98-29382. Designation of Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement  

  • [Federal Register Volume 63, Number 212 (Tuesday, November 3, 1998)]
    [Rules and Regulations]
    [Pages 59233-59235]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 98-29382]
    
    
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    LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
    
    Copyright Office
    
    37 CFR, Part 201
    
    [Docket No. 98-11]
    
    
    Designation of Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed 
    Infringement
    
    AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.
    
    ACTION: Interim regulations.
    
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    SUMMARY: The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is issuing 
    interim regulations governing the designation by online service 
    providers of agents to receive notifications of claimed infringement. 
    The regulations are issued on an interim basis without opportunity for 
    comment due to the necessity of having regulations in place immediately 
    upon enactment of the Online Copyright Infringement Liability 
    Limitation Act. These regulations will be replaced by more complete 
    regulations to be promulgated following notice and opportunity for 
    comment.
    
    EFFECTIVE DATE: The interim regulations are effective November 3, 1998.
    
    ADDRESSES: An original and fifteen copies of the comments shall be 
    delivered to: Office of the General Counsel, Copyright Office, LM-403, 
    James Madison Memorial Building, 101 Independence Avenue, SE, 
    Washington, DC, or mailed to: David Carson, General Counsel, Copyright 
    GC/I&R, P.O. Box
    
    [[Page 59234]]
    
    70400, Southwest Station, Washington, D.C. 20024.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David O. Carson, General Counsel, or 
    Jennifer L. Hall, Senior Attorney, Copyright GC/I&R, PO Box 70400, 
    Southwest Station, Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: (202) 707-8380.
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    
    Background
    
        On October 28, 1998, President Clinton signed into law the Digital 
    Millennium Copyright Act, Pub. L. 105-______ (1998). Title II of the 
    Act (subtitled the ``Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation 
    Act'') amended chapter 5 of the copyright law, title 17 United States 
    Code, to provide limitations for service provider liability relating to 
    material online. Specifically, new subsection 512(c) provides 
    limitations on service provider liability with respect to material 
    residing, at the direction of a user, on a system or network that the 
    service provider controls or operates, if the conditions set forth in 
    subsection 512(c)(1) are satisfied.
        The limitations on liability established in subsection 512(c) apply 
    to a service provider only if the service provider has designated an 
    agent to receive notifications of claimed infringement by providing 
    contact information for that agent (1) to the Copyright Office and (2) 
    through the service provider's publicly accessible website. 17 U.S.C. 
    512(c)(2). The required information includes: (A) The name, address, 
    telephone number, and electronic mail address of the agent; and (B) 
    other contact information that the Register of Copyrights deems 
    appropriate. Id. The Register of Copyrights shall maintain a current 
    directory of designated agents, and make the listing available to the 
    public for inspection, and may require payment of a fee by service 
    providers to cover the costs of maintaining the directory. Id.
        Because the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act 
    was effective on its date of enactment, and because online service 
    providers may wish immediately to designate agents to receive 
    notification of claimed infringement in order to meet the requirements 
    of section 512(c)(2), the Copyright Office herein establishes interim 
    regulations governing the designation of agents to receive notification 
    of claimed infringement. The Office finds, for good cause, that notice 
    and public procedure for issuance of these interim regulations would be 
    impracticable, because of the necessity of having a procedure for 
    designation of agents in place immediately upon the enactment of the 
    Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act. These interim 
    regulations will be effective immediately, but the Office will publish 
    a notice of proposed rulemaking within the next several weeks seeking 
    comments on more comprehensive final regulations governing the 
    designation of agents to receive notification of claimed infringement. 
    Interim designations filed pursuant to these interim regulations will 
    be valid until the effective date of the final regulations. At that 
    time, service providers wishing to invoke section 512(c)(2) will have 
    to file new designations that satisfy the requirements of the final 
    regulations, which will include the payment of the fee required under 
    the final regulations.
        Under section 512(c)(2), a service provider designates an agent by 
    providing information required by Copyright Office regulations both on 
    its publicly available website and in a filing with the Copyright 
    Office. The requirements for such designation during the interim period 
    prior to issuance of final regulations are governed by the rules set 
    forth in the new interim regulations set forth in 37 CFR 201.38. During 
    the interim period the Office will not provide printed forms for filing 
    such interim designations. In order to satisfy section 512(c)(2), 
    online service providers must file a document entitled ``Interim 
    Designation of Agent to Receive Notifications of Claimed Infringement'' 
    which contains all the information required by section 512(c)(2). 
    Section 512(c)(2) provides that the Office may require payment of a fee 
    by service providers to cover the costs of maintaining a directory of 
    agents. The Office concludes that during the interim period, the 
    appropriate fee for the filing of an interim designation is $20.00, the 
    fee currently charged for recordation of a document. See 17 U.S.C. 
    708(a)(4). The fee that will be charged for filing a Designation of 
    Agent to Receive Notifications of Claimed Infringement under the final 
    regulations most likely will be higher.
        During the interim period before final regulations are promulgated, 
    each Interim Declaration may be filed only on behalf of a single 
    service provider. For purposes of these interim regulations, related 
    companies (e.g., parents and subsidiaries) are considered separate 
    service providers who would file separate Interim Designations. When it 
    considers final regulations, the Office will solicit comments as to 
    whether related companies (e.g., parent and subsidiary companies) 
    should be permitted to file a single Designation of Agent to Receive 
    Notifications of Claimed Infringement.
    
    List of Subjects in 37 CFR Part 201
    
        Copyright.
    
    Interim Regulations
    
        For the reasons set forth in the preamble, part 201 of title 37 of 
    the Code of Federal Regulations is amended to read as follows:
    
    PART 201--GENERAL PROVISIONS
    
        1. The authority for part 201 continues to read as follows:
    
        Authority: 17 U.S.C. 702.
    
        2. Section 201.38 is added to read as follows:
    
    
    Sec. 201.38  Designation of agent to receive notification of claimed 
    infringement.
    
        (a) General. This section prescribes interim rules under which 
    service providers may provide the Copyright Office with designations of 
    agents to receive notification of claimed infringement under section 
    512(c)(2) of title 17 of the United States Code, as amended. These 
    interim rules shall remain in effect until more comprehensive rules 
    have been promulgated following a notice of proposed rulemaking and 
    receipt of public comments.
        (b) Forms. The Copyright Office does not provide printed forms for 
    filing an Interim Designation of Agent to Receive Notification of 
    Claimed Infringement.
        (c) Content. An ``Interim Designation of Agent to Receive 
    Notification of Claimed Infringement'' shall be identified as such by 
    prominent caption or heading, and shall include the following 
    information with respect to a single service provider:
        (1) The full legal name and address of the service provider;
        (2) All names under which the service provider is doing business;
        (3) The name of the agent designated to receive notification of 
    claimed infringement;
        (4) The full address, including a specific number and street name 
    or rural route, of the agent designated to receive notification of 
    claimed infringement. A post office box or similar designation will not 
    be sufficient except where it is the only address that can be used in 
    that geographic location;
        (5) The telephone number, facsimile number, and electronic mail 
    address of the agent designated to receive notification of claimed 
    infringement.
        (d) Signature. The Interim Designation of Agent to Receive
    
    [[Page 59235]]
    
    Notification of Claimed Infringement shall include the signature of the 
    appropriate officer or representative of the service provider 
    designating the agent. The signature shall be accompanied by the 
    printed or typewritten name and title of the person signing the Notice, 
    and by the date of signature.
        (e) Filing. A service provider may file the Interim Designation of 
    Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement with the Public 
    Information Office of the Copyright Office, Room LM-401, James Madison 
    Memorial Building, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Avenue, SE, 
    Washington, DC, during normal business hours, 9 am to 5 pm. If mailed, 
    the Interim Designation should be addressed to: Copyright GC/I&R, PO 
    Box 70400, Southwest Station, Washington, DC 20024. Each designation 
    shall be accompanied by a filing fee of $20.00. Designations and 
    amendments will be posted online on the Copyright Office's website 
    (http://www.loc.gov/copyright).
        (f) Amendments. In the event of a change in the information 
    reported in an Interim Designation of Agent to Receive Notification of 
    Claimed Infringement, a service provider shall file with the Public 
    Information Office of the Copyright Office an amended Interim 
    Designation of Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement, 
    containing the current information required by section 201.38(c). The 
    amended Interim Designation shall be signed in accordance with the 
    requirements of section 201.38(d) and shall be accompanied by a fee of 
    $20.00.
        (g) Termination and dissolution. If a service provider terminates 
    its operations, the entity shall notify the Copyright Office by 
    certified or registered mail.
    
        Dated: October 28, 1998.
    Marybeth Peters,
    Register of Copyrights.
    
        Approved:
    James H. Billington,
    The Librarian of Congress.
    [FR Doc. 98-29382 Filed 11-2-98; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 1410-30-P
    
    
    

Document Information

Effective Date:
11/3/1998
Published:
11/03/1998
Department:
U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress
Entry Type:
Rule
Action:
Interim regulations.
Document Number:
98-29382
Dates:
The interim regulations are effective November 3, 1998.
Pages:
59233-59235 (3 pages)
Docket Numbers:
Docket No. 98-11
PDF File:
98-29382.pdf
CFR: (1)
37 CFR 201.38