[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 145 (Monday, July 31, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 49294-49295]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15941]


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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Copyright Office

37 CFR Parts 222, 224, 225, 233, 234 and 235

[Docket No. 2022-6]


Copyright Claims Board: District Court Referrals; Proof of 
Service Forms; Default Proceedings; Law Student Representation

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims 
Enforcement Act, the U.S. Copyright Office is adopting as final a 
December 19, 2022 interim rule allowing the Copyright Claims Board to 
modify or suspend certain rules when a claim is referred by a district 
court and, in cases that are first filed before the Copyright Claims 
Board, accept alternative proof of service forms. The interim rule also 
clarified the rules governing default proceedings and law student 
representation, and made certain technical corrections.

DATES: Effective August 30, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rhea Efthimiadis, Assistant to the 
General Counsel, by email at [email protected] or telephone at (202) 
707-8350.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims 
Enforcement Act of 2020 (the ``CASE Act'') \1\ directed the Copyright 
Office to establish the Copyright Claims Board (the ``CCB''), an 
alternative and voluntary forum for parties seeking to resolve certain 
copyright-related disputes that have a total monetary value of $30,000 
or less.
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    \1\ Public Law 116-260, sec. 212, 134 Stat. 1182, 2176 (2020).
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    After publishing a notification of inquiry (``NOI'') seeking public 
input on the CCB's operations and procedures in early 2021,\2\ the 
Office published multiple notices of proposed rulemaking (``NPRMs'') 
addressing various aspects of CCB proceedings.\3\ The Office then 
published final rules after receiving and considering comments from the 
public.\4\ On June 16, 2022, the CCB began receiving claims.
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    \2\ 86 FR 16156 (Mar. 26, 2021).
    \3\ See, e.g., 86 FR 74394 (Dec. 30, 2021); 86 FR 53897 (Sept. 
29, 2021); 86 FR 69890 (Dec. 8, 2021).
    \4\ 87 FR 20707 (Apr. 8, 2022) (law student representation final 
rule); 87 FR 12861 (Mar. 8, 2022) (initial proceedings partial final 
rule); 87 FR 16989 (Mar. 25, 2022) (initial proceedings final rule); 
87 FR 24056 (Apr. 22, 2022) (initial proceedings correction); 87 FR 
30060 (May 17, 2022) (active proceedings final rule); 87 FR 36060 
(June 15, 2022) (active proceedings correction).
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    On December 19, 2022, the Office published and sought comment on an 
interim rule that clarified the rules governing representation by law 
students of parties before the CCB, added a rule to address district 
court referrals, and amended the rules governing proof of service forms 
and default proceedings.\5\ Specifically, the interim rule clarified 
that law student representatives must qualify under the laws, court 
rules, or bar rules of the jurisdiction that allows, authorizes, or 
permits them to practice law. This clarification was intended to avoid 
any implication in the prior rule that law students must undergo a 
formal certification process. The interim rule also clarified that the 
CCB's regulations only govern law students who make a formal appearance 
in CCB proceedings, rather than those who provide legal assistance to 
parties in other capacities.
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    \5\ 87 FR 77518 (Dec. 19, 2022).
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    The interim rule also set forth intake procedures for cases 
referred to the CCB from district courts and gave the CCB authority to 
adjust or suspend certain rules that would otherwise apply if doing so 
would be in the interests of efficiently resolving the dispute. The 
interim rule excluded district court referrals from the limits on the 
number of proceedings a claim, attorney, or law firm may file with the 
CCB, and did not require a claimant to pay a filing fee for such a 
proceeding.
    Further, the interim rule made clear that claimants may file either 
the proof of service form provided on the CCB's website or an 
alternative proof of service form that contains all of the information 
required by the CCB-provided form. The interim rule also clarified that 
parties are not limited to materials exchanged during discovery when 
presenting evidence in support of a default. Finally, the interim rule 
included updated cross-references and added references to 
``counterclaims'' where the rule previously only referred to 
``claims.''
    The Office received one comment on the interim rule from the 
Copyright Alliance, concerning the decision not to require claimants to 
pay a fee for proceedings referred to the CCB by a district court.\6\ 
The Copyright Alliance indicated that it had no objections to this 
approach, but recommended that ``the Office monitor the number of cases 
referred from district court and re-evaluate the impact of this rule'' 
to make sure that costs are not passed to other claimants and that the 
CCB's budget or resources are not negatively impacted, in the event 
that district court referrals become a significant portion of the CCB's 
caseload.\7\ If that occurs, the Copyright Alliance suggested that the 
Office ``includ[e] an amount sufficient to fund these cases in its 
annual appropriations funding request from Congress'' or, if the Office 
opts to impose a fee in the future, that it ``divid[e] that fee equally 
among all of the claimants and respondents that would be party to the 
case.'' \8\
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    \6\ Copyright Alliance Interim Rule Comments at 1.
    \7\ Copyright Alliance Interim Rule Comments at 1-2.
    \8\ Copyright Alliance Interim Rule Comments at 2.
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    The Office appreciates these comments and will take them under 
advisement moving forward. Because the Office did not receive any 
comments recommending changes to the proposed rule at this time, the 
Office adopts the interim rule as final.

List of Subjects in 37 CFR Parts 222, 224, 225, 233, 234, and 235

    Claims, Copyright.

Final Regulations

PART 222--PROCEEDINGS

PART 224--REVIEW OF CLAIMS BY OFFICERS AND ATTORNEYS

PART 225--DISCOVERY

PART 233--LIMITATION ON PROCEEDINGS

PART 234--LAW STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES

PART 235--DISTRICT COURT REFERRALS

0
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the U.S. Copyright Office 
adopts the interim rule amending 37 CFR parts 222, 224, 225, 233, 234, 
and 235, which was published at 87 FR 77518 on December 19, 2022, as 
final without change.


[[Page 49295]]


    Dated: July 19, 2023.
Shira Perlmutter,
Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office.

    Approved by:
Carla D. Hayden,
Librarian of Congress.
[FR Doc. 2023-15941 Filed 7-28-23; 8:45 am]
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