§ 201.33 - Procedures for filing Notices of Intent to Enforce a restored copyright under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.

§ 201.33 Procedures for filing Notices of Intent to Enforce a restored copyright under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 87 FR 59308, Sept. 30, 2022.

(a) General. This section prescribes the procedures for submission of Notices of Intent to Enforce a Restored Copyright under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, as required in 17 U.S.C. 104A(a). On or before May 1, 1996, and every four months thereafter, the Copyright Office will publish in the Federal Register a list of works for which Notices of Intent to Enforce have been filed. It will maintain a list of these works. The Office will also make a more complete version of the information contained in the Notice of Intent to Enforce available on its website.

(b) Definitions.

(1) NAFTA work means a work restored to copyright on January 1, 1995, as a result of compliance with procedures contained in the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act of December 8, 1993, Public Law No. 103-182.

(2) Reliance party means any person who -

(i) With respect to a particular work, engages in acts, before the source country of that work becomes an eligible country under the URAA, which would have violated 17 U.S.C. 106 if the restored work had been subject to copyright protection and who, after the source country becomes an eligible country, continues to engage in such acts;

(ii) Before the source country of a particular work becomes an eligible country, makes or acquires one or more copies or phonorecords of that work; or

(iii) As the result of the sale or other disposition of a derivative work, covered under 17 U.S.C. 104A(d)(3), or of significant assets of a person, described in 17 U.S.C. 104 A(d)(3) (A) or (B), is a successor, assignee or licensee of that person.

(3) Restored work means an original work of authorship that -

(i) Is protected under 17 U.S.C. 104A(a);

(ii) Is not in the public domain in its source country through expiration of term of protection;

(iii) Is in the public domain in the United States due to -

(A) Noncompliance with formalities imposed at any time by U.S. copyright law, including failure of renewal, lack of proper notice, or failure to comply with any manufacturing requirements;

(B) Lack of subject matter protection in the case of sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972; or

(C) Lack of national eligibility; and

(iv) Has at least one author or rightholder who was, at the time the work was created, a national or domiciliary of an eligible country, and if published, was first published in an eligible country and not published in the United States during the 30-day period following publication in such eligible country.

(4) Source country of a restored work is -

(i) A nation other than the United States; and

(ii) In the case of an unpublished work -

(A) The eligible country in which the author or rightholder is a national or domiciliary, or, if a restored work has more than one author or rightholder, the majority of foreign authors or rightholders are nationals or domiciliaries of eligible countries; or

(B) If the majority of authors or rightholders are not foreign, the nation other than the United States which has the most significant contacts with the work; and

(iii) In the case of a published work -

(A) The eligible country in which the work is first published; or

(B) If the restored work is published on the same day in two or more eligible countries, the eligible country which has the most significant contacts with the work.

(c) Forms. The Copyright Office does not provide forms for Notices of Intent to Enforce filed with the Copyright Office. It requests that filers of such notices follow the format set out in Appendix A of this section and give all of the information listed in paragraph (d) of this section. Notices of Intent to Enforce must be in English, legible, and submitted in a letter-sized document format.

(d) Requirements for Notice of Intent to Enforce a Copyright Restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.

(1) Notices of Intent to Enforce should be mailed to the address specified in § 201.1.

(2) The document should be clearly designated as “Notice of Intent to Enforce a Copyright Restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act”.

(3) Notices of Intent to Enforce must include:

(i) Required information:

(A) The title of the work, or if untitled, a brief description of the work;

(B) An English translation of the title if title is in a foreign language;

(C) Alternative titles if any;

(D) Name of the copyright owner of the restored work, or of an owner of an exclusive right therein;

(E) The address and telephone number where the owner of copyright or the exclusive right therein can be reached; and

(F) The following certification signed and dated by the owner of copyright, or the owner of an exclusive right therein, or the owner's authorized agent:

I hereby certify that for each of the work(s) listed above, I am the copyright owner, or the owner of an exclusive right, or the owner's authorized agent, the agency relationship having been constituted in a writing signed by the owner before the filing of this notice, and that the information given herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.

Signature

Name (printed or typed)

As agent for (if applicable)

Date:

(ii) Optional but essential information:

(A) Type of work (painting, sculpture, music, motion picture, sound recording, book, etc.);

(B) Name of author(s);

(C) Source country;

(D) Approximate year of publication;

(E) Additional identifying information (e.g., for movies: director, leading actors, screenwriter, animator; for photographs or books: subject matter; for books: editor, publisher, contributors);

(F) Rights owned by the party on whose behalf the Notice of Intent to Enforce is filed (e.g., the right to reproduce/distribute/publicly display/publicly perform the work, or to prepare a derivative work based on the work, etc.); and

(G) Email address at which owner, exclusive rights holder, or agent thereof can be reached.

(4) Notices of Intent to Enforce may cover multiple works provided that each work is identified by title, all the works are by the same author, all the works are owned by the identified copyright owner or owner of an exclusive right, and the rights owned by the party on whose behalf the Notice of Intent is filed are the same. In the case of Notices of Intent to Enforce covering multiple works, the notice must separately designate for each work covered the title of the work, or if untitled, a brief description of the work; an English translation of the title if the title is in a foreign language; alternative titles, if any; the type of work; the source country; the approximate year of publication; and additional identifying information.

(5) Notices of Intent to Enforce works restored on January 1, 1996, may be submitted to the Copyright Office on or after January 1, 1996, through December 31, 1997.

(e) Fee -

(1) Amount

. The filing fee for recording Notices of Intent to Enforce is prescribed in § 201.3(c).

(

2) Method of payment -

(i) Checks, money orders, or bank drafts. The Copyright Office will accept checks, money orders, or bank drafts made payable to the U.S. Copyright Office. Remittances must be redeemable without service or exchange fees through a United States institution, must be payable in United States dollars, and must be imprinted with American Banking Association routing numbers. International money orders, and postal money orders that are negotiable only at a post office are not acceptable. CURRENCY WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

(ii) Copyright Office Deposit Account. The Copyright Office maintains a system of Deposit Accounts for the convenience of those who frequently use its services. The system allows an individual or firm to establish a Deposit Account in the Copyright Office and to make advance deposits into that account. Deposit Account holders can charge copyright fees against the balance in their accounts instead of sending separate remittances with each request for service. For information on Deposit Accounts, see Circular 5 on the Copyright Office's website, or request a copy at the address specified in § 201.1(b).

(iii) Credit cards. For URAA filings the Copyright Office will accept most major credit cards. Debit cards cannot be accepted for payment. With the NIE, a filer using a credit card must submit a separate cover letter stating the name of the credit card, the credit card number, the expiration date of the credit card, the total amount, and a signature authorizing the Office to charge the fees to the account. To protect the security of the credit card number, the filer must not write the credit card number on the Notice of Intent to Enforce.

(f) Public access. Notices of Intent to Enforce filed with the Copyright Office are available for public inspection and copying in the Records Research and Certification Section. Some of the information contained in these records is available on the Office's website, including the title of the work or a brief description if the work is untitled and the name of the copyright owner or owner of an exclusive right.

(g) NAFTA work. The copyright owner of a work restored under NAFTA by the filing of a NAFTA Statement of Intent to Restore with the Copyright Office prior to January 1, 1995, is not required to file a Notice of Intent to Enforce under this regulation.

Appendix A to § 201.33 - Notice of Intent To Enforce a Copyright Restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA)

1. Title:

(If this work does not have a title, state “No title.”) OR

Brief description of work (for untitled works only): ________

2. English translation of title (if applicable):

3. Alternative title(s) (if any):

4. Type of work:

(e.g. painting, sculpture, music, motion picture, sound recording, book)

5. Name of author(s):

6. Source country:

7. Approximate year of publication:

8. Additional identifying information:

(e.g. for movies; director, leading actors, screenwriter, animator, for photographs: subject matter; for books; editor, publisher, contributors, subject matter).

9. Name of copyright owner:

(Statements may be filed in the name of the owner of the restored copyright or the owner of an exclusive right therein.)

10. If you are not the owner of all rights, specify the rights you own:

(e.g. the right to reproduce/distribute publicly display/publicly perform the work, or to prepare a derivative work based on the work)

11. Address at which copyright owner may be contacted:

(Give the complete address, including the country and an “attention” line, or “in care of” name, if necessary.)

12. Telephone number of owner:

13. Fax number of owner:

14. Certification and Signature:

I hereby certify that, for each of the work(s) listed above, I am the copyright owner, or the owner of an exclusive right, or the owner's authorized agent, the agency relationship having been constituted in a writing signed by the owner before the filing of this notice, and that the information given herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.

Signature:

Name (printed or typed):

As agent for (if applicable):

Date:

Note:

Notices of Intent to Enforce must be in English, except for the original title, and either typed or printed by hand legibly in dark, preferably black, ink. They should be on 81⁄2″ by 11″ white paper of good quality, with at least a 1-inch (or 3 cm) margin.

[60 FR 50420, Sept. 29, 1995, as amended at 63 FR 30635, June 5, 1998; 64 FR 12902, Mar. 16, 1999; 71 FR 31092, June 1, 2006; 73 FR 37839, July 1, 2008; 78 FR 42874, July 18, 2013; 82 FR 9358, Feb. 6, 2017; 85 FR 19667, Apr. 8, 2020; 87 FR 59308, Sept. 30, 2022]