, 2001. See 66 FR 62942 (December 4, 2001) and 
66 FR 63267 (December 5, 2001). While mail delivery to the Office has 
resumed, the Office continues to experience delays in receipt of its 
mail, due in part to the diversion of mail to an off-site location for 
screening. Consequently, last year the office offered and recommended 
alternative methods for the filing of cable and satellite claims to the 
2001 royalty funds. See 67 FR 21176 (April 30, 2002). The Office is 
offering and recommending the same alternative filing methods this year 
for claims to the 2002 royalty funds.
    Moreover, claimants are strongly advised to send their claims early 
in the month of July. Persons submitting claims at the end of the month 
risk missing the deadline for submission of claims.
    Claimants are further advised that this Notice covers only the 
means by which claims may be accepted as timely filed; all other filing 
requirements, such as the content of claims, remain unchanged, except 
as noted herein. See 37 CFR parts 252 (cable) and 257 (satellite).

Acceptable Methods of Filing Cable and Satellite Claims for the Year 
2002

    Claims to the 2002 cable and satellite royalty funds may be 
submitted as follows:

a. Hand Delivery

    In order to best ensure the timely receipt by the Copyright Office 
of their cable and satellite claims, the Office encourages claimants 
who do not file their claims electronically to deliver their claims 
personally by 5 p.m. E.S.T. on any business day, during the month of 
July, 2003, and no later than July 31, 2003, to the Office of the 
Copyright General Counsel, James Madison Memorial Building, Room 403, 
First and Independence Avenue, SE., Washington, DC. Private carriers 
should not be used for such delivery, as packages brought in by private 
carriers may be subject to screening at an off-site facility before 
being delivered to the Office and may be deemed untimely and rejected 
unless the treated package is received by the Office of the Copyright 
General Counsel by 5 p.m. E.S.T. on July 31, 2003. Thus, claims should 
be hand delivered by the claimant or a representative of the claimant 
(i.e., the claimant's attorney or a member of the attorney's staff) 
directly to the Office of the General Counsel.
    Claimants hand delivering their claims should note that they must 
follow all provisions set forth in 37 CFR parts 252 and 257.

b. On-line Submission

    The Office has devised on-line electronic forms for filing both 
single and joint cable and satellite claims from July 1, 2003 through 
July 31, 2003. Claimants will be able to access and complete the forms 
via the Copyright Office website and may submit the forms 
electronically as provided in the instructions accompanying the forms. 
Cable forms will be posted on the Office Web site at ``http://
www.copyright.gov/carp/cable/claims.html''. Satellite forms will be 
posted at ``http://www. copyright.gov/carp/satellite/claims.html''. 
Claimants filing a joint claim may list each of their joint claimants 
directly on the Office's on-

[[Page 32382]]

line joint claim form or may submit the list of joint claimants as a 
file attachment to the submission page. Lists of joint claimants sent 
as an attachment must be in a single file in either Adobe Portable 
Document (``PDF'') format, in Microsoft Word Version 2000 or earlier, 
in WordPerfect 9 or earlier, or (in the case of text-only files) in 
ASCII text. There will be an ``attach'' button on the form that will 
allow claimants to attach the file containing the list of joint 
claimants and then to submit the completed form to the Office. The 
attachment must contain only the names and addresses of the joint 
claimants. See 37 CFR 252.3(b)(1) and 257.3(b)(1).
    The cable and satellite forms will be available for use during the 
month of July. It is critically important to follow the instructions in 
completing the forms before submitting them to the Office. Claims 
submitted on-line using forms or formats other than those specified in 
this Notice will not be accepted by the Office. Claims filed on-line 
must be received by the Office no later than 11:59 p.m. E.S.T. on July 
31, 2003. Specifically, the completed electronic forms must be received 
by the Office's server by that time. Any claim received after that time 
will be considered as untimely filed. Claimants who file electronically 
will receive an electronic mail message in response, stating that the 
Office has received their submission. Therefore, claimants utilizing 
this filing option are required to provide an e-mail address. Claimants 
submitting their claims on-line are strongly encouraged to send their 
claim no later than July 30, 2003, in order to better ensure timely 
receipt by the Office.
    When filing claims on-line, all provisions set forth in 37 CFR part 
252 and 257 apply except Sec. Sec.  252.3(b)(5) and 257.3(b)(5), which 
require the original signature of the claimant or of the claimant's 
duly authorized representative on the claim. The Office is waiving this 
provision for this filing period because at this time the Office is not 
equipped to receive and process electronic signatures.

c. By Mail

    Sections 252.4(a)(2) and 257.4(a)(2) direct claimants filing their 
claims by mail to send the claims to the Copyright Arbitration Royalty 
Panel, P.O. Box 70977, Southwest Station, Washington, DC 20024. 
Claimants electing to send their claims by mail are encouraged to send 
their claims by certified mail return receipt requested, to have the 
certified mail receipt (PS Form 3800) stamped by the United States 
Postal Service, and to retain the certified mail receipt in order to 
secure the only acceptable proof of a timely filing. In the event there 
is a question as to whether the claim was deposited with the United 
States Postal Service during the month of July, the claimant must 
produce the certified mail receipt (PS Form 3800) which bears a United 
States Postal Service postmark, indicating an appropriate date. 37 CFR 
252.4(e) and 257.4(e). Claimants whose claims were received after July 
31, with only a business meter mark, and who have been unable to 
produce the certified mail receipt, have had their claims rejected as 
untimely.
    As noted above, disruption of the mail service and delivery of 
incoming mail to an off-site screening center have reduced the 
timeliness of receipt of mail by the Copyright Office. Such delays may 
hamper the Office's ability to compile a claimant list, and may affect 
the Office's ability to make partial distributions of cable and 
satellite funds not in controversy.\1\ Consequently, the Office 
suggests that claimants use the mail only if none of the other methods 
outlined above are feasible. Claims sent by mail should be addressed in 
accordance with Sec. Sec.  252.4(a)(2) and 257.4(a)(2), and the Office 
again strongly encourages the claimant to send the claim by certified 
mail return receipt requested, to have the certified mail receipt (PS 
Form 3800) stamped by the United States Postal Service, and to retain 
the certified mail receipt, as it constitutes the only acceptable proof 
of timely filing of the claim. Claims dated only with a business meter 
that are received by the Office after July 31, 2003, will be rejected 
as being untimely filed. Claimants who have ignored this rule have had 
their claims rejected.
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    \1\ The Office also notes that some of the mail it has received 
has been damaged due to the decontamination process. Damage or 
destruction of claims sent by mail could adversely affect a 
claimant's eligibility for cable or satellite royalties.
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    When filing claims by this method, claimants must follow all 
provisions set forth in 37 CFR part 252 for cable claims and part 257 
for satellite claims.

Faxes Not Permitted

    Although the Copyright Office permitted the submission of 2002 
Digital Audio Recording Technology (``DART'') claims via facsimile 
transmission, the Office has determined that, due to the high volume of 
cable and satellite claims received by the Office relative to DART 
claims, it is impractical to permit the faxing of cable and satellite 
claims. Consequently, any cable or satellite claims received by the 
Copyright Office via facsimile transmission will not be accepted.

Waiver of Regulation

    The regulations governing the filing of cable and satellite claims 
require ``the original signature of the claimant or of a duly 
authorized representative of the claimant.'' Sec.  252.3(b) (cable); 
Sec.  257.3(b) (satellite). This Notice, however, waives these 
provisions as set forth herein solely for the purpose of filing claims 
to the 2002 cable and satellite royalty funds. The Office is not 
waiving the statutory deadline for filing either cable or satellite 
claims, a deadline the Office has no power to waive. See, United States 
v. Locke, 471 U.S. 84, 101 (1985). Thus, claimants are still required 
to file their claims by July 31, 2003.
    Waiver of an agency's rules is ``appropriate only if special 
circumstances warrant a deviation from the general rule and such 
deviation will serve the public interest.'' Northeast Cellular 
Telephone Company v. FCC, 897 F.2d 1164, 1166 (D.C. Cir. 1990); see 
also, Wait Radio v. FCC, 418 F.2d 1153 (D.C. Cir. 1969), cert. denied, 
409 U.S. 1027 (1972). Under ordinary circumstances, the Office is 
reluctant to waive its regulations. However, the continued problems 
with the delivery of the mail constitutes a special circumstance which 
has forced the Office to deviate from its usual mail processing 
procedures. Thus, given such uncertainties, the Office believes that 
the public interest will best be served by waiving, for this filing 
period only, the requirement that cable and satellite claims bear the 
original signature of the claimant or of a duly authorized 
representative of the claimant when, and only when, such claim is filed 
electronically.

    Dated: May 23, 2003.
David O. Carson,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 03-13579 Filed 5-29-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-33-P