INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

NATIONAL LEGISLATION - USA

Copyright Laws and Regulations

Regulations: Title 37, Chapters I (Subchapter C) and II, Code of Federal
Regulations

37 C.F.R. § 201.29   Access to, and confidentiality of, Statements of Account, Verification Auditor's Reports, and other verification information filed in the Copyright Office for digital audio recording devices or media.  

        (a) General. This section prescribes rules covering access to DART Statements of Account, including the Primary Auditor's Reports, filed under 17 U.S.C. 1003(c) and access to a Verifying Auditor's Report or other information that may be filed in the Office in a DART verification procedure as set out in § 201.30. It also prescribes rules to ensure confidential disclosure of these materials to appropriate parties.  

        (b) Definitions.  

        (1) Access includes inspection of and supervised making of notes on information contained in Statements of Account including Primary Auditor's Reports, Verification Auditor's Reports, and any other verification information.  

        (2) Audit and Verification Information means the reports of the Primary Auditor and Verifying Auditor filed with the Copyright Office under §§ 201.28 and 201.30, and all information relating to a manufacturing or importing party.  

        (3) DART Access Form means the form provided by the Copyright Office that must be completed and signed by any appropriate party seeking access to DART confidential material.  

        (4) DART confidential material means the Quarterly and Annual Statements of Account, including the Primary Auditor's Report that is part of the Annual Statements of Account, and the Verifying Auditor's Report and any other verification information filed with the Copyright Office. It also includes photocopies of notes made by requestors who have had access to these materials that are retained by the Copyright Office.  

        (5) Interested copyright party means a party as defined in 17 U.S.C. 1001(7).  

        (6) A Representative is someone, such as a lawyer or accountant, who is not an employee or officer of an interested copyright party or a manufacturing or importing party but is authorized to act on that party's behalf.  

        (7) Statements of Account means Quarterly and Annual Statements of Account as required under 17 U.S.C. 1003(c) and defined in § 201.28.

        (c) Confidentiality. The Copyright Office will keep all DART confidential materials in locked files and disclose them only in accordance with this section. Any person or entity provided with access to DART confidential material by the Copyright Office shall receive such information in confidence and shall use and disclose it only as authorized in 17 U.S.C. 1001 et. seq.  

        (d) Persons allowed Access to DART confidential material. Access to DART Statements of Account filed under 17 U.S.C. 1003(c) and to Verification Auditor's Reports or other verification information is limited to:  

        (1) An interested copyright party as defined in § 201.29(b)(5) or an authorized representative of an interested copyright party, who has been qualified for access pursuant to paragraph (f)(2) of this section;  

        (2) The Verifying Auditor authorized to conduct verification procedures under § 201.30;  

        (3) The manufacturing or importing party who filed that Statement of Account or that party's authorized representative(s); and  

        (4) Staff of the Copyright Office or the Library of Congress who require access in the performance of their duties under title 17 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.;  

        (e) Requests for Access. An interested copyright party, manufacturing party, importing party, representative, or Verifying Auditor seeking access to any DART confidential material must complete and sign a “DART Access Form.” The requestor must submit a copy of the completed DART Access Form to the Licensing Specialist, Licensing Division. The form must be received in the Licensing Division at least 5 working days before the date an appointment is requested. The form may be FAXED to the Licensing Division to expedite scheduling, but a copy of the form with the original signature must be filed with the Office.  

        (1) A representative of an interested copyright party, a manufacturing party or an importing party shall submit an affidavit of his or her authority (e.g., in the form of a letter of authorization from the interested copyright party or the manufacturing or importing party).  

        (2) An auditor selected to conduct a verification procedure under § 201.30 shall submit an affidavit of his or her selection to conduct the verification procedure.  

        (3) DART Access Forms may be requested from, and upon completion returned to: Licensing Division, Copyright Office, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20557-6400 They may also be requested or submitted in person at the Licensing Division, Room LM-458, James Madison Memorial Building, First and Independence Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.  

        (f) Criteria for Access to DART confidential material. (1) A Verifying Auditor will be allowed access to any paticular Statement of Account and Primary Auditor's Report required to perform his or her verification function;  

        (2) Interested copyright parties as defined in paragraph (b)(5) of this section will be allowed access to any DART confidential material as defined in paragraph (b)(4) of this section for verification purposes, except that no interested copyright party owned or controlled by a manufacturing or importing party subject to royalty payment obligations under the Audio Home Recording Act, or who owns or controls such a manufacturing or importing party, may have access to DART confidential material relating to any other manufacturing or importing party. In such cases, a representative of the interested copyright party as defined in paragraph (b)(6) of this section may have access for that party, provided that these representatives do not disclose the confidential information contained in the Statement of Account or Primary Auditor's Report to his or her client.  

        (3) Access to a Verifying Auditor's Report and any other verification material filed in the Office shall be limited to the interested copyright party(s) requesting the verification procedure and to the manufacturing or importing party whose Statement of Account was the subject of the verification procedure.  

        (g) Denial of Access. Any party who does not meet the criteria described in § 201.29(f) shall be denied access.  

        (h) Content of DART Access Form. The DART Access Form shall include the following information:  

        (1) Identification of the Statement of Account and Primary Auditor's Report, the Verification Auditor's Report and other verification materials, or notes prepared by requestors who earlier accessed the same items, to be accessed, by both the name (of the manufacturing party or importing party) and the quarter(s) and year(s) to be accessed.  

        (2) The name of the interested copyright party, manufacturing party, importing party, or verification auditor on whose behalf the request is made, plus this party's complete address, including a street address (not a post office box number), a telephone number, and a telefax number, if any.  

        (3) If the request for access is by or for an interested copyright party, a statement indicating whether the copyright party is owned or controlled by a manufacturing or importing party subject to a royalty payment obligation, or whether the interested copyright party owns or controls a manufacturing or importing party subject to royalty payments.  

        (4) The name, address, and telephone number of the person making the request for access and his/her relationship to the party on whose behalf the request is made.  

        (5) The specific purpose for the request for access, for example, access is requested in order to verify a Statement of Account; in order to review the results of a verification audit; for the resolution of a dispute arising from such an audit; or in order for a manufacturing or importing party to review its own Statement of Account, Primary Auditor's Report, Verification Auditor's Report, or related information.  

        (6) A statement that the information obtained from access to Statements of Account, Primary Auditor's Report, Verification Auditor's Report, and any other verification audit filings will be used only for a purpose permitted under the Audio Home Recording Act (AHRA) and the DART regulations.

        (7) The actual signature of the party or the representative of the party requesting access certifying that the information will be held in confidence and used only for the purpose specified by the Audio Home Recording Act and these regulations.  

[60 FR 25998, May 16, 1995; 63 FR 30634, 30635, June 5, 1998]  

37 C.F.R. § 201.30   Verification of Statements of Account.  

        (a) General. This section prescribes rules pertaining to the verification of information contained in the Statements of Account by interested copyright parties pursuant to section 1003(c) of title 17 of the United States Code.  

        (b) Definitions.  

        (1) Annual Statement of Account, generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS), and primary auditor have the same meaning as the definition in § 201.28 of this part.  

        (2) Filer is a manufacturer or importer of digital devices or media who is required by 17 U.S.C. 1003 to file with the Copyright Office Quarterly and Annual Statements of Account and a primary auditor's report on the Annual Statement of Account.  

        (3) Interested copyright party has the same meaning as the definition in § 201.29 of this part.  

        (4) Verifying auditor is the person retained by interested copyright parties to perform a verification procedure. He or she is independent and qualified as defined in paragraphs (j)(2) and (j)(3) of this section.  

        (5) Verification procedure is the process followed by the verifying auditor to verify the information reported on an Annual Statement of Account.  

        (c) Purpose of Verification. The purpose of verification is to determine whether there was any failure of the primary auditor to conduct the primary audit properly or to obtain a reliable result, or whether there was any error in the Annual Statement of Account.  

        (d) Timing of Verification Procedure.  

        (1) Requesting a verification procedure.   No sooner than three months nor later than three years after the filing deadline of the Annual Statement of Account to be verified, any interested copyright party shall notify the Register of Copyrights of its interest in instituting a verification procedure. Such notification of interest shall also be served at the same time on the filer and the primary auditor identified in the Annual Statement of Account.   Such notification shall include the year of the Annual Statement of Account to be verified, the name of the filer, information on how other interested copyright parties may contact the party interested in the verification including name, address, telephone number, facsimile number and electronic mail address, if any, and a statement establishing the party filing the notification as an interested copyright party. The notification of interest may apply to more than one Annual Statement of Account and more than one filer.  

        (2) Coordination and selection of verifying auditor.   The Copyright Office will publish in the Federal Register notice of having received a notification of interest to institute a verification procedure.   Interested copyright parties have one month from the date of publication of the Federal Register notice to notify the party interested in instituting the verification procedure of their intent to join with it and to participate in the selection of the verifying auditor.   Any dispute about the selection of the verifying auditor shall be resolved by the parties themselves.  

        (3) Notification of the filer and primary auditor. As soon as the verifying auditor has been selected, and in no case later than two months after the publication in the Federal Register of the notice described in paragraph (d)(2) of this section, the joint interested copyright parties shall notify the Register of Copyrights, the filer, and the primary auditor identified in the Annual Statement of Account to be verified, that they intend or do not intend to initiate a verification procedure.  

        (4) Commencement of the verification procedure. The verification procedure shall begin no sooner than one month after notice of intent to initiate a verification procedure was given to the filer and the primary auditor by the joint interested copyright parties.   The joint interested copyright parties shall grant the filer or the primary auditor a postponement of the beginning of the verification procedure of up to one additional month if either one requests it.   Verification procedures shall be conducted at reasonable times during normal business hours.  

        (5) Anti-duplication rules. A filer shall be subject to no more than one verification procedure per calendar year. An Annual Statement of Account shall be subject to a verification procedure only once.  

        (e) Scope of verification. The verifying auditor shall limit his or her examination to verifying the information required in the Annual Statement of Account.   To the extent possible, the verifying auditor shall inspect the information contained in the primary auditor's report and the primary auditor's working papers.   If the verifying auditor believes that access to the records, files, or other materials in the control of the filer is required according to GAAS, he or she may, after consultation with the primary auditor, require the production of these documents as well.   The verifying auditor and the primary auditor shall act in good faith using reasonable professional judgment, with the intention of reaching a reasonable accommodation as to the necessity and scope of examination of any additional documents, but the decision to require the production of additional documents is solely that of the verifying auditor.  

        (f) Verification Report. Upon concluding the verification procedure, the verifying auditor shall render a report enumerating in reasonable detail the procedures performed by the verifying auditor and his or her findings.   Such findings shall state whether there was any failure of the primary auditor to conduct properly the primary audit or obtain a reliable result, and whether there was any error in the Annual Statement of Account, itemized by amount and by the filer's elected fiscal year.   If there was such failure or error, the report shall specify all evidence from which the verifying auditor reached such conclusions.   Such evidence shall be listed and identified in an appendix to the report in sufficient detail to enable a third party to reasonably understand or interpret the evidence on which the verifying auditor based his or her conclusion.   If there was no such failure or error, the report shall so state.  

        (g) Distribution of Report. Copies of the verifying auditor's report shall be subject to the confidentiality provisions of § 201.29 and shall be distributed as follows:  

        (1) One copy, excluding the appendix, if applicable, shall be filed with the Register of Copyrights.  

        (2) One copy, with the appendix, if applicable, shall be submitted to each of the interested copyright parties who retained the services of the verifying auditor and who are authorized to receive such information according to § 201.29.  

        (3) One copy, with the appendix, if applicable, shall be submitted to the filer of the Annual Statement of Account.  

        (4) One copy, with the appendix, if applicable, shall be submitted to the primary auditor.  

        (h) Retention of Report. The Register of Copyrights will retain his or her copy of the verifying auditor's report for three years following the date the copy of the verifying auditor's report is filed.  

        (i) Costs of Verification. The joint interested copyright parties who requested the verification procedure shall pay the fees of the verifying auditor and the primary auditor for their work performed in connection with the verification procedure, except, if the verification procedure results in a judicial determination or the filer's agreement that royalty payments were understated on the Annual Statement of Account, then,  

        (1) if the amount is less than five percent (5%) of the amount stated on the Annual Statement of Account, that amount shall first be used to pay the fees of the verifying auditor and the primary auditor, and any remaining amount plus any applicable interest on the total amount shall be deposited, allocated by the filer's elected fiscal year, with the Register of Copyrights, or  

        (2) if the amount is equal to or greater than five percent (5%) of the amount stated on the Annual Statement of Account, the filer shall pay the fees of the verifying auditor and the primary auditor, and, in addition, shall deposit the amount found to be due plus any applicable interest on the total amount, allocated by the filer's elected fiscal year, with the Register of Copyrights.  

        (j) Independence and qualifications of verifying auditor.  

        (1) The verifying auditor shall be qualified and independent as defined in this section.   If the filer has reason to believe that the verifying auditor is not qualified or independent, it shall raise the matter with the joint interested copyright parties before the commencement of the verification procedure, and if the matter is not resolved, it may raise the issue with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' Professional Ethics Division and/or the verifying auditor's State Board of Accountancy while the verification procedure is being performed.  

        (2) A verifying auditor shall be considered qualified if he or she is a certified public accountant or works under the supervision of a certified public accounting firm.  

        (3) A verifying auditor shall be considered independent if:  

        (i) he or she is independent as that term is used in the Code of Professional Conduct of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, including the Principles, Rules and Interpretations of such Code applicable generally to attest engagements (collectively, the “AICPA Code”); and (ii) he or she is independent as that term is used in the Statements on Auditing Standards promulgated by the Auditing Standards Board of the AICPA and Interpretations thereof issued by the Auditing Standards Division of the AICPA.  

[61 FR 30808, 30813, June 18, 1996]  

37 C.F.R. § 201.31   Procedures for copyright restoration in the United States for certain motion pictures and their contents in accordance with the North American Free Trade Agreement.  

        (a) General. This section prescribes the procedures for submission of Statements of Intent pertaining to the restoration of copyright protection in the United States for certain motion pictures and works embodied therein as required by the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act of December 8, 1993, Public Law No. 103-182.   On or after January 3, 1995, the Copyright Office will publish in the Federal Register a list of works for which potential copyright owners have filed a complete and timely Statement of Intent with the Copyright Office.  

        (b) Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:  

        (1) Effective filing. To be effective a Statement of Intent must be complete and timely.  

        (2) Eligible work means any motion picture that was first fixed or published in Mexico or Canada, and any work included in such motion picture that was first fixed or published with this motion picture, if the work entered the public domain in the United States because it was first published on or after January 1, 1978, and before March 1, 1989, without the notice required by 17 U.S.C. 401, 402, or 403, the absence of which has not been excused by the operation of 17 U.S.C. 405, as such sections were in effect during that period.  

        (3) Fixed means a work “fixed” in a tangible medium of expression when its embodiment in a copy or phonorecord, by or under the authority of the author, is sufficiently permanent or stable to permit it to be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated for a period of more than transitory duration.   A work consisting of sounds, images, or both, that are being transmitted, is “fixed” for purposes of this title if a fixation of the work is being made simultaneously with its transmission. 17 U.S.C. 101  

        (4) Potential copyright owner means the person who would have owned any of the exclusive rights comprised in a copyright in the United States in a work eligible for copyright restoration under NAFTA, if the work had not fallen into the public domain for failure to comply with the statutory notice requirements in effect at the time of first publication, or any successor in interest to such a person.

        (5) Published means distribution of copies of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending.   The offering to distribute copies to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display, constitutes publication.   A public performance or display of a work does not of itself constitute publication.  

        (c) Forms. The Copyright Office does not provide Statement of Intent forms for the use of potential copyright owners who want to restore copyright protection in eligible works.  

        (d) Requirements for effective Statements of Intent. (1) The document should be clearly designated as a “Statement of Intent to restore copyright protection in the United States in accordance with the North American Free Trade Agreement”.  

        (2) Statements of Intent must include:  

        (i) the title(s) of the work(s) for which copyright restoration is sought, including any underlying work(s) that has a title(s) different from the title of the motion picture, provided all works are owned by the same potential copyright owner;  

        (ii) the nation of first fixation;  

        (iii) the nation of first publication;  

        (iv) the date of first publication;  

        (v) the name and mailing address (and telephone and telefax, if applicable) of the potential copyright owner of the work;  

        (vi) the following certification (in its entirety); signed and dated by the potential copyright owner or authorized agent:  

        Certification and Signature: I hereby certify that each of the above titled works was first fixed or first published in       __________  

        and (insert Mexico or Canada) understand that the work(s) have entered the public domain in the United States of America because of first publication on or after January 1, 1978, and before March 1, 1989, without the notice required by U.S. copyright law. I certify that the information given herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge, and understand that any knowing or willful falsification of material facts may result in criminal liability under 18 U.S.C. 1001.  

        Signature: __________  

        Name (Printed or Typed): __________  

        Date: __________  

        (3) If copyright restoration is sought for an underlying work only, the Statement of Intent must specify the kind of underlying work covered and give the title if different from the title of the motion picture.  

        (4) More than one motion picture may be included in a single Statement of Intent provided the potential copyright owner is the same for all the motion pictures. The information required in Section 201.31 (d)(2)(i) through (d)(2)(iv) must be given for each work.  

        (5) Sports programs that do not have a title can be identified in a Statement of Intent by giving the sporting event, the team names and the date (month, day and year).  

        (6) Statements of Intent must be received in the Copyright Office on or before December 31, 1994.  

        (7) Statements of Intent must be in English and either typed or legibly printed by hand, on 8 1/2 inch by 11 inch white paper.  

        (e) Fee. The Copyright Office is not requiring a fee for the processing of Statements of Intent.  

        (f) Effective date of restoration of copyright protection. (1) Potential copyright owners of eligible works who file a complete and timely Statement of Intent with the Copyright Office will have copyright protection restored in these works effective January 1, 1995.  

        (2) The new section 17 U.S.C. 104A(c) created by the NAFTA Implementation Act gives a one year exemption to U.S. nationals or domiciliaries who made or acquired copies of a motion picture or its contents before December 8, 1993, the date of enactment of the implementing act. These individuals or entities may continue to sell, distribute, or perform publicly such works without liability for a period of one year following the Copyright Office's publication in the Federal Register of the list of the works determined to be properly qualified for protection and for which complete and timely Statements of Intent have been filed.  

        (g) Registration of works whose copyright has been restored. After January 1, 1995, the Copyright Office encourages potential copyright owners to make voluntary copyright registration in accordance with 17 U.S.C. 408 for works that have had copyright restored in accordance with NAFTA.  

[59 FR 12164, Mar. 16, 1994; 59 FR 58789, Nov. 15, 1994; 60 FR 50414, 50420, Sept. 29, 1995]  

37 C.F.R. § 201.32   Fees for Copyright Office special services.  

    The Copyright Office has established the following fees for the special services indicated:  

______________________________________________________________________________

  [59 FR 38371, July 28, 1994; 63 FR 29137, 29138, May 28, 1998]

Continuation: 37 C.F.R. § 201.33   Procedures for filing Notices of Intent to Enforce a restored copyright under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.