[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 103 (Thursday, May 28, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 31981-31982]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09490]


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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

U.S. Copyright Office

37 CFR Parts 201 and 202

[Docket No. 2020-2]


Group Registration of Newsletters

AGENCY: U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Copyright Office is amending its regulation governing 
the group registration option for newsletter issues. The final rule 
eliminates the requirement that newsletters must be published at least 
two days each week to qualify for a group registration. In addition, 
the final rule updates the address where complimentary subscriptions 
should be sent for purposes of satisfying the mandatory deposit 
requirement for newsletters and other serials.

DATES: Effective June 29, 2020.

[[Page 31982]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert J. Kasunic, Associate Register 
of Copyrights and Director of Registration Policy and Practice, 
[email protected]; Erik Bertin, Deputy Director of Registration Policy 
and Practice, [email protected]; or Kevin Amer, Deputy General 
Counsel, [email protected]. They can be reached by telephone at (202) 
707-3000.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Copyright Office has established a 
group registration option that allows a newsletter publisher to 
register an entire month of issues with one application and one filing 
fee. A publisher may use this option if each issue is ``an all-new 
issue or an all-new collective work that has not been previously 
published.'' \1\ In addition, the newsletter ``must usually'' be 
published ``at least two days each week.'' \2\ The word ``usually'' was 
added to the regulation ``to account for occasional situations where 
the newsletter suspends publication (e.g., for a holiday).'' \3\
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    \1\ 37 CFR 202.4(f)(1)(iii).
    \2\ Id. Sec.  202.4(f)(1)(i).
    \3\ 83 FR 22902, 22904 (May 17, 2018).
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    On February 24, 2020, the Office issued a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (the ``NPRM'') requesting public comment on an amendment 
that would extend this option to a broader range of publishers.\4\ The 
NPRM noted that it had come to the Office's attention that many 
newsletters are published just once a week.\5\ The requirement that 
publication must usually occur at least twice a week renders these 
newsletters ineligible for this group registration option. Some 
newsletter publishers may be able to use the group registration option 
for serials (which is specifically intended for publications that are 
distributed at intervals of a week or longer), but to do so each issue 
``must be an all-new collective work.'' \6\ Thus, if a newsletter is 
published once a week, and if the issues in the group do not qualify as 
all-new collective works, the publisher may not qualify for either the 
group registration option for newsletters or the group registration 
option for serials. For these types of newsletters, the publisher must 
submit a separate application and filing fee for each issue.
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    \4\ 85 FR 10349 (Feb. 24, 2020).
    \5\ Id. at 10350.
    \6\ 37 CFR 202.4(d)(1)(iii), (v). See 17 U.S.C. 101 (defining 
``collective work'' as ``a work, such as a periodical issue, 
anthology, or encyclopedia, in which a number of contributions, 
constituting separate and independent works in themselves, are 
assembled into a collective whole'').
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    To address this issue, the NPRM proposed to eliminate the 
requirement that newsletters must be published at least two days a week 
to qualify for the group registration option for newsletters.\7\ During 
the comment period, the Office received no comments concerning the 
NPRM.\8\ Therefore, the Office is proceeding to issue a final rule that 
is identical to the proposed rule.
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    \7\ Id. at 10350. To be eligible for group registration under 
this rule, the group must consist of at least two issues, and all of 
the issues included in the group must be published in the same 
calendar month. 37 CFR 202.4(f)(1)(ii), (v).
    \8\ The Office received one comment making reference to 
copyright. It can be accessed at https://www.copyright.gov/rulemaking/group-newsletters-frequency/.
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    Under the final rule, newsletter publishers will still be required 
to complete and submit an online application and upload a digital 
deposit to seek a group registration.\9\ The online application is 
labeled ``Daily Newsletters,'' but to be clear, this form may be used 
to register any newsletter, even if it is not published on a daily 
basis, as long as all of the issues are published within the same 
month.
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    \9\ 37 CFR 202.4(f)(2), (3).
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    Likewise, newsletter publishers will still be required to comply 
with the mandatory deposit requirement if the newsletter is published 
in the United States in a physical form.\10\ To satisfy this 
requirement, the publisher must provide the Library of Congress with up 
to two complimentary subscriptions to the newsletter.\11\ To facilitate 
this process, the final rule updates the mailing address where 
complimentary subscription copies of newsletters and other serials 
should be sent.
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    \10\ Id. Sec.  202.19(d)(2)(xi).
    \11\ Newsletters that are published solely in electronic format 
remain subject to the Library's on-demand mandatory deposit regime 
for electronic serials. See id. 202.19(c)(5), 202.24.
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List of Subjects

37 CFR Part 201

    Copyright, General Provisions.

37 CFR Part 202

    Copyright.

Final Regulations

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Copyright Office 
amends 37 CFR parts 201 and 202 as follows:

PART 201--GENERAL PROVISIONS

0
1. The authority citation for part 201 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 17 U.S.C. 702


0
2. Revise Sec.  201.1(c)(6) to read as follows:


Sec.  201.1  Communication with the Copyright Office

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (6) Mandatory deposit copies. Mandatory deposit copies of published 
works submitted for the Library of Congress under 17 U.S.C. 407 and 
Sec.  202.19 of this chapter (including serial publications that are 
not being registered) should be addressed to: Library of Congress, U.S. 
Copyright Office, Attn: 407 Deposits, 101 Independence Avenue SE, 
Washington, DC 20559-6600, except that mandatory deposit copies 
submitted as complimentary subscriptions for serial publications that 
are being registered should be addressed to: Library of Congress, Group 
Serials Registration, Washington, DC 20540-4161.
* * * * *

PART 202--PREREGISTRATION AND REGISTRATION OF CLAIMS TO COPYRIGHT

0
3. The authority citation for part 202 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 17 U.S.C. 408(f), 702


Sec.  202.4  [Amended]

0
4. In Sec.  202.4, amend the third sentence of paragraph (f)(1)(i) by 
removing ``Publication must usually occur at least two days each week 
and the'' and adding ``The'' in its place.

    Dated: April 27, 2020.
Maria Strong,
Acting Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright 
Office.
    Approved by:

Carla D. Hayden,
Librarian of Congress.
[FR Doc. 2020-09490 Filed 5-27-20; 8:45 am]
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