[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 26, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3738-3739]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-1436]


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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Copyright Office

[Docket No. 2005-2 CARP CRA]


Adjustment of Cable Statutory License Royalty Rates

AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is requesting 
comment as to whether the 2005 cable statutory license rate adjustment 
proceeding should take place under the auspices of the Copyright 
Arbitration Royalty Panel (``CARP'') system or the new Copyright 
Royalty Judge (``CRJ'') system.

DATES: Comments should be received by the Copyright Office no later 
than February 16, 2005.

ADDRESSES: If hand delivered by a private party, an original and five 
copies of a comment should be brought to Room LM-401 of the James 
Madison Memorial Building and the envelope should be addressed as 
follows: Office

[[Page 3739]]

of the General Counsel/CARP, U.S. Copyright Office, James Madison 
Memorial Building, Room LM-401, 101 Independence Avenue, SE, 
Washington, DC 20559-6000 between 8:30 a.m. and 5p.m. If delivered by a 
commercial carrier, an original and five copies of a comment must be 
delivered to the Congressional Courier Acceptance Site located at 2nd 
and D Street, NE, between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. The envelope should be 
addressed as follows: Office of the General Counsel/CARP, Room 403, 
James Madison Memorial Building, 101 Independence Avenue, SE, 
Washington, DC. If sent by mail (including overnight delivery using 
U.S. Postal Service Express Mail), an original and five copies of a 
comment should be addressed to: Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel 
(CARP), P.O. Box 70977, Southwest Station, Washington, DC 20024-0977. 
Comments may not be delivered by means of overnight delivery services 
such as Federal Express, United Parcel Service, etc., due to delays in 
processing receipt of such deliveries.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David O. Carson, General Counsel, or 
Tanya M. Sandros, Associate General Counsel, Copyright Arbitration 
Royalty Panel (CARP), P.O. Box 70977, Southwest Station, Washington, DC 
20024-0977. Telephone: (202) 707-8380. Telefax: (202) 252-3423.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 111 of title 17 of the United States 
Code creates a statutory license for cable systems that retransmit to 
their subscribers over-the-air broadcast signals. Royalty fees for this 
license are calculated as percentages of a cable system's gross 
receipts received from subscribers for receipt of broadcast signals. A 
cable system's individual gross receipts determine the applicable 
percentages. These percentages, and the gross receipts limitations, are 
published in 37 CFR part 256 and are subject to adjustment at five-year 
intervals. 17 U.S.C. 801(b)(2)(A) & (D) (2000). This is a window year 
for such an adjustment.
    On January 10, 2005, the Copyright Office received a joint petition 
from representatives of copyright owners of sports programming (``Joint 
Sports Claimants'') and motion pictures and syndicated television 
series (``Program Suppliers'') requesting commencement of a cable rate 
adjustment proceeding. See http://www.copyright.gov/carp/cable-rate-petition.pdf. As part of the joint petition, Joint Sports Claimants and 
Program Suppliers request that their ``petition and any resulting 
proceeding be handled pursuant to existing CARP procedures, rather than 
under the new provisions established by the Copyright Royalty and 
Distribution Reform Act of 2004 (`CRDRA').'' Joint petition at 2. They 
assert that their request is consistent with the CRDRA, Pub. L. 108-
419, which does not take effect until May 30, 2005, and note that the 
CRDRA does not contain a provision for a termination of proceedings 
that addresses petitions filed between November 30, 2004, and May 30, 
2005. Furthermore, Joint Sports Claimants and Program Suppliers submit 
that a CARP proceeding will resolve the 2005 cable rate adjustment more 
expeditiously than the CRJs which, in their view, could take more than 
two years to finalize. Id. at 3.
    The Copyright Office seeks public comment as to whether it is 
appropriate and/or required that the 2005 cable rate adjustment be 
resolved through the CARP process set forward in chapter 8 of the 
Copyright Act prior to passage of the CRDRA, or whether the joint 
petition filed by the Joint Sports Claimants and the Program Suppliers 
should be terminated and transferred to the CRJs.

    Dated: January 21, 2005
Marybeth Peters,
Register of Copyrights.
[FR Doc. 05-1436 Filed 1-25-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-33-S