April 21, 2002 Copyright Office to Hold Public Discussion on Notice and Records of Use of Sound Recordings on the Internet

Press Contact: Craig D'Ooge (202) 707-9189
Public Contact: (202) 707-5959

The United States Copyright Office will hold a public roundtable discussion on requirements for giving copyright owners reasonable notice of the use of their works for sound recordings under the section 114 and 112 statutory licenses and for how records of such use shall be kept and made available to copyright owners. The roundtable discussion will be held on Friday, May 10, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in room LM 620 (Dining Room A), James Madison Memorial Building, First and Independence Avenue S.E., Washington D.C.

Requests to participate or attend must be made by email to "114roundtable@loc.gov" or by fax to (202) 252-3423. Requests to participate or to attend the roundtable discussion must be submitted by close of business on May 6, 2002.

Those interested in participating in the roundtable must notify the office in a written request sent by fax or e-mail to the addresses given above, and this request must contain the following elements: (1) the name of the person desiring to participate; (2) the organization or organizations represented by that person, if any; (3) contact information (address, telephone, fax, and e-mail); and (4) information on the specific focus or intent of the participant (or his or her organization) and any questions or issues the participant would like to raise.

Persons desiring merely to attend but not actively participate in the discussions should so indicate in the request and need not give any information on questions or issues. Submission of such requests by regular mail would not be effective.

The Copyright Office encourages participation by all those affected by the proposed regulations. The office is especially interested in the views of small businesses engaged in webcasting as well as individuals and small businesses who are copyright owners of sound recordings, and in details relating to the benefits, costs and burdens associated with the published notice and recordkeeping proposal and of alternatives to that proposal. The office encourages those who would like to participate to review the comments already submitted in this proceeding. Those comments may be found on our Web site at www.copyright.gov/carp/114/reply/comments.html. The office also encourages those with common interests and views to select one spokesperson.

Background

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), Pub. L. No. 105-304, 112 Stat. 2860 (1998), amended the statutory license in section 114 of the Copyright Act (Title 17, U.S.C.) for the public performance of sound recordings via digital audio transmission, and established a new statutory license under section 112 of the Copyright Act for the making of ephemeral copies of sound recordings. The DMCA also directed the Copyright Office to establish regulations that require digital audio services eligible for the amended section 114 license and the new section 112 license to give copyright owners of sound recordings reasonable notice of the use of their works and to maintain records of use and make them available to copyright owners. The office published a notice in the Federal Register proposing such regulations and sought public comment. Following publication of this notice, the office extended the original comment period to April 5, 2002, and the reply period to April 26, 2002.

The Copyright Office has reviewed the comments received to this point and is aware that the proposed notice and recordkeeping provisions are contentious. The Copyright Office hopes to adopt regulations that provide sufficient notification and information to copyright owners of the use of their sound recordings, yet are not unduly burdensome on those making use of the statutory licenses. To promote the adoption of such regulations, the office is holding the May 10 roundtable discussion to discuss the proposed regulations and the comments that have been received. While registration in a public forum would not otherwise be required, seating is limited and will be available first to persons who have submitted requests to participate or attend. Remaining seats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

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PR 02-056
2002-04-22
ISSN 0731-3527