SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

This final rule adjusts Copyright Office fees in accordance with the applicable provisions of title 17, United States Code, and the Technical Amendments Act, Pub. L. No. 105-80, 111 Stat. 1529 (1997), codified as 17 U.S.C. 708(b).

In 1997, Congress delegated to the Register of Copyrights authority to adjust fees in accordance with a new procedure. This procedure requires the Register to conduct a study of the costs incurred for fee services, such as the registration of claims, the recordation of documents, and search services. If, after the review and application of all statutory criteria, the Register determines that fees should be adjusted, the Register prepares a proposed fee schedule and submits the schedule and the accompanying economic analysis to Congress. 17 U.S.C. 708(b)(5). The fee proposed in that schedule may be instituted in 120 days unless Congress enacts a law within that 120 day period stating that it does not approve the schedule. Id. Technical Amendments Act, Pub. L. No. 105-80, 111 Stat. 1529 (1997).

The Copyright Office has instituted fee adjustments under the Technical Amendments Act on three separate occasions. The first schedule was adopted in 1999. See63 FR 43426 (August 13, 1998) and 64 FR 29518 (June 1, 1999). Three years later a second adjustment was made raising many copyright fees, but leaving the basic copyright registration fee at $30. 67 FR 38003 (May 31, 2002). The last fee adjustment was adopted in 2006, in which most statutory fees were again raised due to increase in costs. In this instance, the basic registration fee was increased from $30 to $45. 71 FR 15368 (March 28, 2006) and 71 FR 31089 (June 1, 2006).

Cost Study

In raising the basic registration fee last year to $45, the commentary in the Federal Register notice anticipated establishing a differential fee schedule with lower filing fees for online registration to reflect the efficiencies of the new reengineered processes. 71 FR at 31090. It is intended that the dual fee will not only reflect the reduced costs of processing electronic claims, but will also provide an incentive to potential electronic filers.

On February 21, 2007, a cost study was submitted to Congress proposing to reduce the basic registration fee for copyright claims submitted electronically to $35 and to institute new fees for listing titles of individual works in an application for a collection or collective work. The per title fee for an electronic submission would be $1 and the per title fee for a paper application would be $3. However, the proposed fees for listing titles of individual works in an application for a collection or collective work are not being adopted at this time.

The cost study used to determine the new fees was developed by the Copyright Office based on a model created as part of its business process reengineering initiative. The cost analysis utilized an activity-based costing methodology approved by the Office of Management and Budget in its publication, Managerial Cost Accounting Standards for the Federal Government, Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards, No. 4 (July 31, 1995). Cost studies of this type are retrospective, using actual data from a prior fiscal year. However, costing for the proposed fee had to be done prospectively, as an adjunct to the earlier cost study, because electronic registration has not been offered in the past. In developing the new fee, the Copyright Office utilized data from a small-scale testbed for electronic registration and data from prior cost studies relating to the costs of certain paper handling processes which will be eliminated by the new electronic processing systems. On the basis of the information available to the Copyright Office, it concluded that a fee of $35 for the electronic processing of a claim to copyright to be reasonable. The Office is likely to revisit the fee issue once the electronic system has been fully operational for a sufficient period of time so as to yield reliable information on the actual costs involved in providing the service.

The Office is also adopting technical amendments to bring all fees within the fee schedules set forth in § § 201.3 (c) and (e) of title 37 of the CFR. Specifically, the Office is amending § § 201.11(h)(3)(iv)(A), 201. 201.17(k)(3)(iv)(A), 201.27 (g)(2), 201.28(i)(3)(v)(A), 212.3(e)(1), (f)(4), and 212.5(c)(4).

Effective Date

Congress has 120 days from February 21, 2007, to review the statutory fees submitted to it, codified in § 201.3(c). If no legislation is enacted barring adoption of these fees, the $35 proposed fee for registration of copyright claims submitted electronically will be adopted, effective July 1, 2007.

Final Rule

In consideration of the foregoing, 37 CFR parts 201 and 212 are amended as follows:

PART 201—GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. The authority citation for part 201 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 17 U.S.C. 702.

2. Section 201.3 (c) and (e) are revised to read as follows:

3. Amend § 201.11 by revising the first sentence in paragraph (h)(3)(iv)(A) to read as follows:

4. Amend § 201.17 by revising the first sentence in paragraph (k)(3)(iv)(A) to read as follows:

5. Amend § 201.27 by revising paragraph (g)(2) to read as follows:

6. Amend § 201.28 by revising the first sentence in paragraph (j)(3)(v)(A) to read as follows:

PART 212—PROTECTION OF VESSEL HULL DESIGNS

7. The authority citation for Part 212 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 17 U.S.C. chapter 13.

8. Amend § 212.3 by revising paragraphs (e)(1) and (f)(4) to read as follows:

9. Amend § 212.5 by revising paragraph (c)(4) to read as follows: