[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 15 (Monday, January 25, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4066-4067]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-01396]


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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

U.S. Copyright Office

[Docket No. 2016-1]


Notice of Intent To Audit

AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

ACTION: Public Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Copyright Office is announcing receipt of twelve 
notices of intent to audit certain 2012 and 2013 statements of account 
filed by cable operators and satellite carriers pursuant to the section 
111 and 119 statutory licenses.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Regan A. Smith, Associate General 
Counsel, by email at [email protected] or by telephone at 202-707-8350; or 
Jason E. Sloan, Attorney-Advisor, by email at [email protected] or by 
telephone at 202-707-8350.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Sections 111 and 119 of the Copyright Act (``Act''), Title 17 of 
the United States Code, establish compulsory licenses under which cable 
operators and satellite carriers may, by complying with the license 
terms, retransmit copyrighted over-the-air broadcast programming. Among 
other requirements, cable and satellite licensees must file statements 
of account and deposit royalty fees with the U.S. Copyright Office 
(``Office'') on a semi-annual basis.
    The Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010, Pub. 
L. 111-175 (2010), amended the Act by directing the Register of 
Copyrights (``Register'') to issue regulations to allow copyright 
owners to audit the statements of account and royalty fees that cable 
operators and satellite carriers file with the Office. See 17 U.S.C. 
119(b)(2) (directing the Register to ``issue regulations to permit 
interested parties to verify and audit the statements of account and 
royalty fees submitted by satellite carriers under this subsection''); 
17 U.S.C. 111(d)(6) (directing the Register to ``issue regulations to 
provide for the confidential verification by copyright owners whose 
works were embodied in the secondary transmissions of primary 
transmissions pursuant to [section 111] of the information reported on 
the semiannual statements of account filed under this subsection for 
accounting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2010, in order that 
the auditor designated under subparagraph [111(d)(6)(A)] is able to 
confirm the correctness of the calculations and royalty payments 
reported therein''). Following a lengthy rulemaking proceeding, the 
Office issued such regulations, adopting the audit process now set 
forth in 37 CFR 201.16. See 79 FR 68623 (Nov. 18, 2014). Section 
201.16(c)(1) requires any copyright owner who intends to audit a 
statement of account to provide written notice to the Register no later 
than three years after the last day of the year in which the statement 
of account was filed with the Office. 37 CFR 201.16(c)(1). Such notice 
may be submitted by an individual copyright owner or a designated agent 
that represents a group or multiple groups of copyright owners. Id. The 
notice must be received in the Office on or after December 1st and no 
later than December 31st. Id. The Office is required to publish a 
notice in the Federal Register announcing the receipt of the notice of 
intent to audit between January 1st and January 31st of the next 
calendar year. Id.

II. Notices

    On December 31, 2015, the Office received the below notices of 
intent to audit statements of account. The notices were submitted 
jointly by the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, National 
Football League, National Basketball Association, Women's National 
Basketball Association, National Hockey League, and National Collegiate 
Athletics Association pursuant to 37 CFR 201.16(c):
    1. Notice of intent to audit the statement of account filed by 
Verizon New York Inc. for the cable system serving Bethlehem, New York 
and the surrounding area (Licensing Division No. 63302) for the 
accounting period July 1-December 31, 2012.
    2. Notice of intent to audit the statement of account filed by Time 
Warner Cable Northeast, LLC for the cable system serving Dewitt, New 
York and the surrounding area (Licensing Division No. 7857) for the 
accounting period July 1-December 31, 2013.
    3. Notice of intent to audit the statement of account filed by 
Cequel Communications LLC d/b/a Suddenlink Communications for the cable 
system serving St. Joseph, Missouri and the surrounding area (Licensing 
Division No. 7850) for the accounting period January 1-June 30, 2013.
    4. Notice of intent to audit the statement of account filed by MCC 
Missouri, LLC (Columbia, MO) for the cable system serving Columbia, 
Missouri and the surrounding area (Licensing Division No. 6388) for the 
accounting period July 1-December 31, 2012.
    5. Notice of intent to audit the statement of account filed by DISH 
Network, LLC (Licensing Division No. USU600) for the accounting period 
July 1-December 31, 2012.
    6. Notice of intent to audit the statement of account filed by Cox 
Communications Kansas LLC for the cable system serving Dodge City, 
Kansas and the surrounding area (Licensing Division No. 6293) for the 
accounting period January 1-June 30, 2013.
    7. Notice of intent to audit the statement of account filed by 
Comcast of Boston Inc. for the cable system serving Boston, 
Massachusetts and the surrounding communities (Licensing Division No. 
1240) for the accounting period July 1-December 31, 2013.
    8. Notice of intent to audit the statement of account filed by CC 
Michigan LLC for the cable system serving Traverse City, Michigan and 
the surrounding area (Licensing Division No. 7566) for the accounting 
period January 1-June 30, 2013.
    9. Notice of intent to audit the statement of account filed by 
Cablevision of Monmouth, LLC for the cable system serving Avon Borough, 
New Jersey and the surrounding area (Licensing Division No. 7823) for 
the accounting period July 1-December 31, 2012.
    10. Notice of intent to audit the statement of account filed by 
Bright House Communications LLC for the cable system serving Orlando, 
Florida and the surrounding area (Licensing

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Division No. 10444) for the accounting period January 1-June 30, 2013.
    11. Notice of intent to audit the statement of account filed by 
Pacific Bell Telephone Company dba AT&T for the cable system serving 
San Francisco and the surrounding communities (Licensing Division No. 
62796) for the accounting period July 1-December 31, 2013.
    12. Notice of intent to audit the statement of account filed by 
DirecTV (Licensing Division No. USU500) for the accounting period July 
1-December 31, 2013.
    The notices of intent to audit and relevant statements of account 
are available for onsite viewing at the Copyright Office. Those who 
wish to inspect these documents can make arrangements to do so using 
the contact information above.

    Dated: January 20, 2016.
Jacqueline C. Charlesworth,
General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights, U.S. Copyright 
Office.
[FR Doc. 2016-01396 Filed 1-22-16; 8:45 am]
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