[Federal Register: May 11, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 90)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 25201-25202]
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Office
37 CFR Part 251
[Docket No. RM 99-1 CARP]
Payment of Arbitrators; Distribution Proceedings
AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.
ACTION: Final regulations.
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SUMMARY: The Copyright Office is announcing final regulations that
prescribe how the arbitrators who serve on a copyright arbitration
royalty panel shall be reimbursed for their services.
DATES: Effective June 10, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David O. Carson, General Counsel, or
Tanya M. Sandros, Attorney Advisor, Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel
(``CARP''), P.O. Box 70977, Southwest Station, Washington, D.C. 20024.
Telephone (202) 707-8380. Telefax: (202) 252-3423.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Copyright arbitration royalty panels (CARPs)
are ad hoc panels administered by the Librarian of Congress and the
Copyright Office. The CARPs adjust the rates and distribute the royalty
fees collected under the various compulsory licenses and statutory
obligations of the Copyright Act.
Three arbitrators serve on each panel. Upon the recommendation of
the Register of Copyrights, the Librarian of Congress selects two of
the arbitrators, who in turn choose a third person to serve as the
chairperson. Prior to the passage in 1997 of the Technical Corrections
to the Satellite Home Viewer Act of 1994, Public Law 105-80, 111 Stat.
1529, the Librarian of Congress had no express authority to pay the
arbitrators for their services, even in those instances when the
Library held the royalty fees that were the subject of a distribution
proceeding. Consequently, the responsibility for paying the arbitrators
fell to the parties participating in the proceeding.
This changed with the passage of the technical amendments act
which, inter alia, revised section 801(d). Section 801(d) now reads, in
relevant part, as follows:
The Librarian of Congress, upon the recommendation of the
Register of Copyrights, . . . shall reimburse the arbitrators
presiding in distribution proceedings at such intervals and in such
manner as the Librarian shall provide by regulation. . . . Payments
to the arbitrators shall be considered reasonable costs incurred by
the Library of Congress and the Copyright Office for purposes of
section 802(h)(1).
17 U.S.C. 801(d). The change allows the Librarian of Congress to use
the royalty fees that have been collected under title 17 to pay the
arbitrators who determine the distribution of these same royalty fees.
Payments to these arbitrators are identified as reasonable costs of the
Library and shall be made in accordance with the regulations
promulgated by the Librarian of Congress.
The final regulations announced herein amend 37 CFR 251.54 to
specify how often and in what manner the arbitrators shall receive
payment for their service on a CARP. In accordance with the
administrative processes associated with making payments for services
contracted for outside the Library of Congress, payment shall be made
within 30 days of the receipt of a proper statement of cost. In the
case of a distribution proceeding, each arbitrator shall receive
payment directly from the Library of Congress. In the case of a rate
adjustment proceeding, each arbitrator shall receive payment directly
from the parties participating in the proceeding.
The provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 553,
requiring notice of proposed rulemaking, the opportunity for notice and
comment, and a delay in the effective date, do not apply to the
proposed amendments to Sec. 251.54, of title 37 of the CFR, because the
regulations pertain to agency management of a contractual obligation.
No other law requires that a notice of proposed rulemaking and an
opportunity for public comment be given for these amendments.
Accordingly, the Copyright Office is adopting the amendments as final
regulations upon publication in the Federal Register.
List of Subjects in 37 CFR Part 251
Administrative practice and procedure, Hearing and appeal
procedures.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, chapter II of title 37 of
the Code of Federal Regulations is to be amended as follows:
PART 251--COPYRIGHT ARBITRATION ROYALTY PANEL RULES OF PROCEDURE
1. The authority citation for part 251 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 17 U.S.C. 801-803.
2. Revise Sec. 251.54 to read as follows:
Sec. 251.54 Assessment of costs of arbitration panels.
(a) The ordinary and necessary costs of an arbitrator shall be
assessed, in accordance with Sec. 251.38, as follows:
(1) In the case of a rate adjustment proceeding, the parties to the
proceeding shall bear the entire cost thereof in such manner and
proportion as the panel shall direct.
(2) In the case of a distribution proceeding, the parties to the
proceeding shall bear the total cost of the proceeding in direct
proportion to their share of the distribution. These costs shall be
considered reasonable costs incurred by the Librarian of Congress and
the Copyright Office. Such costs shall be deducted from the royalty
fees which have been deposited and collected under title 17 of the
United States Code and which are the subject of the distribution
proceeding.
(b) Each arbitrator shall itemize his or her expenses on the
statement of cost in a format approved by the General Counsel and shall
specify the name and address to whom payment should be made. In the
case of a rate adjustment proceeding, each statement of cost shall
specify each party's share of the total cost and the amount owed by
that party to each arbitrator, or alternatively, reflect the method of
payment agreed upon by the parties and the arbitrators.
(c) The statements of cost shall be sent to the Library of Congress
no more frequently than once a month.
(1) In the case of a distribution proceeding, the statements of
cost shall be sent to the Accounting Operations Section, Financial
Services Directorate, Library of Congress, 101 Independence
[[Page 25202]]
Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20540-9112, and a copy of the statements of
cost shall be submitted to the Copyright Office as directed in
paragraph (c)(2) of this section.
(2) In the case of a rate adjustment proceeding, the statements of
cost shall be sent to the CARP Specialist, P.O. Box 70977, Southwest
Station, Washington, DC 20024, or hand delivered to the Office of the
Copyright General Counsel, Room 403, James Madison Building, 101
Independence Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20540.
(d) In the case of a rate adjustment proceeding, all parties to the
proceeding shall have 30 days from receipt of a proper statement of
cost in which to tender payment to the arbitrators, unless otherwise
directed by the panel. Payment should be in the form of a money order,
check, bank draft, or electronic fund transfer.
(e) In the case of a distribution proceeding, the Library of
Congress shall reimburse the arbitrators directly from the royalty fees
collected under title 17 of the United States Code which are the
subject of the CARP proceeding. Payment of approved costs shall be made
within 30 days of the receipt of a proper statement of cost in the form
of an electronic fund transfer in accordance with the regulations of
the Library of Congress.
Dated: April 28, 1999.
Marybeth Peters,
Register of Copyrights.
Approved by:
James H. Billington,
The Librarian of Congress.
[FR Doc. 99-11883 Filed 5-10-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-33-P