Annual Report 2002: Message from the Register of Copyrights
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Annual Report 2002: Message from the Register of Copyrights |
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This Annual Report highlights the Copyright Office’s administration of the copyright law, its core public services, regulatory activity and policy work, and our program to reengineer the Office’s processes and information technology.
The Office’s work was significantly affected this year by the anthrax-related mail disruption that stopped U.S. Postal Service deliveries between October 2001 and March 2002. The eventual delivery of a very large volume of this held mail in late April caused delays in the processing of registrations and other public services. Also, as a result of the anthrax incidents, an offsite screening process began for all Postal Service mail to Capitol Hill facilities, including the Copyright Office. The necessity for this safety and security screening will affect the delivery and receipt of all mail in the Office well into the future. This year the Office’s work on legislative issues included following up on the Office’s 2001 report to Congress required under section 104 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, distance education, state sovereign immunity, and the use of works in peer-to-peer networks. We also completed a widely noted Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel proceeding setting royalty rates for nonsubscription webcasting services. The Office was actively involved in international copyright matters, including free trade agreements and proceedings of the World Intellectual Property Organization. We completed the second full year of the Office’s reengineering initiative, developing an integrated implementation plan covering our four principal areas of activity: process, organization, facilities, and information technology. We will sustain this progress in Fiscal Year 2003. I acknowledge the dedicated staff of the Copyright Office who met the challenges facing the Office this past year and thank them for their public service. Marybeth Peters Register of Copyrights |