[Federal Register: March 16, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 50)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 12902]
[DOCID:fr16mr99-9]
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Office
37 CFR Parts 201 and 202
Change of Mailing Address for Notices of Intent to Enforce a
Restored Copyright
AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.
ACTION: Technical amendment.
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SUMMARY: On January 20, 1999, the Copyright Office notified the public
that it was changing the mailing address for submitting a Notice of
Intent to Enforce (NIE) a restored copyright or registering claims in
restored works under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, effective
February 22, 1999. The number of these filings has greatly decreased
making it unnecessary for the Office to maintain a special post office
box. In the future all NIEs must be mailed to the special GC/I&R
address given below for mail, and all future registration claims should
be mailed to the same address given for other registration claims.
EFFECTIVE DATE: February 22, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marilyn J. Kretsinger, Assistant
General Counsel, or Sandra Jones, Writer-Editor, Copyright GC/I&R, P.O.
Box 70400, Southwest Station, Washington, D.C. 20024. Telephone: (202)
707-8380. Telefax: (202) 707-8366.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Uruguay Round General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA)
provide for the restoration of copyright in certain works that were in
the public domain in the United States. Under 17 U.S.C. 104A (1994) as
provided by the URAA, copyright protection automatically was restored
on January 1, 1996, in certain works by foreign nationals or
domiciliaries of a country that is the subject of a presidential
proclamation declaring its eligibility or that is a member of the World
Trade Organization (WTO) or of the Berne Convention.
Copyright owners of works meeting the requirements of section 104A
may register a copyright claim in a restored work and file a Notice of
Intent to Enforce (NIE) a restored copyright in the Copyright Office or
serve an NIE on an individual reliance party, anyone who is already
using the work or acquired copies of the work before the date of
enactment of the URAA. The URAA instructs the Register of Copyrights to
publish lists in the Federal Register identifying the restored works
and their owners if a notice of intent to enforce a restored copyright
has been filed.
During the first two years that the lists were published, a special
mailing address was established for the submission of NIEs and
applications to register copyright claims under the URAA because of the
large number of expected filings and the special handling that they
required. The initial two-year period for filing NIE's with the Office
ended for the overwhelming majority of countries on December 31, 1997.
The number of filings has decreased drastically, therefore, the special
address is no longer needed.
On January 22, 1999, the Office issued a notice informing all
interested parties of the change in the mailing address for filing NIEs
or URAA/GATT registrations. The former address was: URAA/GATT, NIEs and
Registrations, P.O. Box 72400, Southwest Station, Washington, DC 20024,
USA. The new address for filing NIE's is GC/I&R, P.O. Box 70400,
Southwest Station, Washington, D.C. 20024, USA. The revised address for
GATT registrations is Register of Copyrights, Library of Congress,
Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C.
20559-6000. (64 FR 3574, Jan. 22, 1999). The Office is now amending its
regulations to reflect the change of addresses.
List of Subjects
37 CFR Part 201
Copyright.
37 CFR Part 202
Copyright.
Final Rules
For the reasons set out in the preamble, amend parts 201 and 202 of
Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows:
PART 201--GENERAL PROVISIONS
1. The authority citation for part 201 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 17 U.S.C. 702.
2. Amend Sec. 201.33 by revising paragraph (d)(1) to read as
follows:
Sec. 201.33 Procedures for filing Notices of Intent to Enforce a
restored copyright under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.
* * * * *
(d * * *
(1) Notices of Intent to Enforce should be sent to the following
address: GC/I&R, P.O. Box 70400, Southwest Station, Washington, D.C.
20024, USA.
* * * * *
PART 202--REGISTRATION OF CLAIMS TO COPYRIGHT
3. The authority citation for part 202 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 17 U.S.C. 702.
Sec. 202.12 [Amended]
4. Amend Sec. 202.12 by revising the last sentence of paragraph
(c)(1) to read ``The application, filing fee, and deposit should be
sent in a single package to the following address: Library of Congress,
Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue S.E., Washington, D.C. 20559-
6000.''
Marilyn Kretsinger,
Assistant General Counsel, Copyright Office.
[FR Doc. 99-6355 Filed 3-15-99; 8:45 am]
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