Rule2022-21294
Remitter Payment Options and Deposit Account Requirements
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 30, 2022
Effective
October 31, 2022
Issuing agencies
Library of CongressCopyright Office, Library of Congress
Abstract
The U.S. Copyright Office is amending certain regulations related to remitter payments for its services and requirements for maintaining a deposit account. This final rule adopts regulatory language set forth in the Office's February 2022 notice of proposed rulemaking with some modifications in response to public comments. These amendments consolidate regulatory provisions related to payment options and update existing regulations to articulate current Office practices. They also simplify requirements for maintaining a deposit account and clarify procedures related to noncompliant accounts.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 189 (Friday, September 30, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 189 (Friday, September 30, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59306-59309]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21294]
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Office
37 CFR Parts 201 and 202
[Docket No. 2020-1]
Remitter Payment Options and Deposit Account Requirements
AGENCY: U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Copyright Office is amending certain regulations
related to remitter payments for its services and requirements for
maintaining a deposit account. This final rule adopts regulatory
language set forth in the Office's February 2022 notice of proposed
rulemaking with some modifications in response to public comments.
These amendments consolidate regulatory provisions related to payment
options and update existing regulations to articulate current Office
practices. They also simplify requirements for maintaining a deposit
account and clarify procedures related to noncompliant accounts.
DATES: Effective October 31, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Megan Efthimiadis, Assistant to the
General Counsel, by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2f424a495b6f4c405f565d4648475b01484059"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="026f67647642616d727b706b656a762c656d74">[email protected]</span></a> or telephone at (202)
707-8350.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On February 4, 2022, the Office published a notice of proposed
rulemaking (``NPRM'') to amend its regulations governing remitter
payments for its services and requirements for maintaining a deposit
account.\1\ Specifically, the Office proposed to consolidate all
regulations related to the types of payment methods it will accept for
services into a single set of provisions to ensure consistency as it
moves to an integrated enterprise information technology (IT)
system.\2\ The proposed rule enumerated three methods accepted for
remitting a payment: (1) Electronic payments through <a href="http://Pay.gov">Pay.gov</a>; (2)
mailed payments by check or money order; and (3) in-person payments by
check, money order, credit or debit card, or currency, by appointment
at the Office's Public Information Office.\3\
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\1\ 87 FR 6452 (Feb. 4, 2022).
\2\ Id. at 6454.
\3\ Id. at 6454.
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Next, the Office proposed simplifying requirements to maintain a
deposit account, and set forth rules establishing the procedures for
account closures. The proposed rule set forth five substantive
amendments. First, the Office recommended eliminating the requirement
that a deposit account holder engage in a minimum number of
transactions per year.\4\ Second, the Office proposed imposing a
service charge of $25 for each month a deposit account balance fell
below $450.\5\ Third, the NPRM provided for the inactivation of deposit
accounts if (1) there has been no activity in the account for 24
months; (2) the account holder overdraws the account; or (3) the
account has insufficient funds at the end of the month to pay the
service charge for an account balance below $450.\6\ Fourth, the Office
proposed codifying its procedures for closing noncompliant
[[Page 59307]]
and inactivated deposit accounts, including the circumstances for
closure and the process for returning any remaining funds to the
account holder.\7\ Finally, the Office recommended eliminating from the
regulations references to automatic replenishment of deposit accounts,
based on its understanding at the time the NPRM was prepared that
<a href="http://Pay.gov">Pay.gov</a> lacked the ability to provide such an automatic replenishment
feature.\8\
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\4\ Id. at 6454.
\5\ Id. at 6454.
\6\ Id. at 6454-55.
\7\ Id. at 6455.
\8\ 87 FR 6455.
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The Office received four relevant comments in response to the NPRM.
Author Services, Inc. endorsed the proposed amendments in full, and had
no further suggestions.\9\ The Motion Picture Association, Inc.
(``MPA''), expressing no objection to the proposed rules regarding
deposit accounts, noted that its members valued the automatic-
replenishment feature available in other areas of the Office (e.g., the
eCo system for registrations), and ``urge[d] the Office to ensure that
the payment systems in any updated versions of the registration and
recordation systems include an automatic replenishment feature as
well.'' \10\ Finally, Copyright Alliance and Marilyn D. Cameron
submitted comments that were generally supportive of the amendments in
the proposed rule, but contained several concerns that are addressed in
more detail below.\11\
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\9\ Author Services, Inc. Comments at 1.
\10\ MPA Comments at 2.
\11\ Copyright Alliance Comments at 1-4; Marilyn D. Cameron
Comments at 1.
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II. Discussion
A. Remitter Payment Options
Most commenters supported the provisions of the proposed rule that
consolidate the regulations governing the types of payment methods the
Office will accept for services.\12\ Accordingly, those provisions are
adopted in the final rule without alteration.
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\12\ See e.g., Copyright Alliance Comments at 1. Marilyn D.
Cameron requested that ``all other rules attached to the
announcement and do not have any relevance to Remitter Payment
Options and Deposit Account Requirements, for example Section
201.33, be removed from this round of comments and a new Federal
Register proposal written for a later date.'' Marilyn D. Cameron
Comments at 1. Because each of the proposed amendments, including
the amendment proposed to Sec. 201.33(e) regarding the fee and
method of payment, relate to payment options available to remitters,
the Office declines to remove the rule.
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In addition to ``applaud[ing] the Office's efforts to modernize and
consolidate regulations regarding payment options for Copyright Office
services,'' Copyright Alliance encouraged the Office to ``accommodate
the diversity of copyright owners engaging with the Office's systems''
by permitting payment using ``prepaid cards and other widely accepted
online payment options, like PayPal, Zelle, Venmo, and CashApp.'' \13\
The Office appreciates Copyright Alliance's concern and shares its aim
to broaden participation in the copyright system. While payment using
prepaid cards is not currently supported by <a href="http://Pay.gov">Pay.gov</a>, the Office will
enable the <a href="http://Pay.gov">Pay.gov</a> feature to accept Paypal and Amazon digital wallet
options to better accommodate a broader range of stakeholders. The
Office will continue to consider additional options to improve
accessibility as <a href="http://Pay.gov">Pay.gov</a> expands its capabilities.
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\13\ Copyright Alliance Comments at 1-2.
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B. Deposit Accounts
With respect to the proposed rule simplifying requirements for
maintaining deposit accounts, commenters universally endorsed the
Office's amendment to eliminate the minimum-transaction-per-year
requirement.\14\ Copyright Alliance expressed appreciation for the
``Office's decision to continue allowing stakeholders to use deposit
accounts, as well as the decision to eliminate the requirement for a
minimum number of transactions per year.'' \15\
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\14\ See e.g., id. at 2.
\15\ Id.
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However, some commenters disagreed with the Office's proposal to
assess a service charge of $25 for each month a deposit account balance
fell below $450. One commenter opposed the fee outright, calling it
``[t]oo much'' as ``many individuals find a minimum deposit amount a
challenge, especially during the pandemic.'' \16\ Copyright Alliance
argued that imposing a service charge ``without first notifying the
account holder that the account has fallen below the minimum balance''
``will only exacerbate a problem . . . that might otherwise be easily
resolved.'' \17\ Commenters encouraged the Office to ``notify the
account holder so that they can add the necessary funds'' before
assessing any service charge \18\ and before any account
inactivation.\19\ Finally, Copyright Alliance probed whether the Office
could permit automatic replenishment, advising, ``rather than assessing
a $25 service charge if an account falls below the minimum balance, the
regulations should permit automatic replenishment of those deposit
accounts.'' \20\
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\16\ Marilyn D. Cameron Comments at 1.
\17\ Copyright Alliance Comments at 2-3.
\18\ Id. at 3.
\19\ Marilyn D. Cameron Comments at 1.
\20\ Copyright Alliance Comments at 3.
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As an initial matter, it has been and will remain the Office's
practice to send automatic notifications to account holders when their
balances drop below the minimum balance. Similarly, notifications are
and will be provided before the Office takes any action to inactivate
or close an account. To ensure that these notifications are received,
the Office encourages account holders to keep their contact information
current.
Regarding the service charge, the Office proposed the fee to
incentivize deposit account holders to maintain sufficient funds in
deposit accounts and avoid any overdraft of the account, which is
subject to a penalty (currently $285). Ultimately, the Office's goal is
to help account holders maintain sufficient balances to prevent
additional penalties and delays. Copyright Alliance's comment led the
Office to consider again the availability of an automatic replenishment
option. While our initial inquiry had suggested that this option was
not available,\21\ further investigation has determined that an
automatic recurring payment option (via ACH transactions) can be used
to automatically replenish deposit accounts through <a href="http://Pay.gov">Pay.gov</a>. Therefore,
the Office will test the practical application of such a feature for
deposit accounts. Once confirmed operable, the Office will announce
details on how this feature can be used.
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\21\ 87 FR 6454.
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In addition, given commenters' concern regarding the potential
financial burden for those account holders who find the minimum balance
amount difficult to maintain, we will pause the implementation of any
service charge to further assess whether there is a need for measures
to incentivize balance maintenance. Accordingly, the final rule omits
any reference to the proposed service charge, and instead provides that
the Office will automatically notify account holders when their
accounts fall below a minimum balance of $450, as the previous rule
prescribed.
Finally, while commenters did not raise specific concerns regarding
the NPRM's inactivation and closure procedures beyond objecting to
inactivation or closure based on a failure to pay the proposed service
charge, the Office acknowledges their general desire for more
communication regarding account status issues. Thus, in addition to
removing references to the previously proposed service charge, the
[[Page 59308]]
final rule explains that the Office will automatically notify account
holders when their accounts are made inactive due to prolonged
inactivity or overdrawal of the account. Reflecting current procedures,
the final rule further provides that an inactive deposit account will
only be closed 30 days from the date of the inactivation notice if
there continues to be no activity or if insufficient funds remain in
the account.
C. Technical Changes
Lastly, the final rule includes a few non-substantive technical
revisions to clarify certain phrases and terms.
List of Subjects
37 CFR Part 201
Copyright, General provisions.
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 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.
Section 201.10 also issued under 17 U.S.C. 304.
0
2. Amend Sec. 201.6 by:
0
a. Revising paragraphs (a) and (b); and
0
b. Removing the parenthetical authority citation at the end of the
section.
The revisions read as follows:
Sec. 201.6 Payment and refund of Copyright Office fees.
(a) In general--(1) Electronic payments. All fees for online
applications and services must be paid by electronic payment through
<a href="http://Pay.gov">Pay.gov</a>.
(2) Mailed payments. All fees mailed to the Copyright Office should
be in the form of a money order or check payable to the U.S. Copyright
Office. Currency will not be accepted; any payment received in currency
will be refunded via check, and the registration or other service
request will not be processed. Where the statutory fee is submitted in
the form of a check, the registration of the copyright claim or other
record made by the Office is provisional until the funds associated
with the check are received. In the event the fee is not paid, the
provisional registration or other record shall be expunged.
(3) In-person payments. All fees for services rendered in person at
the Copyright Office Public Information Office must be paid by cash,
money order, check, or credit or debit card.
(4) Foreign remittances. Foreign remittances must be redeemable
without service or exchange fees through a United States institution,
must be payable in United States dollars, and must be imprinted with
American Banking Association routing numbers. Postal money orders that
are negotiable only at a post office are not acceptable. International
checks and money orders must be drawn from a United States bank and
payable in United States dollars for the full amount of the fee
required. Uncertified checks are accepted subject to collection.
(5) Other. In addition to the payment options in paragraphs (a)(1)
through (3) of this section, payment for any application or service can
be made using a Copyright Office deposit account.
(b) Deposit accounts--(1) Establishment. Persons or firms may
prepay copyright expenses by establishing a deposit account.
(2) Minimum balance. The Office will automatically notify the
deposit account holder when the account goes below a minimum balance of
$450.
(3) Contact information. (i) Deposit account holders are
responsible for keeping contact information with the Copyright Office
current.
(ii) If the Copyright Office is unable to correspond with the
deposit account holder (e.g., due to returned/undeliverable postal or
email), the Office will deem the deposit account undeliverable.
(4) Inactivation. (i) The Copyright Office will inactivate a
deposit account if there has been no activity in the account for 24
months.
(ii) The Copyright Office will inactivate a deposit account if the
deposit account holder overdraws his or her account.
(iii) The Copyright Office will automatically notify the deposit
account holder when the account has been inactivated.
(5) Closure. (i) An inactive deposit account will be closed no
sooner than 30 days from the date of the inactivation notice if there
continues to be no activity in the account or if insufficient funds
remain in the deposit account after the deposit account holder
overdraws the account.
(ii) The Copyright Office may permanently close a deposit account
if the deposit account holder overdraws his or her account twice in any
calendar year.
(iii) An undeliverable deposit account as defined in paragraph
(b)(3)(ii) of this section will be closed after the Copyright Office
has made at least three unsuccessful attempts, including at least one
attempt by phone if a deposit account holder provided a telephone
number, to correspond with the deposit account holder. Attempts at
corresponding with the deposit account holder may be considered
unsuccessful if the postal or email correspondence is returned as
undeliverable.
(iv) Any funds remaining in a closed deposit account will be
applied to any pending or processed service request(s) for which
payment is due. If there are insufficient funds to cover the total of
all fees due for any service, the service request(s) will not be
processed.
(v) Any balance remaining in a closed deposit account will be
refunded to the account holder in accordance with Copyright Office
policies. Unredeemed refunds will be handled in accordance with Library
of Congress and U.S. Treasury rules and policies.
(vi) The Copyright Office may refer any overdraft in a closed
deposit account for collections.
(6) Further information. For information on deposit accounts, see
Circular 5 on the Copyright Office's website, or request a copy at the
address specified in Sec. 201.1(b).
* * * * *
0
3. Amend Sec. 201.33 by revising paragraph (e) to read as follows:
Sec. 201.33 Procedures for filing Notices of Intent to Enforce a
restored copyright under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.
* * * * *
(e) Fee. The filing fee for recording Notices of Intent to Enforce
is prescribed in Sec. 201.3(c).
* * * * *
Sec. 201.39 [Amended]
0
4. Amend Sec. 201.39 by removing paragraph (g)(3).
PART 202--PREREGISTRATION AND REGISTRATION OF CLAIMS TO COPYRIGHT
0
5. The authority citation for part 202 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 17 U.S.C. 408(f), 702.
Sec. 202.3 [Amended]
0
6. Amend Sec. 202.3 by removing paragraph (b)(2)(i)(C) and
redesignating paragraph (b)(2)(i)(D) as paragraph (b)(2)(i)(C) and
removing the parenthetical authority citation at the end of the
section.
0
7. Amend Sec. 202.12 by revising paragraph (c)(2) to read as follows:
[[Page 59309]]
Sec. 202.12 Restored copyrights.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(2) Fee. The filing fee for registering a copyright claim in a
restored work is prescribed in Sec. 201.3(c) of this chapter.
* * * * *
0
8. Amend Sec. 202.16 by revising paragraph (c)(5) to read as follows:
Sec. 202.16 Preregistration of copyrights.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(5) Fee. The filing fee for preregistration is prescribed in Sec.
201.3(c) of this chapter.
* * * * *
0
9. Amend Sec. 202.23 by revising paragraph (e)(2) to read as follows:
Sec. 202.23 Full term retention of copyright deposits.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
(2) Payment in the amount prescribed in Sec. 201.3(d) of this
chapter payable to the U.S. Copyright Office, must be received in the
Copyright Office within 60 calendar days from the date of mailing of
the Copyright Office's notification to the requestor that full-term
retention has been granted for a particular copyright deposit.
* * * * *
Dated: September 22, 2022.
Shira Perlmutter,
Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office.
Approved by:
Carla D. Hayden,
Librarian of Congress.
[FR Doc. 2022-21294 Filed 9-29-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-30-P
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