[Federal Register: April 2, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 64)]
[Notices]
[Page 18004-18005]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02ap08-95]
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Royalty Board
[Docket No. 2008-2 CRB CD 2000-2003]
Distribution of 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 Cable Royalty Funds
AGENCY: Copyright Royalty Board, Library of Congress.
ACTION: Notice announcing commencement of Phase I proceeding with
request for Petitions to Participate.
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SUMMARY: The Copyright Royalty Judges are announcing the commencement
of a proceeding to determine the Phase I distribution of 2000, 2001,
2002, and 2003 royalties collected under the cable statutory license.
The Judges are also announcing the date by which a party who wishes to
participate in this distribution proceeding must file its Petition to
Participate and the accompanying $150 file fee.
DATES: Petitions to Participate and the filing fee are due on or before
May 2, 2008.
ADDRESSES: An original, five copies, and an electronic copy in Portable
Document Format (PDF) on a CD of the Petition to Participate, along
with the $150 filing fee, may be delivered to the Copyright Royalty
Board by either mail or hand delivery. Petitions to Participate and the
$150 filing fee may not be delivered by an overnight delivery service
other than the U.S. Postal Service Express Mail. If by mail (including
overnight delivery), Petitions to Participate, along with the $150
filing fee, must be addressed to: Copyright Royalty Board, P.O. Box
70977, Washington, DC 20024-0977. If hand delivered by a private party,
Petitions to Participate, along with the $150 filing fee, must be
brought to the Library of Congress, James Madison Memorial Building,
LM-401, 101 Independence Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20559-6000. If
delivered by a commercial courier, Petitions to Participate, along with
the $150 filing fee, must be delivered to the Congressional Courier
Acceptance Site, located at 2nd and D Street, NE., Washington, DC. The
envelope must be addressed to: Copyright Royalty Board, Library of
Congress, James Madison Memorial Building, LM-403, 101 Independence
Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20559-6000.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: LaKeshia Brent, CRB Program
Specialist, by telephone at (202) 707-7658 or e-mail at crb@loc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Each year, semiannually, cable systems must submit royalty payments
to the Copyright Office as required by the cable statutory license for
the privilege of retransmitting over-the-air television and radio
broadcast signals. 17 U.S.C. 111. These royalties are then distributed
to copyright owners whose works were included in such retransmissions
and who timely filed a claim for royalties. Distribution of the
royalties for each calendar year are determined by the Copyright
Royalty Judges (``Judges'') in two phases. At Phase I, the royalties
are divided among the representatives of the major categories of
copyrightable content (movies, sports programming, music, etc.)
requesting the distribution. At Phase II, the royalties are divided
among the various copyright owners within each category.
This Notice announcing the commencement of a proceeding under 17
U.S.C. 803(b)(1) for distribution of cable royalties collected for
2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 is confined to Phase I.
Commencement of Phase I Proceeding
Consistent with 17 U.S.C. 804(b)(8), the Copyright Royalty Judges
determine that a Phase I controversy exists as to the distribution of
the 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 cable royalties. We reach this
determination, in this instance, for two reasons. First, several
interested parties have represented to us that a Phase I controversy
exists for these years. See, e.g., comments filed by the following
parties on September 19, 2007 in Docket No. 2005-3 CRB CD 2003:\1\ the
National Association of Broadcasters, the Joint Sports Claimants,
Devotional Claimants, Canadian Claimants Group, Public Television
Claimants. Second, to date we have not received notification that any
settlements have been reached for any of these years, nor have we
received motions for final distribution.
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\1\ For the reasons discussed herein, the Copyright Royalty
Judges are consolidating the 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 royalty years
into a single proceeding. Therefore, from this point forward, any
issues regarding the distribution of the 2003 cable royalty funds
should be captioned under the consolidated docket, Docket No. 2008-2
CRB CD 2000-2003.
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The Judges are consolidating the 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 royalty
years into a single proceeding. Several parties
[[Page 18005]]
have informed the Judges that each of these years involves the same
single issue regarding the claim of the Canadian Claimants and
therefore favor consolidation of these years into one proceeding. Id.
Moreover, consolidation allows for resolution of this issue in the most
administratively efficient manner.
Petitions To Participate
Petitions to Participate must be filed in accordance with the Sec.
351.1(b) of the Judge's regulations. See 37 CFR 351.1(b). Petitions to
Participate submitted by interested parties whose claims do not exceed
$1,000 \2\ must contain a statement that the party will not seek a
distribution of more than $1,000. No filing fee is required for these
parties. We note, however, that interested parties with claims
exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) must submit a filing fee of one
hundred and fifty dollars ($150) with their Petition to Participate or
it will be rejected. Cash will not be accepted; therefore, parties must
pay the filing fee with a check or money order made payable to the
``Copyright Royalty Board.'' If a check is returned for lack of
sufficient funds, the corresponding Petition to Participate will be
dismissed.
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\2\ The Copyright Royalty Judges Program Technical Corrections
Act, Public Law No. 109-303, changed the amount from $10,000 to
$1,000.
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Further procedural matters, including scheduling, will be addressed
after Petitions to Participate have been received.
Note that in accordance with 37 CFR 350.2 (Representation), only
attorneys who are members of the bar in one or more states and in good
standing will be allowed to represent parties before the Copyright
Royalty Judges, unless the party is an individual who represents
herself or himself.
Dated: March 27, 2008.
James Scott Sledge,
Chief Copyright Royalty Judge.
[FR Doc. E8-6840 Filed 4-1-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-72-P