Group Registration of Newsletters
| Published date | 28 May 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 31981 |
| Record Number | 2020-09490 |
| Section | Rules and Regulations |
| Court | Library Of Congress,U.s. Copyright Office |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 103 (Thursday, May 28, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 103 (Thursday, May 28, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 31981-31982]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09490]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
U.S. Copyright Office
37 CFR Parts 201 and 202
[Docket No. 2020-2]
Group Registration of Newsletters
AGENCY: U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Copyright Office is amending its regulation governing
the group registration option for newsletter issues. The final rule
eliminates the requirement that newsletters must be published at least
two days each week to qualify for a group registration. In addition,
the final rule updates the address where complimentary subscriptions
should be sent for purposes of satisfying the mandatory deposit
requirement for newsletters and other serials.
DATES: Effective June 29, 2020.
[[Page 31982]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert J. Kasunic, Associate Register
of Copyrights and Director of Registration Policy and Practice,
[email protected]; Erik Bertin, Deputy Director of Registration Policy
and Practice, [email protected]; or Kevin Amer, Deputy General
Counsel, [email protected]. They can be reached by telephone at (202)
707-3000.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Copyright Office has established a
group registration option that allows a newsletter publisher to
register an entire month of issues with one application and one filing
fee. A publisher may use this option if each issue is ``an all-new
issue or an all-new collective work that has not been previously
published.'' \1\ In addition, the newsletter ``must usually'' be
published ``at least two days each week.'' \2\ The word ``usually'' was
added to the regulation ``to account for occasional situations where
the newsletter suspends publication (e.g., for a holiday).'' \3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 37 CFR 202.4(f)(1)(iii).
\2\ Id. Sec. 202.4(f)(1)(i).
\3\ 83 FR 22902, 22904 (May 17, 2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On February 24, 2020, the Office issued a notice of proposed
rulemaking (the ``NPRM'') requesting public comment on an amendment
that would extend this option to a broader range of publishers.\4\ The
NPRM noted that it had come to the Office's attention that many
newsletters are published just once a week.\5\ The requirement that
publication must usually occur at least twice a week renders these
newsletters ineligible for this group registration option. Some
newsletter publishers may be able to use the group registration option
for serials (which is specifically intended for publications that are
distributed at intervals of a week or longer), but to do so each issue
``must be an all-new collective work.'' \6\ Thus, if a newsletter is
published once a week, and if the issues in the group do not qualify as
all-new collective works, the publisher may not qualify for either the
group registration option for newsletters or the group registration
option for serials. For these types of newsletters, the publisher must
submit a separate application and filing fee for each issue.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ 85 FR 10349 (Feb. 24, 2020).
\5\ Id. at 10350.
\6\ 37 CFR 202.4(d)(1)(iii), (v). See 17 U.S.C. 101 (defining
``collective work'' as ``a work, such as a periodical issue,
anthology, or encyclopedia, in which a number of contributions,
constituting separate and independent works in themselves, are
assembled into a collective whole'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To address this issue, the NPRM proposed to eliminate the
requirement that newsletters must be published at least two days a week
to qualify for the group registration option for newsletters.\7\ During
the comment period, the Office received no comments concerning the
NPRM.\8\ Therefore, the Office is proceeding to issue a final rule that
is identical to the proposed rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ Id. at 10350. To be eligible for group registration under
this rule, the group must consist of at least two issues, and all of
the issues included in the group must be published in the same
calendar month. 37 CFR 202.4(f)(1)(ii), (v).
\8\ The Office received one comment making reference to
copyright. It can be accessed at https://www.copyright.gov/rulemaking/group-newsletters-frequency/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under the final rule, newsletter publishers will still be required
to complete and submit an online application and upload a digital
deposit to seek a group registration.\9\ The online application is
labeled ``Daily Newsletters,'' but to be clear, this form may be used
to register any newsletter, even if it is not published on a daily
basis, as long as all of the issues are published within the same
month.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ 37 CFR 202.4(f)(2), (3).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Likewise, newsletter publishers will still be required to comply
with the mandatory deposit requirement if the newsletter is published
in the United States in a physical form.\10\ To satisfy this
requirement, the publisher must provide the Library of Congress with up
to two complimentary subscriptions to the newsletter.\11\ To facilitate
this process, the final rule updates the mailing address where
complimentary subscription copies of newsletters and other serials
should be sent.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ Id. Sec. 202.19(d)(2)(xi).
\11\ Newsletters that are published solely in electronic format
remain subject to the Library's on-demand mandatory deposit regime
for electronic serials. See id. 202.19(c)(5), 202.24.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
List of Subjects
37 CFR Part 201
Copyright, General Provisions.
37 CFR Part 202
Copyright.
Final Regulations
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Copyright Office
amends 37 CFR parts 201 and 202 as follows:
PART 201--GENERAL PROVISIONS
0
1. The authority citation for part 201 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 17 U.S.C. 702
0
2. Revise Sec. 201.1(c)(6) to read as follows:
Sec. 201.1 Communication with the Copyright Office
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(6) Mandatory deposit copies. Mandatory deposit copies of published
works submitted for the Library of Congress under 17 U.S.C. 407 and
Sec. 202.19 of this chapter (including serial publications that are
not being registered) should be addressed to: Library of Congress, U.S.
Copyright Office, Attn: 407 Deposits, 101 Independence Avenue SE,
Washington, DC 20559-6600, except that mandatory deposit copies
submitted as complimentary subscriptions for serial publications that
are being registered should be addressed to: Library of Congress, Group
Serials Registration, Washington, DC 20540-4161.
* * * * *
PART 202--PREREGISTRATION AND REGISTRATION OF CLAIMS TO COPYRIGHT
0
3. The authority citation for part 202 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 17 U.S.C. 408(f), 702
Sec. 202.4 [Amended]
0
4. In Sec. 202.4, amend the third sentence of paragraph (f)(1)(i) by
removing ``Publication must usually occur at least two days each week
and the'' and adding ``The'' in its place.
Dated: April 27, 2020.
Maria Strong,
Acting Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright
Office.
Approved by:
Carla D. Hayden,
Librarian of Congress.
[FR Doc. 2020-09490 Filed 5-27-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-30-P
