[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 20 (Wednesday, January 30, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5596-5597]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-1672]


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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Copyright Royalty Board

[Docket No. 2008-1 CRB CD 98-99]


Distribution of 1998 and 1999 Cable Royalty Funds

AGENCY: Copyright Royalty Board, Library of Congress

ACTION: Notice announcing commencement of Phase II distribution 
proceeding with request for Petitions to Participate.

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SUMMARY: The Copyright Royalty Judges are announcing the commencement 
of a proceeding to determine the Phase II distribution of 1998 and 1999 
royalties collected under the cable statutory license. The Judges also 
are announcing the date by which a party who wishes to participate in 
this distribution proceeding must file its Petition to Participate and 
the accompanying $150 filing fee.

DATES: Petitions to Participate and the filing fee are due on or before 
February 29, 2008.

ADDRESSES: An original, five copies, and an electronic copy on a CD of 
the Petition to Participate, along with the $150 filing fee, may be 
delivered to the Copyright Royalty Board by either mail or hand 
delivery. Petitions to Participate and the $150 filing fee may not be 
delivered by an overnight delivery service other than the U.S. Postal 
Service Express Mail. If by mail (including overnight delivery), 
Petitions to Participate, along with the $150 filing fee, must be 
addressed to: Copyright Royalty Board, P.O. Box 70977, Washington, DC 
20024-0977. If hand delivered by a private party, Petitions to 
Participate, along with the $150 filing fee, must be brought to the 
Library of Congress, James Madison Memorial Building, LM-401, 101 
Independence Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20559-6000. If delivered by a 
commercial courier, Petitions to Participate, along with the $150 
filing fee, must be delivered to the Congressional Courier Acceptance 
Site located at 2nd and D Street, NE., Washington, DC. The envelope 
must be addressed to: Copyright Royalty Board, Library of Congress, 
James Madison Memorial Building, LM-403, 101 Independence Avenue, SE., 
Washington, DC 20559-6000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Strasser, Senior Attorney, or 
Gina Giuffreda, Attorney Advisor, by telephone at (202) 707-7658 or e-
mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Each year, semiannually, cable systems must submit royalty payments 
to the Copyright Office as required by the cable statutory license for 
the privilege of retransmitting over-the-air television and radio 
broadcast stations. 17 U.S.C. 111. These royalties are then distributed 
to copyright owners whose works were included in such retransmissions 
and who timely filed a claim for royalties. Distribution of the 
royalties for each calendar year are conducted by the Copyright Royalty 
Judges (``Judges'') in two phases. At Phase I, the royalties are 
divided among the representatives of the major categories of 
copyrightable content (movies, sports programming, music, etc.) 
requesting the distribution. At Phase II, the royalties are divided 
among the various copyright owners within each category.
    This Notice announcing the commencement of a proceeding under 17 
U.S.C. 803(b)(1) for distribution of cable royalties collected for 1998 
and 1999 is confined to Phase II. A Phase I proceeding for these 
royalty years was conducted by the Librarian of Congress under the 
Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel (``CARP'') system, the predecessor 
to the Copyright Royalty Judges. The Librarian issued his determination 
dividing the royalties among the eight Phase I claimant groups, 69 FR 
3606 (January 26, 2004), and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District 
of Columbia Circuit affirmed his determination. Program Suppliers v. 
Librarian of Congress, 409 F.3d 395 (DC Cir. 2005). The Librarian did 
not, however, resolve the Phase II distribution of these royalty years 
and terminated the proceeding on August 10, 2007. 72 FR 45071. 
Consequently, it is now necessary for the Copyright Royalty Judges to 
resolve this Phase II distribution.\1\
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    \1\ It is important to note that this is a new proceeding before 
the Copyright Royalty Judges and not a transfer or continuation of a 
prior proceeding of the Librarian. See Section 6(b)(1) of the 
Copyright Royalty and Distribution Reform Act of 2004, Pub. L. No. 
108-419 (any CARP proceeding terminated by the Librarian ``shall 
become null and void'').
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Commencement of Phase II Proceeding

    Consistent with 17 U.S.C. 804(b)(8), the Copyright Royalty Judges 
determine that a Phase II controversy exists as to the distribution of 
1998 and 1999 cable royalties. We reach this determination, in this 
instance, for several reasons. First, we observe that certain 
interested parties represented to the Librarian some time ago that 
several Phase II controversies exist for these years. Second, the 
Program Suppliers have recently represented to us that a Phase II 
controversy with the National Association of Broadcasters remains for 
these years. Comments of the Program Suppliers on the Existence of a 
Controversy, at 5, n. 3 (filed in Docket No. 2005-4 CRB CD 2003 on 
September 19, 2007). And third, we have not received notification that 
any settlements have been reached, nor have we received motions for 
final distribution.
    The Judges are consolidating the 1998 and 1999 royalty years into a 
single proceeding. The Librarian consolidated these years for purposes 
of the Phase I proceeding without incident, and Phase II proceedings 
are traditionally less extensive and complicated, thereby making 
consolidation of multiple royalty years more administratively 
efficient.

Petitions To Participate

    Petitions to Participate must be filed in accordance with the Sec.  
351.1(b) of the Judge's regulations. See 37 CFR 351.1(b). Petitions to 
Participate submitted by interested parties whose claims do not exceed 
$1,000 must contain a statement that the party will not seek a 
distribution of more than $1,000. No filing fee is required for these 
parties. We note, however, that interested parties with claims 
exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) must submit a filing fee of one 
hundred and fifty dollars ($150) with their Petition to Participate or 
it will be rejected. Cash will not be accepted; therefore, parties must 
pay the filing fee with a check or money order made payable to the 
``Copyright Royalty Board.'' If a check received in payment of the 
filing fee is returned for lack of sufficient funds, the

[[Page 5597]]

corresponding Petition to Participate will be dismissed.
    Further procedural matters, including scheduling, will be addressed 
after Petitions to Participate have been received.
    Note that in accordance with 37 CFR 350.2 (Representation), only 
attorneys who are members of the bar in one or more states and in good 
standing will be allowed to represent parties before the Copyright 
Royalty Judges, unless the party is an individual who represents 
herself or himself.

    Dated: January 24, 2008.
James Scott Sledge,
Chief Copyright Royalty Judge.
[FR Doc. E8-1672 Filed 1-29-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-72-P