[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 105 (Friday, June 1, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30641-30643]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-10623]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Copyright Office


Soliciting Participation in Electronic Copyright Office (eCO) 
Beta Test

AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

ACTION: Public notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In July 2007, the Copyright Office will initiate a beta 
testing phase in the development of its automated registration system, 
electronic Copyright Office (eCO). Requests to participate in eCO beta 
testing are being accepted from the public at this time. Participants 
will be selected in the order that requests are received and based on 
an array of submission criteria, and basic registration claims will be 
accepted at a reduced rate established for electronic filings.

DATES: Requests for participation in the beta test of the Copyright 
Office`s online registration system are being accepted through the 
Office's Web site beginning June 1, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Requests to participate in the beta test of the Copyright 
Office`s electronic online registration system may be filed through the 
Office's Web site at: http://www.copyright.gov/eco/beta-request.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Christopher, Special Assistant 
to the Register of Copyrights, Office of the Register, P.O. Box 70977, 
Southwest Station, Washington, DC 20024-0977. Telephone: (202) 707-
8825. Telefax: (202) 707-8366.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Copyright Office is a service unit within the Library of 
Congress. The mission of the Copyright Office is to promote creativity 
by administering and sustaining an effective national copyright system 
that relies on the collection, processing, storage and dissemination of 
information to fulfill its duties under title 17 of the United States 
Code and title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Congress enacted 
the first federal copyright law in 1790 and it has been revised 
periodically over the years.
    In 1870 Congress established a national copyright function in the 
Library of Congress and required that all works be deposited and 
registered in this single location. The registration and deposit of 
works under copyright protection serves two important purposes: to 
create a public record of copyright registration and to enrich the 
collections of the Library of Congress for the benefit of the American 
people. The Copyright Office administers the copyright law by 
registering claims to copyright, recording legal documents relating to 
copyright ownership (i.e., recordation), acquiring copyrighted works 
for deposit in the collections of the Library of Congress, and handling 
administrative provisions of statutory licenses and obligations. The 
Copyright Office provides authoritative advice on copyright to the 
Congress and the Executive Branch, and the judiciary, and serves as a 
resource to the domestic and international communities. The Office 
responds to public requests for information and engages in outreach 
programs to contribute to the public discussion of copyright issues.

Processing systems

    The Copyright Office has operated in essentially the same manner 
for many years and is primarily a paper-based operation. Most remitters 
submit paper applications for copyright registration and paper 
documents for recordation. Correspondence is also produced primarily on 
paper and stored in paper files. Works submitted for registration are 
often bulky and contain multiple items. Currently, materials submitted 
for registration move through several different divisions without the 
benefit of tracking systems to identify the location of each individual 
work during its processing.
    The Copyright Office has six principal office-wide systems that are 
used for workflow management: fee processing, correspondence tracking, 
imaging, statutory license information, historical copyright 
information, and electronic receipts. There are some automated 
interfaces between the systems, but the systems are not integrated with 
each other or with other related Library of Congress processes. 
Numerous small PC-based systems have also been developed to track many 
transactions that the larger systems were not designed to support. Some 
systems rely

[[Page 30642]]

on hardware that is aging and increasingly vulnerable to failure.

Business process reengineering (BPR)

    Recognizing that information technology provides new opportunities 
to improve public services and enable online submissions for copyright 
registration and other services, the Copyright Office embarked on an 
extensive multi-year reengineering initiative in September 2000. There 
are eight major objectives of the reengineering program: to enhance 
operational efficiencies and improve timeliness of Copyright Office 
services; provide public services online; ensure prompt availability of 
new copyright records; provide better tracking of individual items in 
the workflow; increase acquisition of digital works for the Library of 
Congress collections; contain costs of registration, recordation, and 
other services; strengthen security within the Copyright Office; and 
use staff and space efficiently.
    The foundation of the reengineering initiative is the redesigned 
business processes that deliver the Office's services to the public in 
key areas. The following principal processes have been redesigned:

     1. The Acquire Deposit process includes the acquisition of 
published materials requested by the Library of Congress and the 
receipt of published works submitted in compliance with the mandatory 
deposit provision of the copyright law.

     2. The Answer Request process includes all activities to respond 
to requests for information or materials related to copyright records.

     3. The Maintain Accounts process handles all money and financial 
transactions for the principal processes. This process includes 
transactions within deposit accounts which are standing accounts from 
which customers can draw funds to pay for services.

     4. Process Licenses supports the administration of the compulsory 
licenses and statutory obligations contained in the Copyright Act. For 
certain licenses, the Copyright Office collects specified royalty fees 
for disbursement to copyright owners.

     5. The Receive Mail process comprises the activities of sorting 
incoming mail, labeling materials with tracking numbers, scanning paper 
materials, creating electronic tracking records, and dispatching 
materials to the appropriate service process area.

     6. The Record Document process handles the verification, 
cataloging, and production of certificates for documents relating to a 
copyright that are submitted for recordation in the Office.

     7. The Register Claim process includes the examination, 
cataloging, and certificate production for copyright claims. A claim 
includes an application, fee, and copies of the work as required. When 
a work is registered, a certificate of registration is issued to the 
applicant.

    Additionally, as part of BPR implementation, the Copyright Office 
designed the to-be organizational environment to support the redesigned 
processes. The redesigned processes, organization, facilities, and 
information systems infrastructure will enable the Copyright Office to 
make a strategic transformation to electronic delivery of services 
while maintaining the capability of processing hard copy objects within 
the electronic environment. The Copyright Office will be able to 
conduct business and public services online whenever possible, scan and 
make searchable all non-electronic receipts, route and control all 
business with flexible process workflows, and make works published only 
electronically available to the Library of Congress.

Electronic Copyright Office (eCO)

    The Copyright Office plans to implement parts of its multi-year 
business process reengineering (BPR) initiative later this year. A 
major objective of the BPR initiative is to increase the availability 
of Copyright Office services online. This objective will be met through 
the introduction of an automated registration system, electronic 
Copyright Office (eCO), which is scheduled for release to the public 
later this year. Currently in the alpha testing phase of development, 
eCO will allow users to submit applications, deposits, and fees 
electronically through a portal on the Copyright Office Web site. In 
addition to reducing processing time lags and operational costs in the 
long term, eCO will provide for a streamlined application experience 
for users. As a further incentive to applicants the Copyright Office 
will offer a reduced filing fee for claims registered electronically.

eCO Beta Test for registration of claims

    Notice is hereby given that in July 2007, the Copyright Office 
plans to initiate beta testing for the electronic registration of 
claims. Requests to participate in eCO beta testing are being accepted 
from the public and a broad array of applicants will be selected in the 
order that requests are received and based on the criteria listed 
below.

     Type of work;

     Type of deposit copy;

     File format (electronic deposit copies);

     File size (electronic deposit copies);

     Frequency of registration;

     Published versus unpublished works;

     Individual versus company/organization; and

     Type of payment.

    Initially, eCO beta testing will cover basic registration claims 
for literary works (e.g., books, single serial issues, manuscripts, 
contributions to collective works, compilations of data or other 
literary subject matter, etc.), visual arts works (e.g., artwork 
applied to clothing, cartographic works, cartoons, comic strips, 
drawings, paintings, fabric, and architectural drawings or plans, 
etc.), performing arts works (i.e., musical works, including any 
accompanying words; dramatic works, such as scripts, including any 
accompanying music; choreographic works; and motion pictures and other 
audiovisual works), and sound recordings (i.e., works that result from 
the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds, but not 
including the sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual 
work). At a later date, system testing will expand to cover additional 
registration claim types including group registrations, vessel hull 
designs, mask works, renewals, and corrections and amplifications of 
existing registrations. Participants in eCO beta testing will be 
invited to file basic registration claims online at the rate 
established for electronic filings, $35.
    A notice announcing eCO beta testing has been posted to the 
Copyright Office Web site at http://www.copyright.gov/eco/beta-announce.html. The notice directs interested parties to submit a 
request to participate in eCO beta testing via a short Web-based form 
accessible at http://www.copyright.gov/eco/beta-request.html. The first 
group of selected participants will receive eCO system log-in 
information and instructions via email prior to the beta test launch 
date. Additional requesters will be invited to participate in later 
stages of eCO beta testing. Requesters not selected for eCO beta 
testing will receive email notification when eCO is released to the 
public later this year.


[[Page 30643]]


    Dated: May 29, 2007
Marybeth Peters,
Register of Copyrights.
[FR Doc. E7-10623 Filed 5-31-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-30-S