[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 37, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 37CFR251.33]

[Page 557-558]
 
              TITLE 37--PATENTS, TRADEMARKS, AND COPYRIGHTS
 
                                CONGRESS
 
PART 251--COPYRIGHT ARBITRATION ROYALTY PANEL RULES OF PROCEDURE--Table of Contents
 
                     Subpart D--Standards of Conduct
 
Sec. 251.33  Ex parte communications.

    (a) Communications with Librarian or Register. No person outside the 
Library of Congress shall engage in ex parte communication with the 
Librarian of Congress or the Register of Copyrights on the merit or 
status of any matter, procedural or substantive, relating to the 
distribution of royalty fees, the adjustment of royalty rates or the 
status of digital audio recording devices, at any time whatsoever. This 
prohibition shall not apply to statements concerning public policies 
related to royalty fee distribution and rate adjustment so long as they 
are unrelated to the merits of any particular proceeding.
    (b) Selected arbitrators. No interested person shall engage in, or 
cause someone else to engage in, ex parte communications with the 
selected arbitrators in a proceeding for any reason whatsoever from the 
time of their selection to the time of the submission of their report to 
the Librarian, and, in the case of a remand, from the time of their 
reconvening to the time of their submission of their report to the 
Librarian. Incidental communications unrelated to any proceeding, such 
as an exchange

[[Page 558]]

of pleasantries, shall not be deemed to constitute an ex parte 
communication.
    (c) Listed arbitrators. No interested person shall engage in, or 
cause someone else to engage in, ex parte communications with any person 
listed by the Librarian of Congress as qualified to serve as an 
arbitrator about the merits of any past, pending, or future proceeding 
relating to the distribution of royalty fees or the adjustment of 
royalty rates. This prohibition applies during any period when the 
individual appears on a current arbitrator list.
    (d) Library and Copyright Office personnel. No person outside the 
Library of Congress (including the Copyright Office staff) shall engage 
in ex parte communications with any employee of the Library of Congress 
about the substantive merits of any past, pending, or future proceeding 
relating to the distribution of royalty fees or the adjustment of 
royalty rates. This prohibition does not apply to procedural inquiries 
such as scheduling, filing requirements, status requests, or requests 
for public information.
    (e) Outside contacts. The Librarian of Congress, the Register of 
Copyrights, the selected arbitrators, the listed arbitrators, and the 
employees of the Library of Congress described in paragraphs (a) through 
(d) of this section, shall not initiate or continue the prohibited 
communications that apply to them.
    (f) Responsibilities of recipients of communication. (1) Whoever 
receives a prohibited communication shall immediately end it and place 
on the public record of the applicable proceeding:
    (i) All such written or recorded communications;
    (ii) Memoranda stating the substance of all such oral 
communications; and
    (iii) All written responses, and memoranda stating the substance of 
all oral responses, to the materials described in paragraphs (f)(1) (i) 
and (ii) of this section.
    (2) The materials described in this paragraph (f) shall not be 
considered part of the record for the purposes of decision unless 
introduced into evidence by one of the parties.
    (g) Action by Librarian. When notice of a prohibited communication 
described in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section has been placed 
in the record of a proceeding, either the Librarian of Congress or the 
CARP may require the party causing the prohibited communication to show 
cause why his or her claim or interest in the proceeding should not be 
dismissed, denied, or otherwise adversely affected.

[59 FR 23981, May 9, 1994, as amended at 59 FR 63040, 63041, Dec. 7, 
1994; 60 FR 8197, Feb. 13, 1995]