Group Registration of Serials

Published date12 November 2019
Record Number2019-24451
SectionRules and Regulations
CourtU.s. Copyright Office
Federal Register, Volume 84 Issue 218 (Tuesday, November 12, 2019)
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 218 (Tuesday, November 12, 2019)]
                [Rules and Regulations]
                [Pages 60918-60920]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2019-24451]
                -----------------------------------------------------------------------
                LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
                U.S. Copyright Office
                37 CFR Part 202
                [Docket No. 2018-2]
                Group Registration of Serials
                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 serials. Under the current
                regulation, applicants may complete and submit the online application
                designated for a group of serial issues, or they may complete and
                submit a paper application using Form SE/Group, provided the Office
                receives the paper form by December 30, 2019. Applicants submitting
                Form SE/Group may submit a physical copy of each issue in the group;
                applicants using the online application may upload one electronic copy
                of each issue through the Office's electronic registration system or
                they may submit one physical copy, provided the Office receives the
                physical copy by December 30, 2019.
                [[Page 60919]]
                This final rule eliminates the reference to paper applications and
                physical deposit copies. Beginning December 31, 2019, the Office will
                no longer accept a paper application or a physical deposit for this
                group registration option.
                DATES: Effective December 31, 2019.
                FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Regan A. Smith, General Counsel and
                Associate Register of Copyrights, or Robert J. Kasunic, Associate
                Register of Copyrights and Director of Registration Policy & Practice,
                or Erik Bertin, Deputy Director of Registration Policy and Practice, by
                email at [email protected], [email protected], and
                [email protected], or by telephone at (202) 707-8350.
                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When Congress enacted the Copyright Act of
                1976 (the ``Act''), it authorized the Register of Copyrights to specify
                by regulation the administrative classes of works for the purpose of
                seeking a registration, and the nature of the deposits required for
                each such class. See 17 U.S.C. 408(c). In addition, Congress granted
                the Register the discretion to allow groups of related works to be
                registered with one application and one filing fee, a procedure known
                as ``group registration.'' See 17 U.S.C. 408(c)(1). Congress recognized
                that requiring applicants to submit separate applications for certain
                types of works may be so burdensome and expensive that authors and
                copyright owners may forgo registration altogether, since copyright
                registration is not a prerequisite to copyright protection. H.R. Rep.
                No. 94-1476, at 154 (1976); S. Rep. No. 94-473, at 136 (1975). Pursuant
                to the authority granted by Congress, the Register has issued
                regulations permitting the U.S. Copyright Office (the ``Office'') to
                issue a group registration for limited categories of works, including
                serials, provided that certain conditions have been met. See generally
                37 CFR 202.3(b)(5), 202.4.
                 On November 30, 2018, the Office issued a final rule amending the
                regulation governing the group registration of serials (``GRSE''). 83
                FR 61546 (Nov. 30, 2018). Among other changes, the 2018 final rule
                updated the application and deposit requirements by phasing out the
                paper form (known as Form SE/Group) and phasing out the submission of
                physical copies. Beginning December 31, 2019, applicants will be
                required to use the online application designated for group serials and
                to upload a digital copy of each issue.
                 Requiring applications and deposits to be submitted electronically
                increases the efficiency of the group registration process. Electronic
                submissions take less time to process and are easier to track and
                handle than paper applications and physical copies. They reduce the
                burden on applicants by eliminating the cost of mailing the deposit to
                the Office. And they improve the quality of the registration record,
                because it is easier to locate and retrieve a digital deposit if it is
                needed for litigation or other legitimate purposes. 83 FR 22896, 22900
                (May 17, 2018).
                 The Office provided a one-year phase-out period to give publishers
                time to adjust to the new application and deposit requirements. To
                facilitate this transition, the Literary Division contacted every
                applicant that has submitted a group serial claim since December 31,
                2018, to notify them of the upcoming changes.
                 Over the past three years, there has been a steady increase in
                electronic deposits for group serial claims. In 2017, electronic
                deposits accounted for 23% of these claims and physical deposits
                accounted for 76%. In 2018, electronic deposits increased to 34% while
                physical deposits dropped to 65%.\1\ This trend accelerated once the
                2018 final rule went into effect: Between December 31, 2018, and July
                24, 2019, electronic deposit copies accounted for 59% of group serial
                claims, while physical deposits accounted for the remaining 41%.
                ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 \1\ For the remainder of claims submitted in 2017 through July
                24, 2019, applicants either submitted both an electronic and
                physical deposit for the same claim or did not submit any deposit at
                all.
                ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 The phase out period will expire at the end of this year.
                Therefore, the Office is amending the regulation to eliminate the
                reference to Form SE/Group and physical deposit copies. Beginning
                December 31, 2019, the Office will no longer accept paper applications
                or physical deposits for this group option.
                 The regulation does give the Office the discretion to waive the
                online application filing requirement and grant special relief from the
                digital deposit requirement in exceptional cases, subject to conditions
                imposed on the applicant by the Associate Register of Copyrights and
                Director of the Office of Registration Policy and Practice. 37 CFR
                202.4(d)(4), 202.20(d)(1)(iii). Requests for special relief will be
                considered on a case-by-case basis. But the fact that a serial is
                published in a physical form does not necessarily mean that a request
                will be granted. The Office requires digital deposits for most group
                registration options as a quid pro quo for allowing multiple works to
                be registered with one application and one filing fee.\2\ In the case
                of group serials, the Office delayed this requirement for one year to
                give publishers time to prepare for the new workflow. Serials are
                typically created using digital publishing software, even though the
                issue itself may be distributed in a physical form. In such cases, the
                electronic file that was used to create the physical copy may be used
                to satisfy the digital deposit requirement, as long as it contains a
                complete copy of the issue and satisfies the other legal and formal
                requirements for this group option.\3\
                ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 \2\ See 37 CFR 202.4(c)(9), (e)(6)(ii)(A), (f)(3), (g)(8),
                (h)(9), (i)(9).
                 \3\ These requirements are currently set forth in 37 CFR
                202.4(d)(3)(i).
                ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Because the updates are technical and non-substantive changes that
                do not ``alter the rights or interests of parties,'' they are not
                subject to the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative
                Procedure Act.\4\ Furthermore, the Office finds good cause that
                providing notice and comment is ``unnecessary'' because the changed
                requirements and phase-out period were adopted in a previous public
                proceeding; this final rule merely removes related obsolete
                language.\5\
                ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 \4\ See Nat'l Mining Ass'n v. McCarthy, 758 F.3d 243, 250 (D.C.
                Cir. 2014); 5 U.S.C. 553(b) (notice and comment not required for
                ``interpretative rules, general statements of policy, or rules of
                agency organization, procedure, or practice'').
                 \5\ See 5 U.S.C. 553(b).
                ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                List of Subjects in 37 CFR Part 202
                 Copyright, Preregistration and registration of claims to copyright.
                Final Regulations
                 For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Copyright Office
                amends 37 CFR part 202 as follows:
                PART 202--PREREGISTRATION AND REGISTRATION OF CLAIMS TO COPYRIGHT
                0
                1. The authority citation for part 202 continues to read as follows:
                 Authority: 17 U.S.C. 408(f), 702.
                0
                2. Amend Sec. 202.4 by revising paragraphs (d)(2) and (3) to read as
                follows:
                Sec. 202.4 Group registration.
                * * * * *
                 (d) * * *
                 (2) Application. The applicant must complete and submit the online
                application designated for a group of serial issues. The application
                may be
                [[Page 60920]]
                submitted by any of the parties listed in Sec. 202.3(c)(1).
                 (3) Deposit. The applicant must submit one complete copy of each
                issue that is included in the group. Copies submitted under this
                paragraph (d)(3) will be considered solely for the purpose of
                registration under 17 U.S.C. 408, and will not satisfy the mandatory
                deposit requirement under 17 U.S.C. 407. The issues must be submitted
                in digital form, and each issue must be contained in a separate
                electronic file. The applicant must use the file-naming convention and
                submit digital files in accordance with instructions specified on the
                Copyright Office's website. The files must be submitted in Portable
                Document Format (PDF), they must be assembled in an orderly form, and
                they must be uploaded to the electronic registration system as
                individual electronic files (i.e., not .zip files). The files must be
                viewable and searchable, contain embedded fonts, and be free from any
                access restrictions (such as those implemented through digital rights
                management) that prevent the viewing and examination of the work. The
                file size for each uploaded file must not exceed 500 megabytes, but
                files may be compressed to comply with the requirement in this
                paragraph (d)(3).
                * * * * *
                 Dated: October 23, 2019.
                Karyn A. Temple,
                Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office.
                 Approved by:
                Carla D. Hayden,
                Librarian of Congress.
                [FR Doc. 2019-24451 Filed 11-8-19; 8:45 am]
                BILLING CODE 1410-30-P
                

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT