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U.S. Copyright Office
NewsNet

December 24, 1998
Issue 32
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For additional information, visit the Copyright Office homepage at
http://www.copyright.gov.

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CONTENTS

* News *

Federal Register
  1. Office Publishes Interim Regulations and Request for Comments on
Notice to Libraries
  2. Office Requests Comment on Promotion of Distance Education Through
Digital Technologies  (63 FR 71167)
  3. Office Requests Comments on Mechanical and Digital Phonorecord
Deliver Rate Adjustment Proceeding (63 FR 71249)

* Calendar *

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* NEWS *

----------------Federal Register----------------

For the complete text of Federal Register announcements, visit the
Copyright Office homepage at http://www.copyright.gov.

OFFICE PUBLISHES INTERIM REGULATIONS AND REQUEST
FOR COMMENTS ON NOTICE TO LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES
OF NORMAL COMMERCIAL EXPLOITATION OR AVAILABILITY
AT REASONABLE PRICE
The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is issuing interim
regulations and requesting comment on the requirements by which a
copyright owner or its agent may provide notice to libraries and
archives that a published work in the final 20 years of its extended
term of copyright is subject to normal commercial exploitation or that a
copy or phonorecord of the work can be obtained at a reasonable price.
The Office is issuing interim regulations in order to have the notice
requirements in place on January 1, 1999, the date on which works will
first enter their extended copyright term. Final regulations will be
promulgated following the Office review of public comments.
  The interim regulations are effective January 1, 1999. Comments must
be submitted on or before February 15, 1999. Reply comments are due on
or before April 1, 1999.
  Background on the interim regulations, and a link to the regulations
and samples of the required format for Notices to Libraries and Archives
may be found at the Copyright Office's Website at
http://www.copyright.gov/docs/nla.html. When the Federal Register
notice is published within the next few days, NewsNet will publish the
citation here.

OFFICE REQUESTS COMMENT ON PROMOTION OF
DISTANCE EDUCATION THROUGH DIGITAL
TECHNOLOGIES (63 FR 71167)
The Copyright Office is preparing recommendations for Congress, in
accordance with Section 403 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, on
the promotion of distance education through digital technologies. This
notice requests written comments from all interested parties, including
representatives of copyright owners, nonprofit educational institutions,
and nonprofit libraries and archives, in order to elicit views and
information to assist the Office in its analysis of the relevant issues
preparatory to making its report and recommendations. This notice also
announces the schedule for, and invites participation in, a series of
three public hearings to be held in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, CA, and
Chicago, IL. Comments are due February 5, 1999. Reply comments are due
February 24, 1999.
   For further information about the distance education study see the
Copyright Office Website at http://www.copyright.gov/disted/. The
Office will post copies of all public notices, written comments, and
other material relevant to the distance education study on this web page
as it becomes available.


OFFICE REQUESTS COMMENTS ON MECHANICAL AND
DIGITAL PHONORECORD DELIVERY RATE ADJUSTMENT
PROCEEDING (63 FR 71249-71251)
The Copyright Office is submitting for public comment proposed
regulations that set the royalty rate for the delivery of digital
phonorecords in general and that defer until the next scheduled rate
adjustment proceeding further consideration of the royalty rate for the
delivery of a digital phonorecord where the reproduction or distribution
is incidental to the transmission that constitutes a digital phonorecord
delivery. Comments are due January 25, 1998.

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* CALENDAR *

December 24, 12:00 p.m., 1998: Deadline for receipt of comments on the
requirements by which copyright owners will receive reasonable notice of
the use of their works in the digital distribution of phonorecords (63
FR 69251)

December 28: Effective date of procedural regulations to implement the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (63 FR 65555)

January 1, 1999: Effective date of cost of living adjustment for
performance of musical compositions by colleges and universities (63 FR
66042)

January 1, 1999: Effective date of specialty station list in effect for
the accounting period 1999 2001 (63 FR 67703)

January 12, 1999: Deadline for submitting request to testify at any of
three hearings on promotion of distance education through digital
technologies (63 FR 71167)

January 19, 1999: Written comments due on the proposed amendments to the
regulations governing royalty distribution and rate adjustment
proceedings prescribed by the Copyright Royalty Tribunal Reform Act of
1993 (63 FR 70080)

January 25, 1999: Demonstration of distance education programs using
digital technologies at Library of Congress (63 FR 71167)

January 25: 1999: Comments due on mechanical and digital phonorecord
delivery rate adjustment proceeding (63 FR 71249)

January 26-27, 1999: Hearing in Washington, DC, on promotion of distance
education through digital technologies. Summaries of testimony due 10
days prior to date of hearing. (63 FR 71167)

February 5, 1999: Comments due on promotion of distance education
through digital technologies (63 FR 71167)

February 10, 1999: Hearing in Los Angeles, CA, on promotion of distance
education through digital technologies. Summaries of testimony due 10
days prior to date of hearing. (63 FR 71167)

February 12, 1999: Hearing in Chicago, IL, on promotion of distance
education through digital technologies. Summaries of testimony due 10
days prior to date of hearing. (63 FR 71167)

February 15, 1999: Comments due on notice to libraries and archives of
normal commercial exploitation or availability at reasonable price

February 16, 1999: Reply comments due on the proposed amendments to the
regulations governing royalty distribution and rate adjustment
proceedings prescribed by the Copyright Royalty Tribunal Reform Act of
1993 (63 FR 70080)

February 24, 1999: Reply comments due on promotion of distance education
through digital technologies (63 FR 71167)

April 1, 1999: Reply comments due on notice to libraries and archives of
normal commercial exploitation or availability at reasonable price



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