80 FR 11690 - Distribution of 2013 Cable Royalty Funds

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Royalty Board

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 42 (March 4, 2015)

The Copyright Royalty Judges solicit comments on a motion of Phase I claimants for partial distribution of 2013 cable royalty funds.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 4, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11690-11691]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-04509]


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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Copyright Royalty Board

[Docket No. 14-CRB-0010-CD (2013)]


Distribution of 2013 Cable Royalty Funds

AGENCY: Copyright Royalty Board, Library of Congress.

ACTION: Notice requesting comments.

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SUMMARY: The Copyright Royalty Judges solicit comments on a motion of 
Phase I claimants for partial distribution of 2013 cable royalty funds.

DATES: Comments are due on or before April 3, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may submit comments electronically to 
[email protected]. In the alternative, interested parties may send an 
original, five copies, and an electronic copy on a CD either by mail or 
hand delivery. Commenters shall not use multiple means of transmission. 
Interested parties may not deliver comments by an overnight delivery 
service other than the U.S. Postal Service Express Mail. If commenters 
use U.S. mail (including overnight delivery), the appropriate address 
is: Copyright Royalty Board, P.O. Box 70977, Washington, DC 20024-0977. 
If a private party delivers comments by hand, they must be brought to 
the Library of Congress, James Madison Memorial Building, LM-401, 101 
Independence Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20559-6000. If a party delivers 
comments by a commercial courier, the comments must go to the 
Congressional Courier Acceptance Site located at 2nd and D Streets NE., 
Washington, DC, in an envelope 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 Keys, Program Specialist, by 
telephone at (202) 707-7658 or email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Each year cable systems must submit royalty 
payments to the Register of Copyrights as required by the statutory 
license set forth in section 111 of the Copyright Act for the 
retransmission to cable subscribers of over-the-air television and 
radio broadcast signals. See 17 U.S.C. 111(d). The Copyright Royalty 
Judges (Judges) oversee distribution of royalties to copyright owners 
whose works were included in a qualifying transmission and who timely 
filed a claim for royalties. Allocation of the royalties collected 
occurs in one of two ways. In the first instance, the Judges may 
authorize distribution in accordance with a negotiated settlement among 
all claiming parties. 17 U.S.C. 111(d)(4)(A). If all claimants do not 
reach agreement with respect to the royalties, the Judges must conduct 
a proceeding to determine the distribution of any royalties that remain 
in controversy. 17 U.S.C. 111(d)(4)(B). Alternatively, the Judges may, 
on motion of claimants and on notice to all interested parties, 
authorize a partial distribution of royalties, reserving on deposit 
sufficient funds to resolve identified disputes. 17 U.S.C. 
111(d)(4)(C), 801(b)(3)(C).
    On January 21, 2015, representatives of the Phase I claimant 
categories (the ``Phase I Claimants'') \1\ filed with the Judges a 
motion requesting a partial distribution amounting to 60% of the 2013 
cable royalty funds pursuant to section 801(b)(3)(C) of the Copyright 
Act. 17 U.S.C. 801(b)(3)(C). That section

[[Page 11691]]

requires that, before ruling on the motion, the Judges publish a notice 
in the Federal Register seeking responses to the motion for partial 
distribution to ascertain whether any claimant entitled to receive the 
subject royalties has a reasonable objection to the requested 
distribution. Accordingly, this Notice seeks comments from interested 
claimants on whether any reasonable objection exists that would 
preclude the distribution of 60% of the 2013 cable royalty funds to the 
Phase I Claimants. Parties making objection to the partial distribution 
must advise the Judges of the existence and extent of all objections by 
the end of the comment period. The Judges will not consider any 
objections with respect to the partial distribution motion that come to 
their attention after the close of the comment period.
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    \1\ The ``Phase I Claimants'' are Program Suppliers, Joint 
Sports Claimants, Public Television Claimants (represented by Public 
Broadcasting Service), Commercial Television Claimants (represented 
by National Association of Broadcasters), Music Claimants 
(represented by American Society of Composers, Authors and 
Publishers, Broadcast Music, Inc., and SESAC, Inc.), Canadian 
Claimants Group, National Public Radio, and Devotional Claimants. In 
what has become known as Phase I of a cable royalty distribution 
proceeding, the Judges allocate royalties among certain categories 
of claimants whose broadcast programming has been retransmitted by 
cable systems. The Phase I Claimants who are the moving parties in 
this requested partial distribution represent the traditional 
claimant categories. The Judges have not and do not by this notice 
determine the universe of claimant categories for 2013 cable 
retransmission royalties. In Phase II of a cable royalty 
distribution proceeding, the Judges determine how the allocated 
royalties are to be distributed among claimants within each of the 
Phase I categories.
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    The Judges have caused the Motion of the Phase I Claimants for 
Partial Distribution to be posted on the Copyright Royalty Board Web 
site at http://www.loc.gov/crb.

    Dated: February 26, 2015.
Suzanne M. Barnett,
Chief U.S. Copyright Royalty Judge.
[FR Doc. 2015-04509 Filed 3-3-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-72-P