Enter to open, tab to navigate, enter to select
US Copyright Office Proposes New Rule Concerning Disruption of Copyright Office Electronic Systems
Practical Law Legal Update w-006-7327 (Approx. 3 pages)
US Copyright Office Proposes New Rule Concerning Disruption of Copyright Office Electronic Systems
by Practical Law Intellectual Property & Technology
| Published on 02 Mar 2017 • USA (National/Federal) |
The US Copyright Office is seeking public comment on a proposed rule to amend its regulations concerning delays in the receipt of material caused by the disruption of postal or other transportation or communication services. As proposed, the rule would, among other things, specify how the Copyright Office assigns effective dates of receipt when a specific submission is lost in the absence of a declaration of disruption.
On March 2, 2017, the US Copyright Office published a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend its regulations concerning delays in the receipt of material caused by the disruption of postal or other transportation or communication services to:
- Address the effect of disruption or suspension of any Copyright Office electronic system in its receipt of applications, fees, deposits, or other materials, and the assignment of a constructive date of receipt to such materials.
- Make various revisions to the existing portions of the rule for usability and readability.
- Specify how the Copyright Office will assign effective dates of receipt when a specific submission is lost in the absence of a declaration of disruption.
The Copyright Office's existing regulations address the situation where a disruption or suspension of postal or other transportation or communications services prevents the timely receipt of a deposit, fee, or any other material. In such situations, the Register of Copyrights may deem the receipt as timely if it is actually received within one month after the date the Register of Copyrights determines that the disruption or suspension of such services has terminated.
However, the current regulations do not address outages of the Copyright Office's electronic systems. The proposed rule would amend the current regulations to:
- Update 37 CFR 201.8 to account for electronic outages to, among other things:
- allow the Register of Copyrights to assign, as the date of receipt, the date she determines the material would have been received but for the disruption or suspension of the electronic system;
- allow the Register of Copyrights to use the date of attempt as the date of receipt, in cases where a person attempts to submit materials but cannot do so because of a disruption or suspension of the electronic system; and
- provide the Register of Copyrights with discretion to determine the effective date of receipt on a case-by-case basis.
- Update 37 CFR 201.8 to account for more recent practices and improve the usability and readability of the regulation to:
- specify a deadline to request an adjustment of the date of receipt in cases where a person attempted to submit material to the Copyright Office, but could not due to the suspension or disruption of the electronic system; and
- permit a person seeking to adjust the date of receipt of any material that could not be submitted electronically due to disruption or suspension of the electronic system to submit a request to adjust the date of receipt up to one year after the date the disruption or suspension terminated under section 201.8(a).
- Add Sections 201.8(b) and c(2), which allow the person who delivered or attempted to deliver material to the Copyright Office to submit a request, within one year following the delivery or attempted delivery, for the Register of Copyrights to assign the date the material would have been received as the date of receipt.
Interested parties may submit written comments on the Copyright Office website no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on April 3, 2017.