Title 37: Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights
PART 270—NOTICE AND RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS FOR STATUTORY LICENSES

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§ 270.3   Reports of use of sound recordings under statutory license for nonsubscription transmission services, preexisting satellite digital audio radio services, new subscription services and business establishment services.

(a) General. This section prescribes rules under which nonsubscription transmission services, preexisting satellite digital audio radio services, new subscription services, and business establishment services shall maintain reports of use of their sound recordings under section 112(e) or section 114(d)(2) of title 17 of the United States Code, or both.

(b) Definitions.

(1) Aggregate Tuning Hours are the total hours of programming that a nonsubscription transmission service, preexisting satellite digital audio radio service, new subscription service or business establishment service has transmitted during the reporting period identified in paragraph (c)(3) of this section to all listeners within the United States over the relevant channels or stations, and from any archived programs, that provide audio programming consisting, in whole or in part, of eligible nonsubscription service, preexisting satellite digital audio radio service, new subscription service or business establishment service transmissions, less the actual running time of any sound recordings for which the service has obtained direct licenses apart from 17 U.S.C. 114(d)(2) or which do not require a license under United States copyright law. For example, if a nonsubscription transmission service transmitted one hour of programming to 10 simultaneous listeners, the nonsubscription transmission service's Aggregate Tuning Hours would equal 10. If 3 minutes of that hour consisted of transmission of a directly licensed recording, the nonsubscription transmission service's Aggregate Tuning Hours would equal 9 hours and 30 minutes. If one listener listened to the transmission of a nonsubscription transmission service for 10 hours (and none of the recordings transmitted during that time was directly licensed), the nonsubscription transmission service's Aggregate Tuning Hours would equal 10.

(2) An AM/FM Webcast is a transmission made by an entity that transmits an AM/FM broadcast signal over a digital communications network such as the Internet, regardless of whether the transmission is made by the broadcaster that originates the AM/FM signal or by a third party, provided that such transmission meets the applicable requirements of the statutory license set forth in 17 U.S.C. 114(d)(2).

(3) A Collective is a collection and distribution organization that is designated under one or both of the statutory licenses, either by settlement agreement reached under section 112(e)(3), section 112(e)(6), section 114(f)(1)(A), section 114(f)(1)(C)(i), section 114(f)(2)(A), or section 114(f)(2)(C)(i) and adopted pursuant to §251.63(b) of this chapter, or by a decision of a Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel under section 112(e)(4), section 112(e)(6), section 114(f)(1)(B), section (f)(1)(C)(ii), section 114(f)(2)(B), or section 114(f)(2)(C)(ii) or by order of the Librarian of Congress pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 802(f).

(4) A new subscription service is defined in §270.1(b)(2)(iv).

(5) A nonsubscription transmission service is defined in §270.1(b)(2)(iii).

(6) A preexisting satellite digital audio radio service is defined in §270.1(b)(2)(ii).

(7) A business establishment service is defined in §270.1(b)(2)(v).

(8) A performance is each instance in which any portion of a sound recording is publicly performed to a Listener by means of a digital audio transmission or retransmission ( e.g. , the delivery of any portion of a single track from a compact disc to one Listener) but excluding the following:

(i) A performance of a sound recording that does not require a license ( e.g. , the sound recording is not copyrighted);

(ii) A performance of a sound recording for which the service has previously obtained a license from the Copyright Owner of such sound recording; and

(iii) An incidental performance that both:

(A) Makes no more than incidental use of sound recordings including, but not limited to, brief musical transitions in and out of commercials or program segments, brief performances during news, talk and sports programming, brief background performances during disk jockey announcements, brief performances during commercials of sixty seconds or less in duration, or brief performances during sporting or other public events and

(B) Other than ambient music that is background at a public event, does not contain an entire sound recording and does not feature a particular sound recording of more than thirty seconds (as in the case of a sound recording used as a theme song).

(9) Play frequency is the number of times a sound recording is publicly performed by a Service during the relevant period, without respect to the number of listeners receiving the sound recording. If a particular sound recording is transmitted to listeners on a particular channel or program only once during the two-week reporting period, then the play frequency is one. If the sound recording is transmitted 10 times during the two-week reporting period, then the play frequency is 10.

(10) A Report of Use is a report required under this section to be provided by a nonsubscription transmission service and new subscription service that is transmitting sound recordings pursuant to the statutory license set forth in section 114(d)(2) of title 17 of the United States Code or making ephemeral phonorecords of sound recordings pursuant to the statutory license set forth in section 112(e) of title 17 of the United States Code, or both.

(c) Report of Use —

(1) Separate reports not required. A nonsubscription transmission service, preexisting satellite digital audio radio service or a new subscription service that transmits sound recordings pursuant to the statutory license set forth in section 114(d)(2) of title 17 of the United States Code and makes ephemeral phonorecords of sound recordings pursuant to the statutory license set forth in section 112(e) of title 17 of the United States Code need not maintain a separate Report of Use for each statutory license during the relevant reporting periods.

(2) Content. For a nonsubscription transmission service, preexisting satellite digital audio radio service, new subscription service or business establishment service that transmits sound recordings pursuant to the statutory license set forth in section 114(d)(2) of title 17 of the United States Code, or the statutory license set forth in section 112(e) of title 17 of the United States Code, or both, each Report of Use shall contain the following information, in the following order, for each sound recording transmitted during the reporting periods identified in paragraph (c)(3) of this section:

(i) The name of the nonsubscription transmission service, preexisting satellite digital audio radio service, new subscription service or business establishment service making the transmissions, including the name of the entity filing the Report of Use, if different;

(ii) The category transmission code for the category of transmission operated by the nonsubscription transmission service, preexisting satellite digital audio radio service, new subscription service or business establishment service:

(A) For eligible nonsubscription transmissions other than broadcast simulcasts and transmissions of non-music programming;

(B) For eligible nonsubscription transmissions of broadcast simulcast programming not reasonably classified as news, talk, sports or business programming;

(C) For eligible nonsubscription transmissions of non-music programming reasonably classified as news, talk, sports or business programming;

(D) For eligible nonsubscription transmissions by a non-Corporation for Public Broadcasting noncommercial broadcaster making transmissions covered by §§261.3(a)(2)(i) and (ii) of this chapter;

(E) For eligible nonsubscription transmissions by a non-Corporation for Public Broadcasting noncommercial broadcaster making transmissions covered by §261.3(a)(2)(iii) of this chapter;

(F) For eligible nonsubscription transmissions by a small webcaster operating under an agreement published in the Federal Register pursuant to the Small Webcaster Settlement Act;

(G) For eligible nonsubscription transmissions by a noncommercial broadcaster operating under an agreement published in the Federal Register pursuant to the Small Webcaster Settlement Act;

(H) For transmissions other than broadcast simulcasts and transmissions of non-music programming made by an eligible new subscription service;

(I) For transmissions of broadcast simulcast programming not reasonably classified as news, talk, sports or business programming made by an eligible new subscription service;

(J) For transmissions of non-music programming reasonably classified as news, talk, sports or business programming made by an eligible new subscription service; and

(K) For eligible transmissions by a business establishment service making ephemeral recordings;

(iii) The featured artist;

(iv) The sound recording title;

(v) The International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) or, alternatively to the ISRC, the

(A) Album title; and

(B) Marketing label;

(vi) The actual total performances of the sound recording during the reporting period or, alternatively, the

(A) Aggregate Tuning Hours;

(B) Channel or program name; and

(C) Play frequency.

(3) Reporting period. A Report of Use shall be prepared for a two-week period (two periods of 7 consecutive days) for each calendar quarter of the year. The two weeks need not be consecutive, but both weeks must be completely within the calendar quarter.

(4) Signature. Reports of Use shall include a signed statement by the appropriate officer or representative of the service attesting, under penalty of perjury, that the information contained in the Report is believed to be accurate and is maintained by the service in its ordinary course of business. The signature shall be accompanied by the printed or typewritten name and the title of the person signing the Report, and by the date of the signature.

(5) Confidentiality. Copyright owners, their agents and Collectives shall not disseminate information in the Reports of Use to any persons not entitled to it, nor utilize the information for purposes other than royalty collection and distribution, without consent of the service providing the Report of Use.

(6) Documentation. A Service shall, for a period of at least three years from the date of service or posting of a Report of Use, keep and retain a copy of the Report of Use.

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