[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 53 (Tuesday, March 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10048-10050]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05116]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

[Docket No.: PTO-C-2019-0004]


Notice of Third Public Meeting on Developing the Digital 
Marketplace for Copyrighted Works

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. Department of 
Commerce; National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 
U.S. Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce's internet Policy Task Force (Task 
Force) will hold a conference at the United States Patent and Trademark 
Office (USPTO) facility in Alexandria,

[[Page 10049]]

Virginia, on March 28, 2019, to discuss current initiatives and 
technologies used to develop a more robust and collaborative digital 
marketplace for copyrighted works. In the previous public comments and 
meetings, the Task Force heard from stakeholders that the government 
can play a useful role by facilitating dialogues between and among 
industry sectors and by convening stakeholder groups to make 
recommendations on specific issues. Based on this feedback, the Task 
Force is organizing this meeting to build on the work of the prior 
meetings and continue to facilitate constructive, cross-industry 
dialogue about ways to promote a robust and collaborative online 
marketplace for copyrighted works.

DATES: The public meeting will be held on March 28, 2019, from 9:00 
a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time. Registration will begin at 
8:30 a.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the United States Patent 
and Trademark Office in the Clara Barton Auditorium (formerly the 
Madison Auditorium), which is located at 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, 
Virginia 22314. All major entrances to the building are accessible to 
people with disabilities. In addition, the meeting will be webcast for 
public viewing.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information regarding the 
meeting, contact Kortney Hammonds or Susan Allen, Office of Policy and 
International Affairs, USPTO, Madison Building, 600 Dulany Street, 
Alexandria, Virginia 22314; telephone (571) 272-9300; email 
[email protected] or Susan.[email protected]. Please direct all 
media inquiries to the Office of the Chief Communications Officer, 
USPTO, at (571) 272-8400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

A. Ongoing Government Engagement Relating to Copyright in the Digital 
Economy

    The Department of Commerce established the Task Force in 2010 to 
identify leading public policy and operational issues affecting the 
U.S. private sector's ability to realize the potential for economic 
growth and job creation through the internet. The Task Force's July 
2013 report Copyright Policy, Creativity, and Innovation in the Digital 
Economy (Green Paper) \1\ was the product of extensive public 
consultations led by the USPTO and the National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration (NTIA).
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    \1\ The Green Paper is available at http://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/news/publications/copyrightgreenpaper.pdf.
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    The Green Paper devoted a chapter to ``Ensuring an Efficient Online 
Marketplace,'' which looked at then-current examples of digital 
licensing options, as well as impediments to their development and 
adoption. Such challenges included the complexity of licensing in the 
online environment, mapping old contracts to new uses, and cross-border 
licensing. The Green Paper concluded that, while the private sector 
would continue to make progress towards resolving online licensing 
issues, there may be ways in which the U.S. Government could play a 
helpful role on both the domestic and international fronts. Over the 
subsequent five years, the Task Force has solicited comments and 
convened public meetings to further discuss these issues.
    On December 9, 2016, the Task Force held a meeting that was 
designed to facilitate constructive, cross-industry dialogue among 
stakeholders about ways to promote a more robust and collaborative 
online marketplace for copyrighted works. On January 25, 2018, the Task 
Force's meeting included panels on identification, registries, and 
licensing and international perspectives. These two meetings responded 
to stakeholder comments that the government can play a useful role by 
facilitating dialogues between and among industry sectors and by 
convening stakeholder groups to make recommendations on specific 
issues. They focused on initiatives in this space that relate to 
standards development, interoperability across digital registries, and 
cross-industry collaboration, to understand the current state of 
affairs, identify challenges, and discuss paths forward. They also 
provided an opportunity to explore potential approaches to the future 
adoption and integration of relevant emerging technologies into the 
online marketplace, such as blockchain technology and open-source 
platforms.
    The Task Force notes that the United States Copyright Office is 
engaged in several endeavors that may inform this March event. In 
support of its statutory work, the Copyright Office is currently 
engaged in: (1) Developing a new enterprise copyright system to improve 
the current registration system and revolutionize the current paper-
based system of recordation of documents; \2\ (2) continuing its 
multiyear project converting the extensive, paper-based pre-1978 
historical records into digital format for improved public access, 
enhanced online search capabilities, and continued record preservation, 
including releases of a Virtual Card Catalog proof of concept; \3\ (3) 
implementing various elements of the new Music Modernization Act (MMA), 
a major legislative change updating the music licensing system; \4\ (4) 
producing policy studies that address issues affecting online licensing 
and related issues, ranging from recordation \5\ to music licensing \6\ 
to the right of making available \7\ to visual works; \8\ and (5) 
issuing notices of inquiry, notices of proposed rulemakings and final 
rules on numerous areas addressing registration \9\ and recordation 
practices in order to improve both office practices and the copyright 
marketplace.\10\
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    \2\ U.S. Copyright Office, Modified U.S. Copyright Office 
Provisional IT Modernization Plan: Analysis of Shared Services, 
Support Requirements, and Modernization Efforts (2017), at https://www.copyright.gov/reports/itplan/modified-modernization-plan.pdf; 
see also the Office's web page on Copyright Modernization at https://www.copyright.gov/copyright-modernization/.
    \3\ U.S. Copyright Office, Virtual Card Catalog (VCC) Proof of 
Concept, at https://vcc.copyright.gov/.
    \4\ U.S. Copyright Office, Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music 
Modernization Act, at https://www.copyright.gov/music-modernization/.
    \5\ U.S. Copyright Office, Transforming Document Recordation at 
the United States Copyright Office (2014), at https://www.copyright.gov/docs/recordation/recordation-report.pdf.
    \6\ U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright and the Music Marketplace 
(2015), at https://www.copyright.gov/policy/musiclicensingstudy/copyright-and-the-music-marketplace.pdf.
    \7\ U.S. Copyright Office, The Making Available Right in the 
United States (2016), at https://www.copyright.gov/docs/making_available/making-available-right.pdf.
    \8\ U.S. Copyright Office, Letters to the House and Senate 
Judiciary Committees on Copyright and Visual Works: The Legal 
Landscape of Opportunities and Challenges (2019), at https://www.copyright.gov/policy/visualworks/.
    \9\ See U.S. Copyright Office, Registration Modernization, 83 FR 
52336 (Oct. 17, 2018), see also at https://www.copyright.gov/rulemaking/reg-modernization/.
    \10\ For a list of the U.S. Copyright Office's open and closed 
rulemakings, see the Copyright Office's web page at https://www.copyright.gov/ rulemaking/.
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B. The Focus of This Meeting

    In the previous public comments and meetings, the Task Force heard 
from stakeholders that the government can play a useful role by 
facilitating dialogues between and among industry sectors and by 
convening stakeholder groups to make recommendations on specific 
issues. Based on this feedback, the Task Force is organizing this 
meeting to build on the work of the prior meetings and continue to 
facilitate constructive, cross-industry dialogue about ways to promote 
a robust and collaborative online marketplace for

[[Page 10050]]

copyrighted works. We will discuss the potential for interoperability 
across digital registries and standards work in this field, and 
consider how the relevant emerging technologies (e.g., blockchain 
technology, artificial intelligence) are developing. We will also 
explore potential approaches to their future adoption and integration 
into the online marketplace.
    Topics to be covered will include: (1) Initiatives to advance the 
digital content marketplace, with a focus on standards, 
interoperability, and digital registries and database initiatives to 
track ownership and usage rights; (2) innovative technologies designed 
to improve the ways consumers access and use different types of digital 
content (e.g., photos, film, music); (3) ways that different sectors 
can collaborate to promote a robust interconnected digital content 
marketplace; and (4) the role of government in facilitating such 
initiatives and technological development. Members of the public will 
have opportunities to participate at the meeting.

C. Public Meeting

    On March 28, 2019, the Task Force will hold a public meeting to 
hear stakeholder input and to consider future work in this area. The 
event will facilitate participation and dialogue among interested 
stakeholders, including creators, right holders, and online services 
that produce and distribute copyright protected digital content, as 
well as technologists, cultural heritage institutions, public interest 
groups, and academics.
    The meeting will be webcast. The agenda and webcast information 
will be available no later than the week prior to the meeting on the 
internet Policy Task Force website, at https://www.ntia.doc.gov/internetpolicytaskforce, and the USPTO's website at http://bit.ly/2HcY5VU.
    The meeting will be open to members of the public to attend, space 
permitting, on a first-come, first-served basis. Online registration 
for the meeting, which is not mandatory, is available at http://bit.ly/2HcY5VU. The meeting will be physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Individuals requiring accommodation, such as sign 
language interpretation, real-time captioning of the webcast or other 
ancillary aids, should communicate their needs to Kortney Hammonds, 
Office of Policy and International Affairs, United States Patent and 
Trademark Office, Madison Building, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, 
Virginia 22314; telephone (571) 272-9300; email 
[email protected], at least seven business days prior to the 
meeting.

    Dated: March 14, 2019.
Andrei Iancu,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of 
the United States Patent and Trademark Office, United States Patent and 
Trademark Office.
David J. Redl,
Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 2019-05116 Filed 3-18-19; 8:45 am]
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