[Federal Register: April 4, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 64)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 16306-16311]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04ap07-25]
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Office
37 CFR Part 202
[Docket No. RM 2007-3]
Registration of Claims to Copyright--Renewals
AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.
ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: The Copyright Office is proposing to amend its regulations
governing applications for registration of claims to the renewal term
of copyright. This notice seeks public comment on the proposed amended
regulations, which will take into account the fact that, since January
1, 2006, all applications for renewal have necessarily related to works
which are subject to automatic renewal and, thus, are already in their
renewal terms, making impossible any 28th- year registration of claims
to the renewal term.
DATES: Comments are due May 4, 2007.
ADDRESSES: If hand delivered by a private party, an original and five
copies of a comment or reply comment should be brought to Library of
Congress, U.S. Copyright Office, 2221 S. Clark Street, 11th Floor,
Arlington, VA. 22202, between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. The envelope should
be addressed as follows: Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Copyright
Office. If delivered by a commercial courier, an original and five
copies of a comment or reply comment must be delivered to the
Congressional Courier Acceptance Site (``CCAS'') located at 2nd and D
Streets, NE, Washington, DC between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. The envelope
should be addressed as follows: Office of the General Counsel, U.S.
Copyright Office, LM-401, James Madison Building, 101 Independence
Avenue, SE, Washington, DC. Please note that CCAS will not accept
delivery by means of overnight delivery services such as Federal
Express, United Parcel Service or DHL. If sent by mail (including
overnight delivery using U.S. Postal Service Express Mail), an original
and five copies of a comment or reply comment should be addressed to
U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright GC/I&R, P.O. Box 70400, Southwest
Station, Washington, DC 20024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nanette Petruzzelli, Special Legal
Advisor for Reengineering, P.O. Box 70400, Washington, DC 20024-0400.
Telephone: 202-707-8350. Telefax: 202-707-8366.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The 1976 Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. 101, et. seq., carried over
provisions for the continued protection of certain works first
published or registered for copyright under the 1909 Copyright Act.
Reenacting and preserving the provisions of section 24 of the 1909 law
for all works which were then in their first term of copyright
protection, Section 304(a) of Title 17 as originally enacted in 1976
provided that renewal registration had to be made during the 28th year
of the original term of copyright in order to secure the additional
(then 47) years of renewal-term protection. 17 U.S.C. 304(a) (1976).
In 1992, Congress enacted a revision of section 304(a) of Title 17
which made renewal copyright automatic for works first published or
registered from January 1, 1964, through December 31, 1977. This
amendment allowed the renewal right to vest without registration of:
[a] the claim to copyright during the original, 28-year term; or, [b]
the claim to renewal copyright during the year immediately prior to the
beginning of the renewal term (i.e., during the 28th year); or, [c] the
claim to renewal copyright during the renewal term. Pub. L. No. 102-
307, 106 Stat. 264, enacted June 26, 1992. In order to encourage
renewal registration and provide a public record of renewal rights,
however, Congress also amended section 304(a) to provide certain
benefits to a party who undertook the renewal registration within the
28th year of the original term of copyright. These benefits for works
with timely renewal registrations include:
1. A certificate of registration constitutes prima facie evidence
as to the validity of the copyright during its renewal term and of the
facts stated in the certificate. 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(4)(B).
2. A derivative work prepared under the authority of a grant of a
transfer or license of copyright in a work made before the expiration
of the original term of copyright may not continue to be used under the
terms of the grant during the renewal term without the authority of the
owner of the renewal copyright. 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(4)(A).
3. A renewal copyright vests upon the beginning of the renewal term
in the
[[Page 16307]]
party who was entitled to claim the renewal of copyright at the time
the application was made as provided under 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(2)(A)(i)
and (B)(i).
Registration of a claim to the renewal term has also been possible
since the 1992 amendment at any time during the renewal term, i.e., at
any time beyond the 28th year of the original term of copyright. 17
U.S.C. 304(a)(3)(A)(ii). Such renewal registration may be made whether
or not an original-term registration was previously made. If no
original-term registration was made, the renewal term applicant must
provide information, under the provision of 17 U.S.C. 409 (11),
regarding the original term of copyright. Such information must
demonstrate that the work submitted for renewal registration complies
with all requirements of the 1909 Act with respect to the existence,
ownership, or duration of the copyright for the original term of the
work. The Addendum to Form RE has been used to provide this information
to the Copyright Office.
The 1992 amendment further provided that, where no renewal
registration has been made in the name of a party identified as
entitled to the renewal right in the statute at 304(a)(1)(B) and (C),
an application form may be filed at any time during the renewal term by
any successor or assignee of such statutorily-enumerated party. Section
304(a)(3).
II. End of 28th-Year Renewal Registration
The Copyright Act of 1909 ceased to be effective on January 1,
1978. For all works published before January 1, 1978, where the year
date in the copyright notice on published copies or phonorecords
distributed by authority of the copyright owner was earlier than the
year date of first publication, claims to renewal copyright must have
been registered during the last year of the original copyright term as
that term was computed from the year date in the copyright notice. For
purposes of renewal registration, this year period began on December 31
of the 27th year from the year date appearing in the notice and ran
through December 31 of the 28th year from the year date appearing in
the notice rather than being computed from the year date of actual
first publication. This ameliorative principle arose from case law
under the 1909 Act and essentially benefitted the copyright owner by
providing an alternative to the complete loss of copyright in instances
of a wrong, i.e., earlier, year date in the copyright notice. Further,
for works governed by the 1909 copyright law, in effect until December
31, 1977, the original copyright term for a published work was computed
from the date of first publication; the original term for a work first
registered in unpublished form was computed from the date of
registration in the Copyright Office.
On January 1, 1978, the Copyright Act of 1976, Pub. L. No. 94-553,
90 Stat. 2541 (October 19, 1976), became effective. The extensively
revised copyright law provided that any work unpublished and not
registered as of January 1, 1978, or published on or after that date,
was to be governed by the 1976 statute and was to receive a term of
protection provided by section 302 of the statute. However, for any
copyright, the first term of which was subsisting on January 1, 1978,
such term was to last 28 years with a possibility of a 47-year renewal
term. Further, Pub. L. No. 105-298, 112 Stat. 2827, enacted October 27,
1998, changed the renewal term for works under copyright protection as
of that date from 47 to 67 years.
Thus, works first published or registered for their original term
of copyright on or before December 31, 1977, constitute the category of
works for which the renewal structure is applicable. Any such work
could have an original term of copyright of 28 years, assuming
compliance with all applicable requirements of the 1909 statute, and no
work governed by the carried-over renewal provisions of section 304(a)
of Title 17 may possess an original term of copyright extending beyond
December 31, 2005, i.e., 28 years after December 31, 1977. Thus,
December 31, 2005, was the last day on which a work first published or
originally registered as unpublished during the effective period of the
1909 copyright law could have been submitted for renewal registration
during the 28th year of its original term of copyright and be eligible
for the benefits listed above.
III. Continuation of Post-28th Year Renewal Registration
After January 1, 2006, works that were first published or
registered as unpublished for the original term of copyright between
1964 and 1977 will continue to be amenable to renewal registration.
Concerning works eligible for renewal registration since 1992,
statutory claimants and successors or assignees of such statutory
claimants may file applications for the renewal term.
A claim to the renewal term must be registered in the name of the
statutory claimant in whom the renewal copyright vested on the last day
of the original term of copyright. 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(2)(A)(ii) and
(2)(B)(ii). This is true even when that claimant is no longer the owner
of the copyright in the renewal term. If the statutory claimant in whom
the renewal vested is the current owner and that claimant is submitting
the renewal claim, that fact must be indicated on the renewal
application.
Where there is a successor or assignee of any statutory renewal
claimant (the party who was the owner of the renewal term as determined
on the last day of the original 28-year term of copyright), the
successor or assignee may file the renewal application. 17 U.S.C.
304(a)(3)(A)(ii). Consistent with the Offices long-standing regulation
at 37 CFR 202.3(b)(10), as a general rule, only one registration can be
made for the same version of a particular work. This rule applies to
renewal claims, including those filed by a successor or assignee. For
example, if a successor-in-interest filed a renewal claim in 2006 and
later assigned his interest to someone else, that person could not file
a renewal claim.
In the case of an application filed by a successor or assignee, the
renewal application must identify the party in whom the renewal
copyright vested by virtue of 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(1)(B) and (C) but in
whose name no previous renewal registration has been made; must
indicate the basis upon which copyright in the renewal term vested in
that party; and must identify the party filing as successor or assignee
of the statutory claimant under 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(3) and the manner by
which such successor/assignee secured the renewal copyright. When such
an application has been filed by a successor or assignee in the name of
the statutory claimant as described in 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(1)(B) and (C),
the Office will generally not accept subsequent claims filed by other
successors or assignees whose rights are derived from the same
statutory claimant.
Where a successor or assignee claims the renewal right from the
same statutory claimant as does another successor or assignee, the
Copyright Office may, however, inquire concerning the particular
situation and, if appropriate, may allow adverse renewal claims from
both successors/assignees to be placed on the public record.
Applications in which two or more persons or organizations adversely
claim the copyright to the renewal term in a particular work will be
handled as the Office's Compendium of Copyright Practices, Compendium
II (1984), Sec. 108.06, indicates: adverse claims will be registered
if, after the Office inquires
[[Page 16308]]
concerning the claims, each claim, on its own merits, is determined to
meet all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. In such a
case, correspondence between the parties filing competing renewal
claims and the Copyright Office will be maintained within Office
records and subject to public inspection according to regulations found
at 37 CFR 201.2. In cases where adverse renewal claims are not accepted
by the Copyright Office, however, if a public record of renewal
ownership is sought by particular successors or assignees of the same
statutory claimant as indicated in the filing of a previous claim by
another successor or assignee, the document of transfer of the renewal
copyright may be recorded in the Copyright Office.
IV. Renewal Registration Procedures
Under the proposed amendment, the Copyright Office will provide a
revised application form for the registration of renewal claims. The
proposed revised Form RE, as well as the proposed revised Form RE/CON
(for use when additional information must be supplied) and Form RE/
ADDENDUM (to be filed if the work, or the collective work in which it
was first published, was not registered during the original term) may
be viewed on the Copyright Office website at http://www.copyright.gov/proposedforms.
Following issuance of a final rule, these new forms will
be available on the Copyright Office website at http://www.copyright.gov as
well as through postal mail upon request. Any requests to the Copyright
Office for application forms for registration of claims to the renewal
term will be filled with the newly revised form; the forms currently in
use will be obsolete and the new forms must be used to file such
renewal claims.
One of the major changes to the form will facilitate the filing of
applications by successors or assignees of the statutory renewal
claimants listed at 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(1)(B) and (C). During the past
several years, those successors or assignees of statutory claimants who
wished to file an application to the renewal term, 17 U.S.C.
304(a)(3)(ii), had to seek advice from the Copyright Office because of
the lack of appropriate application-form instructions for the successor
or assignee situation; this has been addressed in the revised
application form.
V. Summary of Revisions to Regulation at 37 CFR 202.17
The proposed revision of this regulatory section, 202.17, is
extensive and essentially reorders much of the information which
previously appeared within this section. The most important change in
information concerns the end of the 28th-year renewal registration
possibility.
1. Section 202.17(a) more specifically explains the relevant
statutory changes of 1992 regarding renewal rights and sets out the
distinction between pre-1964 works and post-1964 works with respect to
renewal registration.
2. Section 202.17(b) expands the list of terms defined to include
``statutory claimant,'' ``assignee and successor,'' and ``vest'' as
those terms relate specifically to the provisions of this renewal
registration regulation.
3. Section 202.17(c) explains the relevant time periods for both
original term registration and renewal term registration and their
optional character as they are set out in the 1992 revision of section
304(a) of Title 17.
4. Section 202.17(d) explains the benefits of 28th-year renewal
registration under the 1992 revision to section 304(a) of Title 17 and
indicates that such benefits have no longer been available since
January 1, 2006, because the regime of 28th-year renewal registration
has ended.
5. Section 202.17(e) sets out the parties entitled to the renewal
right under 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(1)(B) and (C). This section also:
a. clarifies that, in any derivative work which may be the subject
of a renewal application, a renewal claim may be filed only in the new
matter, revisions, or changes incorporated into that derivative work
and which form the basis of the protected authorship for purposes of
registration.
b. clarifies that renewal claims for a work may, under certain
circumstances, be filed under the posthumous work category and also
under an individual claimant category but with the Copyright Office's
taking no position as to which of such claims may be adjudicated to be
valid.
For purposes of the copyright statute's renewal provision, the term
``posthumous work'' means a work concerning which no copyright
assignment or other contract for exploitation of the work has occurred
during the author's lifetime and which is unpublished at the time of
the author's death. Compendium of Copyright Office Practices,
Compendium II (1984), 1317.03(a), citing Bartok v. Boosey & Hawkes,
Inc., 523 F.2d 941 (2d Cir. 1975), and H.R. Rep. No. 1476, 94th Cong.,
2d Sess 139 (1976). Two parties claiming renewal copyright who take
different positions as to whether a particular work falls under the
specific definition of ``posthumous'' which Congress adopted from
Bartok may, thus, file separate and competing claims in such a
situation.
c. explains several situations concerning the filing of a renewal
registration claim where an executor or a party appointed to fulfill
such duties may be the appropriate filer of a renewal claim or where
conflicting claims between an administrator of a will and the author's
next of kin may be accepted by the Copyright Office.
The Office has also added a phrase, for purposes of Sec.
202.17(e)(2)(iii)(C), qualifying that an executor appointed under a
will must still be acting in that capacity at the time of registration
when a renewal claim is filed. The phrase ``if still acting in that
capacity at the time of registration'' is added to help claimants make
decisions concerning their renewal submissions where an executor of a
will may or may not be able to act in the filing of a renewal claim.
For the uncertainties and varying situations concerning the presence or
absence of an executor or administrator and the possibility of the next
of kin's claiming as an appropriate section 304 statutory class, see
e.g. Silverman v. Sunrise Pictures Corp., 290 F. 804 (2d Cir.), cert.
denied, 262 U.S. 758 (1923); Gibran v. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 153 F.
Supp. 854 (S.D.N.Y. 1957), aff'd sub. nom. Gibran v. National Committee
of Gibran, 255 F.2d 121 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 358 U.S. 828 (1958);
Capano Music v. Myers Music, Inc., 605 F. Supp. 692 (S.D.N.Y. 1985).
6. Section 202.17(f) clarifies the situations in which successors
and assignees of the section 304(a)(1)(B) and (C) statutory renewal
claimants may file applications for renewal registration.
7. Section 202.17(g) indicates the information necessary on a
renewal application form for a work for which a previous, original-term
registration has been made.
8. Section 202.17(h) indicates the information necessary on a
renewal application form and the required accompanying deposit
materials in situations for works where no original-term registration
has been made. Concerning the Form RE/Addendum to be used in this
situation of no original-term registration, regulatory Sec.
202.17(h)(3)(vii) explains that the applicant must provide within the
application an averment that all authorized copies of the work which
were publicly distributed in the United States or elsewhere before
March 1, 1989, carried a statutorily correct copyright notice.
March 1, 1989, is the effective date of the Berne Convention
Implementation Act of 1988 [BCIA], making the presence of a copyright
notice on copies of a
[[Page 16309]]
work, published in the U.S., with the authorization of the copyright
owner, optional. Before March 1, 1989, however, any copy, including any
reprint copy, of a work published in this country or elsewhere, even
though such work may have been first published under the 1909 Copyright
Act, must have carried a statutorily required copyright notice. See 17
U.S.C. 405.
List of Subjects in 37 CFR Part 202
Claims to copyright, Copyright, Registration requirements, Renewals
Proposed Regulations
In consideration of the foregoing, the Copyright Office proposes to
amend Part 202 of 37 CFR, Chapter II, in the manner set forth below:
1. The authority citation for part 202 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 17 U.S.C. 408(f), 702.
2. Section 202.17 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 202.17 Renewals
(a) General.
(1) This section concerns renewal for copyrights originally secured
from January 1, 1964, through December 31, 1977, either by publication
with the required copyright notice or by registration as an unpublished
work. Renewal registration for these works is optional.
As provided in Pub. L. No. 102-307, 106 Stat. 264, enacted June 26,
1992, renewal registration made during the last year of the original
28-year term of copyright differs in legal effect from renewal
registration made during the 67-year extended renewal term. In the
latter instance, the copyright is renewed automatically at the
expiration of the original 28-year term.
In the former instance, renewal by registration during the last
year of the original 28-year term vested the renewal copyright in the
statutory claimant living on the date of registration.
(2) Works for which copyright was secured before 1964 are governed
by the provisions of 17 U.S.C. 304(a) in effect prior to the 1992 date
of enactment of Pub. L. No. 102-307. The copyrights in such works could
have been renewed by registration only within the last calendar year of
the original 28-year term of copyright protection. If renewal
registration was not made during that period of time, copyright
protection was lost when the original term of copyright expired and
cannot be regained.
(3) Works restored to copyright by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act
are governed in their copyright term of protection by Pub. L. No. 103-
465, 108 Stat. 4809, 4976 (December 8, 1994). Under 17 U.S.C.
104A(a)(1)(A) and (B), as amended, any work in which copyright is
restored subsists for the remainder of the term of copyright that the
work would have been otherwise granted in the United States. Such term
includes the remainder of any applicable renewal term.
(4) Automatic restoration of copyright in certain foreign works
that were in the public domain in the United States may have occurred
under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act and may be protected by
copyright or neighboring rights in their ``source country,'' as defined
at 17 U.S.C. 104A(h)(8).
(b) Definitions.
(1) For purposes of this section, the terms assignee and successor,
as they pertain to 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(3)(A)(ii), refer to a party which
has acquired the renewal copyright in a work by assignment or by other
means of legal succession from the statutory claimant [as that claimant
is defined in 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(1)(B) and (C)] in whom the renewal
copyright vested but in whose name no renewal registration was
previously made.
(2) For purposes of this section, a work has been copyrighted when
it has been published with a proper copyright notice or, in the case of
an unpublished work, when it has been registered for copyright.
(3) For purposes of this section, the term posthumous work means a
work that was unpublished on the date of the death of the author and
with respect to which no copyright assignment or other contract for
exploitation of the work occurred during the author's lifetime.
(4) For purposes of this section, the term statutory claimant
means:
(i) a party who was entitled to claim copyright for the renewal
term at the time renewal registration was made either as a proprietary
claimant ,17 U.S.C. 304(a)(2)(A)(i), or as a personal claimant, 17
U.S.C. 304(a)(2)(B)(i), if registration was made during the original
term of copyright; or,
(ii) if the original copyright term expired, a party who was
entitled to claim copyright for the renewal term as of the last day of
the original term of copyright as either a proprietary or a personal
claimant, 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(2)(A)(ii) and (a)(2)(B)(ii).
(5) For purposes of this section, the term to vest means to give a
fixed, non-contingent right of present or future enjoyment of the
renewal copyright in a work. If renewal registration was made during
the 28th year of the original term of copyright, the renewal copyright
vested in the party or parties entitled to claim such copyright at the
time of registration as provided by 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(1)(B) and (C).
Although the vested right may have been determined by registration
during the 28th year of the original term, the exercise of such right
did not commence until the beginning of the renewal term, as provided
in 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(2). If renewal registration was not made during the
28th year, the renewal copyright automatically vested upon the
beginning of the renewal term in the party or parties entitled to claim
such copyright on the last day of the original term as provided by 17
U.S.C. 304(a)(2)(A)(ii) and (B)(ii).
(c) Time limits: original term and renewal term registration.
(1) Under 17 U.S.C. 304(a), prior to its amendment of June 26,
1992, a registration for the original term of copyright must have been
made during the 28 years of that original term, and a renewal
registration must also have been made during the 28th year of that
term. Pub. L. No. 102-307, 106 Stat. 264 (June 26, 1992) amended
section 304(a) for works originally copyrighted from January 1, 1964,
through December 31, 1977, and provided for optional original-term
registration and optional renewal registration. 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(2),
(a)(3) and 409(11). For such works, claims to renewal copyright could
have been registered during the last year of the original term but such
registration was not required in order to enjoy statutory protection
during the renewal term. 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(3)(B).
(2) A renewal registration can be made at any time during the
renewal term. 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(3)(A)(ii). If no original-term
registration was made, renewal registration remains possible; but the
Register may request information, under 17 U.S.C. 409(11), regarding
the original term of copyright. Such information must demonstrate that
the work complies with all requirements of the 1909 Act with respect to
the existence, ownership, or duration of the copyright for the original
term of the work. The Form RE/Addendum is used to provide this
information.
(3) Renewal registration is currently available for works
copyrighted from January 1, 1964, through December 31, 1977. Under the
provisions of 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(3)(A)(ii), renewal registration may be
made any time during the 67-year renewal term for such works according
to the procedure indicated in paragraph (h) of this section. Such
renewal registration is optional and is not a condition of the
subsistence of the copyright for the 67-year renewal term. 17 U.S.C.
304(a)(3)(B). In the case of such works for which no registration was
made during the original term of
[[Page 16310]]
copyright, renewal registration may be made by submission of a Form RE/
Addendum. The Addendum, an adjunct to the renewal form, concerns the
facts of first publication for a work and assures the Copyright Office
that the work as it existed in its original term of copyright was in
compliance with the 1909 copyright law, 17 U.S.C. 1, et. seq. (1909
Act, in effect through December 31, 1977), whose provisions govern such
works.
(d) Benefits of 28th-year renewal registration.
Prior to January 1, 2006, renewal registration was available during
the 28th year of the original term of copyright for works copyrighted
from January 1, 1964, through December 31, 1977. As provided in Pub. L.
No. 102-307, 106 Stat. 264, registration made during the 28th year of
the original term of copyright provided the following benefits to the
registrant:
(1) The certificate of registration constituted prima facie
evidence as to the validity of the copyright during its renewal term
and of the facts stated in the certificate. 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(4)(B).
(2) A derivative work prepared under the authority of a grant of a
transfer or license of copyright in a work made before the expiration
of the original term of copyright could not continue to be used under
the terms of the grant during the renewal term without the authority of
the owner of the renewal copyright. 17 U.S.C. 304(a)(4)(A).
(3) The renewal copyright vested upon the beginning of the renewal
term in the party entitled to claim the renewal of copyright at the
time the application was made as provided under 17 U.S.C.
304(a)(2)(A)(i) and (B)(i).
(e) Statutory parties entitled to claim copyright for the renewal
term under section 304(a).
(1) Renewal claims must be registered in the name of the party or
parties entitled to claim copyright for the renewal term as provided in
paragraphs 2 through 4 of this section and as specified in 17 U.S.C.
304(a). If a work was a new version of a previously published or
registered work, renewal registration may be claimed only in the new
matter.
(2) If the renewal claim was submitted during the last, i.e., the
28th, year of the original term of copyright, the claim had to be
registered in the name[s] of the statutory claimant[s] entitled to
claim the renewal copyright on the date on which the claim was
submitted to the Copyright Office. If the renewal claim is submitted
during the sixty-seven year extended renewal term, the renewal claim
can be registered only in the name[s] of the statutory claimant[s]
entitled to claim the renewal on the last day (December 31) of the
original term of copyright. These eligible renewal claimants are listed
below:
(i) The person who, on the applicable day, was the copyright
proprietor is the appropriate renewal claimant in any posthumous work
or any periodical, encyclopedia, or other composite work upon which the
copyright was originally secured by the proprietor
(ii) The person who, on the applicable day, was the copyright
proprietor is the appropriate claimant in any work copyrighted by a
corporate body (otherwise than as assignees or licensees of the
individual author), or by an employer for whom such work was made for
hire.
(iii) For any other copyrighted work, including a contribution by
an individual author to a periodical or to an cyclopedic or other
composite work, the appropriate claimants, in descending order of
eligibility, are the person who, on the applicable day, was:
(A) the author(s) of the work, if still living;
(B) the widow(er) and/or child(ren) of the author, if the author
was deceased on the applicable day;
(C) the author's executor(s), if still acting in that capacity on
the applicable day, provided the author had a will and neither the
author, nor any widow(er) or child of the author is still living;
(D) the author's next of kin, in the absence of a will and if
neither the author nor any widow, widower or child of the author is
living.
(3) The provisions of paragraphs (e)(1) and (2) of this section are
subject to the following qualification: Notwithstanding the definition
of ``posthumous work'' in paragraph (b)(4) of this section, a renewal
claim may be registered in the name of the proprietor of a work, as
well as in the name of the appropriate claimant under paragraph
(e)(2)(iii) of this section, in any case in which a contract for
exploitation of the work but no copyright assignment in the work has
occurred during the author's lifetime. However, registration by the
Copyright Office in this case should not be interpreted as evidencing
the validity of either claim.
(4) The provisions of paragraphs (e)(2)(iii)(C) and (D) of this
section are subject to the following qualifications:
(i) In any case where:
(A) the author has left a will which names no executor; or,
(B) the author has left a will which names an executor who cannot
or will not serve in that capacity; or,
(C) the author has left a will which names an executor who has been
discharged upon settlement of the estate, removed before the estate has
been completely administered, or is deceased at the time of the renewal
registration submission, the renewal claim may be registered either in
the name of an administrator cum testamento annexo (administrator
c.t.a.) or an administrator de bonis non cum testamento annexo
(administrator d.b.n.c.t.a.) so appointed by a court of competent
jurisdiction.
(ii) In any case described in paragraph (e) of this section, except
in the case where the author has left a will without naming an executor
and a court-appointed administrator c.t.a. or administrator
d.b.n.c.t.a. is in existence at the time of renewal registration, the
renewal claim also may be registered in the name of the author's next
of kin. However, registration by the Copyright Office of conflicting
renewal claims in such a case should not be interpreted as evidencing
the validity of either claim.
(f) Successors/assignees entitled to file an application for the
renewal term under section 304(a).(1) The provisions of paragraph (e)
of this section are subject to the following qualifications:
(i) Where no renewal registration has been made in the name of a
person or entity identified in paragraphs (e)(2)(i), (ii) and (iii) of
this section, a renewal application may be filed at any time during the
renewal term by any successor or assignee of such person or entity.
(ii) In such cases described in paragraph (f)(1)(i) of this
section, the renewal application must identify the party in whom the
renewal copyright vested; must indicate the basis upon which copyright
for the renewal term vested in that party; must identify the party who
is the successor or assignee of the statutory claimant under 17 U.S.C.
304(a)(3); and, must give the manner by which such successor/assignee
secured the renewal copyright.
(iii) When such a claim has been filed by a successor or assignee
in the name of the statutory claimant as described in paragraph
(e)(2)(i), (ii) and (iii) of this section, generally no subsequent
claims may be filed by other successors or assignees whose rights are
derived from the same statutory claimant. If a public record of renewal
ownership is sought by other successors or assignees of the same
statutory claimant, the document of transfer of the renewal copyright,
either the renewal in its entirety or in part, may be recorded in the
Copyright Office.
(iv) Where a successor or assignee claims the renewal right from
the same statutory claimant as does another successor or assignee, the
Copyright
[[Page 16311]]
Office may inquire concerning the situation and, if appropriate, may
allow adverse renewal claims from the successors/assignees to be placed
on the public record. In such cases, correspondence between the parties
filing competing renewal claims and the Copyright Office will be, as
always, maintained within Office records and subject to public
inspection according to regulations found at 37 CFR 201.2.
(g) Application for renewal registration for a work registered in
its original 28-year term.
(1) Each application for renewal registration shall be submitted on
Form RE. All forms are available free of charge via the Internet by
accessing the Copyright Office homepage at http://www.copyright.gov.
Copies of Form RE are also available free upon request to the Public
Information Office, United States Copyright Office, Library of
Congress, 101 Independence Avenue, Washington, DC 20559-6000.
(2) (i) An application for renewal registration may be submitted by
any eligible statutory renewal claimant as specified in paragraph (e)
of this section or by the duly authorized agent of such claimant, or by
the successor or assignee of such claimant as provided under paragraph
(f) of this section or by the duly authorized agent of such successor
or assignee.
(ii) An application for renewal registration shall be accompanied
by the required fee as set forth in 37 CFR 201.3. The application shall
contain the information required by the form and its accompanying
instructions, and shall include a certification. The certification
shall consist of:
(A) A designation of whether the applicant is the renewal claimant,
or a successor or assignee, or the duly authorized agent of such
claimant or of such successor or assignee (whose identity shall also be
given);
(B) The handwritten signature of such claimant, successor or
assignee, or agent, accompanied by the typewritten or printed name of
that person;
(C) A declaration that the statements made in the application are
correct to the best of that person's knowledge; and
(D) The date of certification.
(3) Once a renewal registration has been made, the Copyright Office
will not accept another application for renewal registration on behalf
of the same renewal claimant.
(h) Renewal with addendum registration for an unregistered work.
(1) General. For published works copyrighted from January 1, 1964,
through December 31, 1977, where no registration was made during the
original term of copyright and where renewal registration is sought
during the 67-year renewal term, the Form RE/Addendum must be used to
provide information concerning the original term of copyright. The Form
RE/Addendum requires a separate fee and the deposit of one copy or
phonorecord of the work as first published (or identifying material in
lieu of a copy or phonorecord). The effective date of registration for
a renewal claim submitted on a Form RE/Addendum is the date the
Copyright Office receives an acceptable completed application, the
required fees, and an acceptable deposit for the work.
(2) Time Limits. A renewal claim accompanied by an Addendum to Form
RE may be filed at any time during the 67-year renewal term.
(3) Content. The Form RE/Addendum must contain the following
information:
(i) The title of the work;
(ii) The name of the author(s);
(iii) The date of first publication of the work;
(iv) The nation of first publication of the work;
(v) The citizenship of the author(s) on the date of first
publication of the work;
(vi) The domicile of the author(s) on the date of first publication
of the work;
(vii) An averment that, at the time of first publication, and
thereafter until March 1, 1989 [effective date of the Berne
Implementation Act of 1988], all the copies or phonorecords of the
work, including reprints of the work, published, i.e., publicly
distributed in the United States or elsewhere, under the authority of
the author or other copyright proprietor, bore the copyright notice
required by the Copyright Act of 1909 and that United States copyright
subsists in the work;
(viii) For works of United States origin which were subject to the
manufacturing provisions of section 16 of the Copyright Act of 1909 as
it existed at the time the work was published, the Form RE/Addendum
must also contain information about the country of manufacture and the
manufacturing processes; and
(ix) The handwritten signature of the renewal claimant or successor
or assignee, or the duly authorized agent of the claimant or of the
successor or assignee. The signature shall be accompanied by the
printed or typewritten name of the person signing the Addendum and by
the date of the signature; and shall be immediately preceded by a
declaration that the statements made in the application are correct to
the best of that person's knowledge.
(4) Fees. Form RE and Form RE/Addendum must be accompanied by the
required fee for each form as required in 37 CFR 201.3.
(5) Deposit requirement. One copy or phonorecord or identifying
material of the work as first published in accordance with the deposit
requirements set out in 37 CFR 202.20 and 202.21 is required.
(6) Waiver of the deposit requirement. Where the renewal applicant
asserts that it is either impossible or otherwise an undue hardship to
satisfy the deposit requirements of 37 CFR 202.20 and 202.21, the
Copyright Office, at its discretion, may, upon receipt of an acceptable
explanation of the inability to submit such copy or identifying
material, permit the deposit of the following in descending order of
preference. In every case, however, proof of the copyright notice
showing the content and location of the notice as it appeared on copies
or phonorecords of the work as first published must be included.
(i) A reproduction of the entire work as first published (e.g.,
photocopy, videotape, audiotape, CD-ROM, DVD are examples of physical
media which may hold reproductions of a work as first published). If
the work is a contribution to a periodical, a reproduction of only the
contribution (including the relevant copyright notice) will suffice.
(ii) A reprint of the work (e.g., a later edition, a later release
of a phonorecord, or the like). The reprint must show the copyright
notice as it appeared in the same location within the first published
copy of the work as well as the exact content of the copyright notice
appearing in the first published edition. If the copyrightable content
of the reprint differs from that of the first published edition, an
explanation of the differences between the two editions is required.
(iii) Identifying material including a reproduction of the greatest
feasible portion of the copyrightable content of a work including a
photocopy or photograph of the title page, title screen, record label
or the like, as first published, and a photocopy or photograph showing
the copyright notice content and location as first published. The
Copyright Office may request deposit of additional material if the
initial submission is inadequate for examination purposes.
Dated: March 28, 2007.
Marybeth Peters,
Register of Copyrights.
[FR Doc. E7-6174 Filed 4-3-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-30-S