37 C.F.R. Subpart C—Digital Audio Recording Devices and Media Royalty Claims
Title 37 - Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights
This subpart prescribes procedures pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 1007(a)(1), whereby interested copyright parties, as defined in 17 U.S.C. 1001(7), claiming to be entitled to royalty payments made for the importation and distribution in the United States, or the manufacture and distribution in the United States, of digital audio recording devices and media pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 1006, shall file claims with the Copyright Royalty Board. (a) General. During January and February of each succeeding year, every interested copyright party claiming to be entitled to digital audio recording devices and media royalty payments made for quarterly periods ending during the previous calendar year shall file a claim with the Copyright Royalty Board. Claimants may file claims jointly or as a single claim. (b) Consequences of an untimely filing. No royalty payments for the previous calendar year shall be distributed to any interested copyright party who has not filed a claim to such royalty payments during January or February of the following calendar year. (c) Authorization. Any organization or association, acting as a common agent, shall be required to obtain from its members or affiliates separate, specific, and written authorization, signed by members, affiliates, or their representatives, to file claims to the Musical Works Fund or the Sound Recordings Fund, apart from their standard agreements, for purposes of royalties filing and fee distribution. Such written authorization, however, will not be required for claimants to the Musical Works Fund where either: (1) The agreement between the organization or association and its members or affiliates specifically authorizes such entity to represent its members or affiliates before the Copyright Royalty Board in royalty filing and fee distribution proceedings; or (2) The agreement between the organization or association and its members or affiliates, as specified in a court order issued by a court with authority to interpret the terms of the contract, authorizes such entity to represent its members or affiliates before the Copyright Royalty Board in royalty filing and fee distribution proceedings. (a) Forms. (1) Each claim to digital audio recording devices and media royalty payments (DART) shall be furnished on a form prescribed by the Copyright Royalty Board and shall contain the information required by that form and its accompanying instructions. (2) Copies of DART claim forms are available: (i) On the Board's Web site at http://www.loc.gov/crb/claims for claims filed with the Copyright Royalty Board by mail or by hand delivery in accordance with §360.24(a)(2)–(4); (ii) On the Board's Web site at http://www.loc.gov/crb/dart/ during the months of January and February for claims filed online in accordance with §360.24(a)(1); and (iii) Upon request to the Copyright Royalty Board, Library of Congress, P.O. Box 70977, Southwest Station, Washington, DC 20024–0977. (b) Content. Claims filed by interested copyright parties for digital audio recording devices and media royalty payments shall include the following information: (1) The full legal name and address of the person or entity claiming royalty payments. (2) The name, telephone number, facsimile number, if any, full address, including a specific number and street name or rural route, and e-mail address, if any, of the person or entity filing the claim. An e-mail address must be provided on claims submitted online through the Copyright Royalty Board Web site. (3) The name, telephone number, facsimile number, if any, and e-mail address, if any, of a person whom the Copyright Royalty Board can contact regarding the claim. (4) A statement as to how the claimant fits within the definition of interested copyright party specified in 17 U.S.C. 1001(7). (5) A statement as to whether the claim is being made against the Sound Recordings Fund or the Musical Works Fund, as set forth in 17 U.S.C. 1006(b), and as to which Subfund of the Sound Recordings Fund (i.e., the copyright owners or featured recording artists Subfund) or the Musical Works Fund (i.e., the music publishers or writers Subfund) the claim is being made against as set forth in 17 U.S.C. 1006(b)(1) through (2). (6) Identification, establishing a basis for the claim, of at least one musical work or sound recording embodied in a digital musical recording or an analog musical recording lawfully made under title 17 of the United States Code that has been distributed (as that term is defined in 17 U.S.C. 1001(6)), and that, during the period to which the royalty payments claimed pertain, has been (i) Distributed (as that term is defined in 17 U.S.C. 1001(6)) in the form of digital musical recordings or analog musical recordings, or (ii) Disseminated to the public in transmissions. (7) A declaration of the authority to file the claim and of the veracity of the information contained in the claim and the good faith of the person signing in providing such information. Penalties for fraud and false statements are provided under 18 U.S.C. 1001 et seq. (c) Claims shall bear the original signature of the claimant or of a duly authorized representative of the claimant, except for claims filed online through the Copyright Royalty Board Web site. See 37 CFR 360.22(b)(7). (d) In the event that the legal name and/or address of the claimant changes after the filing of the claim, the claimant shall notify the Copyright Royalty Board of such change. If the good faith efforts of the Copyright Royalty Board to contact the claimant are frustrated because of failure to notify the Copyright Royalty Board of a name and/or address change, the claim may be subject to dismissal. (e) If the claim is a joint claim, it shall include a concise statement of the authorization for the filing of the joint claim in addition to the declaration required under paragraph (b)(7) of this section and the name of each claimant to the joint claim. (f) If an interested copyright party intends to file claims against more than one Subfund, each such claim must be filed separately with the Copyright Royalty Board. Any claim that purports to file against more than one Subfund will be rejected. (a) The independent administrator jointly appointed by the interested copyright parties, as defined in 17 U.S.C. 1001(7)(A), and the American Federation of Musicians (or any successor entity) for the purpose of managing, and ultimately distributing the royalty payments to nonfeatured musicians as defined in 17 U.S.C. 1006(b)(1), shall file a notice informing the Copyright Royalty Board of his/her name and address. (b) The independent administrator jointly appointed by the interested copyright parties, as defined in 17 U.S.C. 1001(7)(A), and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (or any successor entity) for the purpose of managing, and ultimately distributing the royalty payments to nonfeatured vocalists as defined in 17 U.S.C. 1006(b)(1), shall file a notice informing the Copyright Royalty Board of his/her full name and address. (c) A notice filed under paragraph (a) or (b) of this section shall include the following information: (1) The full name of the independent administrator; (2) The telephone number and facsimile number, if any, full address, including a specific number and street name or rural route, of the place of business of the independent administrator. (d) Notice shall bear the original signature of the independent administrator or a duly authorized representative of the independent administrator, and shall be filed with the Copyright Royalty Board no later than March 31 of each year, commencing with March 31, 2006. (e) No notice may be filed by facsimile transmission. (a) Claims filed with the Copyright Royalty Board shall be considered timely filed only if: (1) They are received online in the Board's server no later than 5 p.m. E.S.T. on the last day of February. Online claims must be filed through the Copyright Royalty Board Web site at http://www.loc.gov/crb/dart/ during the months of January and February. (2) They are hand delivered by a private party no later than 5 p.m. E.S.T. on the last day of February. Claims hand delivered by a private party must be delivered to the Public Information Office, located at the U.S. Copyright Office, James Madison Memorial Building, Room LM–401, 101 Independence Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20559–6000, Monday through Friday, between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., and the envelope must be addressed as follows: Copyright Royalty Board, Library of Congress, James Madison Memorial Building, LM–401, 101 Independence Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20559–6000. Claims hand delivered by a private party must be filed at the Public Information Office during the months of January and February. (3) They are hand delivered by a commercial courier (excluding overnight delivery services such as Federal Express, United Parcel Service and similar overnight delivery services) no later than 4 p.m. E.S.T. on the last day of February. Claims hand delivered by a commercial courier service (excluding overnight delivery services such as Federal Express, United Parcel Service and similar overnight delivery services) must be delivered to the Congressional Courier Acceptance Site (CCAS) located at Second and D Street, NE., Washington, DC, Monday through Friday, between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., and the envelope must be addressed as follows: Copyright Royalty Board, Library of Congress, James Madison Memorial Building, LM–403, 101 Independence Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20559–6000. Claims hand delivered by a commercial courier must be filed at CCAS during the months of January and February. (4) They are mailed through the United States Postal Service (USPS) having sufficient postage and bearing a January or February USPS postmark. Claims mailed through USPS must be addressed as follows: Copyright Royalty Board, P.O. Box 70977, Southwest Station, Washington, DC 20024–0977. (5) Federal Express, United Parcel Service and similar overnight delivery services may not be used for the filing of claims. A claim sent by means of overnight delivery shall be done via United States Postal Service Express Mail, and the claim shall be addressed in accordance with paragraph (a)(4) of this section. (b) Claims dated only with a business meter that are received after the last day in February will not be accepted as having been timely filed. (c) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, in any year in which the last day of February falls on a Saturday, Sunday, a holiday, or other nonbusiness day within the District of Columbia or the Federal Government, claims received by the Copyright Royalty Board by the first business day in March, or properly addressed and deposited with sufficient postage with the United States Postal Service and postmarked by the first business day in March, shall be considered timely filed. (d) No claim may be filed by facsimile transmission. (e) In the event that a properly addressed and mailed claim is not timely received by the Copyright Royalty Board, proper filing of the claim may nonetheless be proven if it was sent by certified mail return receipt requested, and a receipt bearing a January or February date stamp of the United States Postal Service, except where paragraph (c) of this section applies, can be provided. No other offer of proof will be accepted in lieu of the receipt. (f) The Copyright Royalty Board will accept either the confirmation page generated upon submission of the claim online through the Copyright Royalty Board Web site or the electronic mail message from the Copyright Royalty Board confirming receipt of the claim as proof that a claim submitted online through the Copyright Royalty Board Web site was received timely in the Board's server. No other offer of proof will be accepted in lieu thereof. A claimant shall, for each claim submitted to the Copyright Royalty Board by hand delivery or by mail, file an original and one copy of the claim to digital audio recording devices and media royalty payments.
Title 37: Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights
PART 360—FILING OF CLAIMS TO ROYALTY FEES COLLECTED UNDER COMPULSORY LICENSE
Subpart C—Digital Audio Recording Devices and Media Royalty Claims
§ 360.20 General.
§ 360.21 Time of filing.
§ 360.22 Form and content of claims.
§ 360.23 Content of notices regarding independent administrators.
§ 360.24 Compliance with statutory dates.
§ 360.25 Copies of claims.
