82 FR 9004 - Removal of Personally Identifiable Information From Registration Records

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
U.S. Copyright Office

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 21 (February 2, 2017)

Page Range		9004-9009
FR Document		2017-02238
The U.S. Copyright Office is issuing a final rule to allow authors and claimants to replace or remove personally identifiable information (``PII'') from the Office's online registration catalog. This rule allows authors and claimants, or their authorized representatives, to request the replacement or removal of certain PII that is requested by the Office and collected on a registration application, such as a home addresses or personal phone numbers, from the Office's internet-accessible public catalog, while retaining that information in the Office's offline records as required by law. The rule also codifies an existing practice that removes extraneous PII, such as driver's license numbers, social security numbers, banking information, and credit card information, on the Office's own volition or upon request by authors, claimants, or their authorized representatives.
Federal Register, Volume 82 Issue 21 (Thursday, February 2, 2017)
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 21 (Thursday, February 2, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9004-9009]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-02238]


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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

 Copyright Office

37 CFR Parts 201 and 204

[Docket No. 2016-7]


Removal of Personally Identifiable Information From Registration 
Records

AGENCY: U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Copyright Office is issuing a final rule to allow 
authors and claimants to replace or remove personally identifiable 
information (``PII'') from the Office's online registration catalog. 
This rule allows authors and claimants, or their authorized 
representatives, to request the replacement or removal of certain PII 
that is requested by the Office and collected on a registration 
application, such as a home addresses or personal phone numbers, from 
the Office's internet-accessible public catalog, while retaining that 
information in the Office's offline records as required by law. The 
rule also codifies an existing practice that removes extraneous PII, 
such as driver's license numbers, social security numbers, banking 
information, and credit card information, on the Office's own volition 
or upon request by authors, claimants, or their authorized 
representatives.

DATES: Effective March 6, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cindy Abramson, Assistant General 
Counsel, by email at ciab@loc.gov, or Abioye Mosheim, Attorney Advisor, 
by email at abmo@loc.gov. Each can be reached by telephone by calling 
202-707-8350.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On September 15, 2016, the Copyright Office published a notice of 
proposed rulemaking (``NPRM'') to create procedures to request removal 
of certain ``personally identifiable information'' (``PII'') from the 
Office's registration records.\1\ PII is generally considered to be any 
information that has the potential to identify a specific individual. 
The NPRM concerned two distinct categories of PII.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 81 FR 63440 (Sept. 15, 2006).
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    First, the Office requests and receives certain types of PII during 
the registration process (e.g., dates of birth, addresses, telephone 
numbers, fax numbers, and email addresses). The collection of some of 
that information is mandated by statute or regulation; other 
information is optional.\2\ This information is referred to herein as 
``requested PII.''
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    \2\ The Copyright Act requires the Office to gather the name and 
address of the copyright claimant; the name of the author(s), for 
works that are not anonymous or pseudonymous; the nationality or 
domicile of the author(s); and date(s) of death for deceased 
author(s). See 17 U.S.C. 409. The Act also gives the Register of 
Copyrights the authority to require applicants to supply any other 
information ``bearing upon the preparation or identification of the 
work or the existence, ownership, or duration of copyright.'' Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Second, the Office does not request, but sometimes receives, 
additional PII that applicants include in their registration 
applications, such as driver's license numbers, social security 
numbers, banking information, and credit card information on their 
registration applications. Such information is extraneous and 
unnecessary for the processing and maintenance of copyright 
registration records. This information is referred to herein as 
``extraneous PII.''
    With respect to requested PII--information that the Copyright 
Office purposely collects as part of registration--the Copyright Act 
imposes certain obligations on the Office to preserve that information 
as part of the public record. The Act requires the Register to ensure 
that ``records of . . . registrations . . . are maintained, and that 
indexes of such records are prepared,'' and that ``[s]uch records and 
indexes . . . be open to public inspection,'' thus creating a public 
record. 17 U.S.C. 705(a), 705(b). The public record of copyright 
registrations serves several important functions. Chief among these is 
that the record

[[Page 9005]]

provides essential facts relevant to the copyright claim and 
information that a potential user of a copyrighted work can use to 
locate the work's owner. The registration record can also be a valuable 
aid for determining the term of copyright protection, by providing 
information such as the author's date of death, the publication date 
for the work, or the year of creation of the work.
    A separate provision of the Act requires the Register of Copyrights 
to ``compile and publish . . . catalogs of all copyright 
registrations.'' 17 U.S.C. 707(a). For most of the Office's history, 
this catalog was maintained in paper form as the Catalog of Copyright 
Entries (``CCE''). Starting in 1994, however, the Office began 
providing the public with access to a computerized database of post-
1977 copyright registration and recordation catalog entries via the 
internet. Then, in 1996, the Office decided to end publication of the 
printed CCE and publish copyright registration information solely via 
an online public catalog. See 61 FR 52465 (Oct. 7, 1996).
    Initially, the PII revealed in the online public catalog was 
limited to names and, when volunteered, the author's year of birth. By 
2007, however, with the advent of the Copyright Office's online 
registration system (``eCO''), a broader range of PII was pushed from 
the Office's registration records into the online public catalog, 
including the postal address of the claimants, and the name, postal 
address, email address and phone number of the person authorized to 
correspond about, and/or provide rights and permission to use, the 
registered work. See 72 FR 36883, 36887 (July 6, 2007). The current 
online public catalog, however, does not contain all of the information 
that is contained in the Office's full registration records. For 
instance, the online public catalog currently does not include the text 
of correspondence between the Office and the applicant. This 
information is maintained solely in the Office's offline records, 
although members of the public can obtain copies of it by making a 
request to the Office.
    In addition, while the information in the online public catalog 
initially could only be searched and retrieved via the Office's Web 
site, in 2007 third parties began harvesting registration information, 
including PII, from the catalog, and posting that information on 
alternative Web sites, which were then indexed by search engines. As a 
result, authors and claimants began noticing their personal information 
appearing in internet search results, and began asking the Office to 
remove that information from the Office's online public catalog.
    In 2008, the Office published a list of frequently asked questions 
(``FAQs'') on privacy to address some of these concerns.\3\ In the 
FAQs, the Office stressed that, by statute, it was required to collect 
certain information as part of the registration application and 
maintain it as part of its public records. The FAQs advised the public 
that if they did not wish sensitive personal information to appear in 
the online public catalog, they should refrain from providing it during 
the registration process, if possible. Applicants were advised to 
instead consider providing non-personal information, such as 
information about a third-party agent, a post office box, or a non-
personal email address. But the Office warned that, if the applicant 
provided personal information, it would be included in the online 
public catalog. Both the Web page to log in to the online registration 
system and the Web page to download paper application forms include 
links to the privacy FAQs. See eCO Registration System, Privacy: 
Copyright Public Records, https://www.copyright.gov/registration/; 
Forms, https://www.copyright.gov/forms/; see also U.S. Copyright 
Office, Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices (``Compendium 
(Third)'') 205 (3d ed. 2014).
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    \3\ See U.S. Copyright Office, Privacy: Copyright Public 
Records, http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-privacy.html.
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    The Office's practices have differed with respect to extraneous 
PII--such as driver's license numbers, social security numbers, credit 
card information, and banking information--that applicants sometimes 
include on registration applications, even though the application does 
not require or request such information. Given the particular 
sensitivity of that information, and the fact that it is not requested 
as part of the registration application, the Office has developed an 
informal practice of removing extraneous PII from its registration 
records, including the online public catalog and the offline records, 
for no fee. During the registration process, the Office may remove 
extraneous PII, particularly if it is sensitive information, on its own 
volition. After the registration is complete, the Office will remove 
extraneous PII upon request. See Compendium (Third) 1804.2 (``If the 
registration specialist discovers a social security number, driver's 
license number, credit card number, or bank account number in the 
application, he or she will remove that information from the record 
without communicating with the applicant [and] [i]f this information is 
not discovered during the examination process . . . [t]he Office will 
remove [it] upon written request.'').
    The NPRM explained in detail the rationale for and basic operation 
of the proposed rule. The Office solicited and received sixteen 
comments on the proposed rule. Having reviewed and carefully considered 
all of the comments received, the Copyright Office now issues a final 
rule that closely follows the proposed rule, with some alterations in 
response to the comments, as discussed below.

II. Discussion of Public Comments

    Replacement of Name After Legal Name Change. The NPRM proposed to 
allow authors and claimants to request the removal of certain PII from 
the online public catalog only, and replace it with non-personal 
information. Names were specifically excluded from this category in the 
proposed rule. In the NPRM, the Office gave three reasons for not 
allowing authors or claimants to remove their names from the online 
public catalog, or replace an author or claimant's name with a 
pseudonym or an anonymous designation: (1) Changing or removing a name 
is not necessary to prevent privacy invasions as long as associated PII 
is removed; (2) allowing authors or claimants to alter their names in 
the online public catalog may lead to confusion regarding the term of 
copyright protection for the work; and (3) removal of a claimant's name 
could lead to confusion about the correct copyright term.
    Two commenters urged the Office to allow authors or claimants to 
replace their names in the online public catalog. They argued that, for 
transgender individuals, disclosure of a birth name equals disclosure 
of transgender status. National Center for Transgender Equality 
(``NCTE'') Comments at 1; T. Brown Comments. Although it may be 
possible to use a supplementary registration to change one's name, both 
the original registration and the supplementary registration appear in 
the online registration record. According to these commenters, having a 
transgender individual's birth name and changed name both appear in the 
record could jeopardize the ``well-being and personal and professional 
life'' of a transgender individual, put them in danger, or subject them 
to ``employment discrimination, bodily harm and/or worse.'' T. Brown 
Comments. NCTE argued that not allowing a person who has received a 
legal name change to replace their original name with the legally 
changed name may affect victims of domestic violence as well. NCTE 
Comments at 1.

[[Page 9006]]

    NCTE suggested two revisions to the NPRM, one of which the Office 
reproduces here:

201.2(e)(2)(iii) Names of authors or claimants may not be removed or 
replaced with a pseudonym. Requests to substitute the prior name of 
the author or claimant with the current legal name of the author or 
claimant must be accompanied by official documentation of the legal 
name change.

NCTE Comments at 1. The Office finds compelling NCTE's and T. Brown's 
arguments for allowing a name change in the online record, and adopts 
the above suggested language in the final rule.
    NCTE also recommended that the Office not include a note in the 
online record indicating that the legal name has been modified because 
it could pose safety and privacy concerns to transgender individuals. 
NCTE Comments at 3. While the Office takes seriously these concerns, as 
mentioned in the NPRM, the Copyright Act imposes certain obligations on 
the Office to preserve information as part of the public record. See 17 
U.S.C. 705(a), 705(b). Pursuant to the new rule, ``a note indicating 
that the online record has been modified will be added to the online 
registration record.'' 17 U.S.C. 201.2(e)(6). This note, however, will 
merely indicate that a change was made to the record but will not 
specify whether or not a change to the legal name was made. The Office 
believes that this clarification addresses NCTE's concerns.
    Retention of Original PII in Offline Records. The NPRM also 
proposed that the original information would be maintained in the 
Office's offline records and would be available for public inspection 
by visitors to the Copyright Office and upon request, consistent with 
the Office's statutory responsibilities to maintain such records and 
make them available to the public. The NPRM sought to strike an 
appropriate balance between the public's interest in a robust online 
record and concerns of privacy and safety in individual cases.
    The Software and Information Industry Association (``SIIA'') 
expressed concern about this aspect of the rule, commenting that ``the 
very reason for the registration data is to enable the licensing of 
works'' and the ``proposal makes that more difficult.'' SIIA Comments 
at 3. In SIIA's view, ``[t]hose seeking information would have to hire 
someone in Washington to physically go to the Copyright Office records 
and search them.'' Id. The Office, however, crafted the rule with that 
exact concern in mind. The Office does not intend to make it more 
difficult to license works, which is why the rule does not permit a 
claimant to eliminate address information from the online public 
catalog, but instead only allows for the replacement of a home address 
with a verifiable substitute address, such as a current post office box 
or third-party address. As the NPRM explained, ``allowing the wholesale 
removal of a claimant address would impede the public's ability to 
contact a copyright owner to obtain permission to use the work.'' 81 FR 
at 63441. The Office has made this point even more explicit in the 
final rule.
    With respect to other types of PII, alternate information must be 
provided, unless a stringent standard is met: Specifically, the 
requester must demonstrate that the stated concern substantially 
outweighs the need for the information to remain in the public record. 
As the NPRM explained, ``[t]his higher standard is warranted because 
removing information entirely from the online public catalog would 
result in a diminished record available for search via the internet.'' 
81 FR at 63442. The Office does not anticipate that it will liberally 
grant such requests. Additionally, under existing practices, one does 
not have to travel to Washington to physically search records. Members 
of the public may obtain a search for and copies of registration 
records upon request and have the results sent to them via U.S. mail or 
courier. See generally Compendium (Third) 2406, 2407.
    The Copyright Alliance also recommended revising the rule to allow 
for bulk access to offline records. Copyright Alliance Comments at 4. 
The Office's current technology systems does not permit bulk access. 
While the Office declines to adopt this suggestion under the PII rule, 
it will consider the recommendation as part of its broader technology 
modernization efforts.
    Various Concerns Regarding Collection of PII in Registration 
Process. Some commenters including the National Writers Union and the 
American Society of Journalists and Authors (``NWU/ASJA''), stated that 
the Office should not require an author or claimant to make any contact 
information publicly available. See NWU/ASJA Comments at 4-5, 7-8; 
Alexander Kunz Comments. Other commenters asked the Office to do away 
with the collection of physical addresses and only collect email 
addresses. See e.g., V.E. Anonymous Comments; Helen Zhang Comments 
(stating that even providing a substitute non-personal address or P.O. 
Box may give an unwanted party the author or claimant's approximate 
location). But, as stated in the NPRM, the Office is mandated by 
statute to collect and make public a claimant's address. See 17 U.S.C. 
409(1) (``The application for copyright registration shall . . . 
include the name and address of the copyright claimant.''). Given that 
section 409(1) was added to the Copyright Act before electronic mail 
existed, the Office interprets that provision to mean that the claimant 
must provide a physical mailing address--not an electronic mailing 
address. See H.R. Rep. 155-156. Therefore, the Office declines to adopt 
any regulation that would do away with the collection and maintenance 
of physical claimant addresses. That said, the Office has always 
advised in its Privacy FAQs that the inclusion of any physical address 
other than the claimant's address is optional; accordingly, applicants 
are advised to think carefully before providing a claimant's personal 
physical address, and are instead encouraged to provide a third-party 
agent's address, a post office box, or a non-personal email address.
    Several commenters recommended that the Office amend the rule to 
either provide notice to applicants at the time of registration that 
their PII will be on the internet and to advise them of their options 
for avoiding publication of their PII, or to provide an ``opt out'' 
mechanism on the registration application that would allow the 
applicant to opt out of providing his or her PII. See e.g., Copyright 
Alliance Comments at 3; Alexander Kunz Comments. But, as mentioned in 
the NPRM and above, the Office already provides links to its Privacy 
FAQs on both the online registration application and the Web page that 
houses the downloadable paper registration applications. Additionally, 
eCO and each paper registration application contains a Privacy Act 
Notice that advises the applicant that by completing the application it 
is authorizing the Office to collect the applicant's PII and consenting 
to routine uses of the PII, including publication to give legal notice 
of the applicant's copyright claim.
    The Copyright Alliance suggested that the rule provide a ``do not 
contact'' mechanism at the time of registration. Copyright Alliance 
Comments at 3. It stated that ``providing registrants with the option 
of indicating they do not wish to be contacted . . . should decrease 
the amount of unwanted contact and encourage creators to feel more 
comfortable about providing their information.'' Copyright Alliance 
Comments at 3. Without any empirical evidence to support such an 
assertion, the Office declines to adopt this

[[Page 9007]]

recommendation; it is unclear how providing PII but asking members of 
the public to not contact an author using that PII will actually deter 
unwanted contact. Additionally, eCO is not currently designed to permit 
a ``do not contact'' option at registration, and adding such an option 
would require updates to the eCO system. Accordingly, at this time the 
Office declines to adopt the Copyright Alliance's ``do not contact'' 
suggestion, but may consider it at a later date as part of its broader 
technology modernization efforts.
    Finally, the Office notes that NWU/ASJA made several comments not 
relevant to the NPRM, including that the Office should repeal the 
requirement of registration for enforcement and remedies and withdraw 
proposed orphan works legislation. See NWU/ASJA Comments at 3. NWU/ASJA 
also alleges that the requirement to make contact information public is 
a prohibited formality under the Berne Convention and that the Office's 
gathering and maintaining information on a registration application 
violates the Privacy Act because the information gathered is not 
relevant and necessary to accomplish the mission of the Copyright 
Office, and is not mandated by statute. See NWU/ASJA Comments at 4-5, 
7. Although the Office does not agree that these requirements violate 
Berne or the Privacy Act, this rulemaking is not the proper forum in 
which to address these concerns in detail. The requirements that NWU/
ASJA complain of, however, are part of the Copyright Act, and the 
Office cannot create exceptions to them as part of this rulemaking.
    ``Verified'' Addresses. As the NPRM explained, the proposed rule 
does not allow a claimant to eliminate address information from the 
online public catalog, but instead would only allow for the replacement 
of a home address with a verifiable substitute address, such as a 
current post office box or third-party address.
    One commenter, Music Reports, recommended the following change to 
the proposed rule: The Office should require the substitute address 
information be ``verified''--not just be verifiable--at time of 
application, by requiring notarized documentation of the requester's 
identity, and by requiring the requester to provide evidence that one 
is able to receive mail at that address. Music Reports Comments at 2. 
The Office believes that adding this burden is unnecessary. The rule 
already requires that the requester provide the Office with 
``verifiable'' information, meaning that the requester will have to 
aver that the replacement address is one at which the author and/or 
claimant can receive mail. And the requester is required to append an 
affidavit to the request stating as much. Therefore, the Office 
declines to adopt Music Reports recommendations in the final rule.
    Fees. The NPRM proposed that the cost for filing an initial request 
for replacement or removal of requested PII would be $130, and the fee 
for reconsideration of denied requests for replacement or removal of 
requested PII would be $60. There would be no fee for requests to 
remove extraneous PII. For reconsiderations, the NPRM proposed a flat 
fee of $60 per request, regardless of the number of registration 
records referenced in the request. As the NPRM stated, both fees are 
non-refundable.
    Several commenters thought the initial fee for requesting the 
replacement or removal of requested PII was unreasonable. See e.g., 
Copyright Alliance Comments at 3; Cletus Price Comments; Alexander Kunz 
Comments; Helen Zhang Comments. The Office calculated the fee, however, 
after carefully considering the time and labor required to review and 
process these requests, including the salaries of junior and senior 
staff who will take part in the review, draft the decisions, and 
perform the data entry; costs associated with docketing and responding 
to requests via U.S. mail; system costs related to entering changes 
into the online public catalog as well as updating the offline 
registration records; and costs associated with printing a new 
registration certificate.
    One commenter stated that ``[r]equiring [an] applicant to submit 
requested PII then wait for the Office to publish it in its online 
records and then requiring the individual to request and pay $130 to 
have some of it taken down would be a very inconvenient process.'' 
Cletus Price Comments. But the Office notes that PII does not 
necessarily need to be provided as part of the initial registration 
application. The registration application instructions, as well as the 
above-mentioned privacy FAQs, warn applicants at the time of 
registration that any PII provided on the registration application will 
be made public and that, in order to avoid any issues regarding 
security or privacy, to provide non-personal information (like a P.O. 
Box or business address) where possible, or where the information is 
optional, to not provide PII at all.

List of Subjects in 37 CFR Parts 201 and 204

    Copyright, Information, Privacy, Records.

Final Regulations

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Copyright Office 
amends 37 CFR parts 201 and 204 of 37 CFR chapter II as follows:

PART 201--GENERAL PROVISIONS

0
1. The authority citation for part 201 continues to read, in part, as 
follows:

    Authority: 17 U.S.C. 702.
* * * * *

0
2. In Sec.  201.1, revise the section heading and add paragraph (c)(8) 
to read as follows:


Sec.  201.1  Communication with the Copyright Office.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (8) Requests to remove PII from registration records. Requests to 
remove personally identifiable information from registration records 
pursuant to Sec. Sec.  201.2(e) and (f) should be addressed to: U.S. 
Copyright Office, Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of the 
Office of Public Information and Education, P.O. Box 70400, Washington, 
DC 20024-0400. Requests should be clearly labeled ``Request to Remove 
Requested PII,'' ``Request for Reconsideration Following Denial of 
Request to Remove Requested PII,'' or ``Request to Remove Extraneous 
PII,'' as appropriate.

0
3. In Sec.  201.2, add paragraphs (e) and (f) to read as follows:


Sec.  201.2   Information given by the Copyright Office.

* * * * *
    (e) Requests for removal of requested personally identifiable 
information from the online public catalog. (1) In general, an author, 
claimant of record, or the authorized representative of the author or 
claimant of record may submit a request to remove certain categories of 
personally identifiable information (``PII'') described in paragraph 
(e)(2) of this section from the Copyright Office's online public 
catalog by following the procedure set forth in paragraph (e)(3) of 
this section. Where the requester provides verifiable, non-personally 
identifiable substitute information to replace the PII being removed, 
the Office will grant the request unless it determines that the need to 
maintain the original information in the public record substantially 
outweighs the safety, privacy, or other stated concern. If the 
requester does not provide verifiable, non-personally-identifiable 
substitute information, the Office will grant the request only if the 
safety, privacy, or other stated concern substantially

[[Page 9008]]

outweighs the need for the information to remain in the public record. 
The Office will review requests by joint authors or claimants on a 
case-by-case basis.
    (2) Categories of personally identifiable information that may be 
removed from the online public catalog include names, home addresses, 
personal telephone and fax numbers, personal email addresses, and other 
information that is requested by the Office as part the copyright 
registration application except that:
    (i) Requests for removal of driver's license numbers, social 
security numbers, banking information, credit card information and 
other extraneous PII covered by paragraph (f) of this section are 
governed by the provisions of that paragraph.
    (ii) Requests to remove the address of a copyright claimant must be 
accompanied by a verifiable substitute address. The Office will not 
remove the address of a copyright claimant unless such a verifiable 
substitute address is provided.
    (iii) Names of authors or claimants may not be removed or replaced 
with a pseudonym. Requests to substitute the prior name of the author 
or claimant with the current legal name of the author or claimant must 
be accompanied by official documentation of the legal name change.
    (3) Requests for removal of PII from the online catalog must be in 
the form of an affidavit, must be accompanied by the non-refundable fee 
listed in Sec.  201.3(c), and must include the following information:
    (i) The copyright registration number(s).
    (ii) The name of the author and/or claimant of record on whose 
behalf the request is made.
    (iii) Identification of the specific PII that is to be removed.
    (iv) If applicable, verifiable non-personally-identifiable 
substitute information that should replace the PII to be removed.
    (v) In the case of requests to replace the names of authors or 
claimants, the request must be accompanied by a court order granting a 
legal name change.
    (vi) A statement providing the reasons supporting the request. If 
the requester is not providing verifiable, non-personally-identifiable 
substitute information to replace the PII to be removed, this statement 
must explain in detail the specific threat to the individual's personal 
safety or personal security, or other circumstances, supporting the 
request.
    (vii) The statement, ``I declare under penalty of perjury that the 
foregoing is true and correct.''
    (viii) If the submission is by an authorized representative of the 
author or claimant of record, an additional statement, ``I am 
authorized to make this request on behalf of [name of author or 
claimant of record].''
    (ix) The signature of the author, claimant of record, or the 
authorized representative of the author or claimant of record.
    (x) The date on which the request was signed.
    (xi) A physical mailing address to which the Office's response may 
be sent (if no email is provided).
    (xii) A telephone number.
    (xiii) An email address (if available).
    (4) Requests under this paragraph (e) must be mailed to the address 
listed in Sec.  201.1(c).
    (5) A properly submitted request will be reviewed by the Associate 
Register of Copyrights and Director of the Office Public Information 
and Education or his or her designee(s) to determine whether the 
request should be granted or denied. The Office will mail its decision 
to either grant or deny the request to the address indicated in the 
request.
    (6) If the request is granted, the Office will remove the 
information from the online public catalog. Where substitute 
information has been provided, the Office will add that information to 
the online public catalog. In addition, a note indicating that the 
online record has been modified will be added to the online 
registration record. A new certificate of registration will be issued 
that reflects the modified information. The Office will maintain a copy 
of the original registration record on file in the Copyright Office, 
and such records shall be open to public inspection and copying 
pursuant to paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of this section. The Office 
will also maintain in its offline records the correspondence related to 
the request to remove PII.
    (7) Requests for reconsideration of denied requests to remove PII 
from the online public catalog must be made in writing within 30 days 
from the date of the denial letter. The request for reconsideration, 
and a non-refundable fee in the amount specified in Sec.  201.3(c), 
must be mailed to the address listed in Sec.  201.1(c). The request 
must specifically address the grounds for denial of the initial 
request. Only one request for reconsideration will be considered per 
denial.
    (f) Requests for removal of extraneous PII from the public record. 
Upon written request, the Office will remove driver's license numbers, 
social security numbers, banking information, credit card information, 
and other extraneous PII that was erroneously included on a 
registration application from the public record. There is no fee for 
this service. To make a request, the author, claimant, or the 
authorized representative of the author or claimant, must submit the 
request in writing using the contact information listed in Sec.  
201.1(c). Such a request must name the author and/or claimant, provide 
the registration number(s) associated for the record in question, and 
give a description of the extraneous PII that is to be removed. Once 
the request is received, the Office will remove the extraneous 
information from both its online and offline public records. The Office 
will not include any notation of this action in its records.

0
4. In Sec.  201.3, add paragraph (c)(19) to read as follows:


Sec.  201.3  Fees for registration, recordation, and related services, 
special services, and services performed by the Licensing Division.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Registration, recordation and related services          Fees  ($)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                              * * * * * * *
(19) Removal of PII from Registration Records
    (i) Initial request, per registration record........             130
    (ii) Reconsideration of denied requests, flat fee...              60
 
                              * * * * * * *
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 9009]]

* * * * *

PART 204--PRIVACY ACT: POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

0
5. The authority citation for part 204 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 17 U.S.C. 702; 5 U.S.C. 552(a).


0
6. Revise Sec.  204.7 to read as follows:


Sec.  204.7  Request for correction or amendment of records.

    (a) Any individual may request the correction or amendment of a 
record pertaining to her or him. Requests for the removal of personally 
identifiable information requested by the Copyright Office as part of 
an application for copyright registration are governed by Sec.  
201.2(e) of this chapter. Requests for the removal of extraneous 
personally identifiable information, such as driver's license numbers, 
social security numbers, banking information, and credit card 
information from registration records are governed by Sec.  201.2(f) of 
this chapter. With respect to the correction or amendment of all other 
information contained in a copyright registration, the set of 
procedures and related fees are governed by 17 U.S.C. 408(d) and Sec.  
201.5 of this chapter. With respect to requests to amend any other 
record that an individual believes is incomplete, inaccurate, 
irrelevant or untimely, the request shall be in writing and delivered 
either by mail addressed to the U.S. Copyright Office, Supervisory 
Copyright Information Specialist, Copyright Information Section, Attn: 
Privacy Act Request, P.O. Box 70400, Washington, DC 20024-0400, or in 
person Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
eastern time, except legal holidays, at Room LM-401, Library of 
Congress, U.S. Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC 20559-6000. The request shall explain why the individual 
believes the record to be incomplete, inaccurate, irrelevant, or 
untimely.
    (b) With respect to requests for the correction or amendment of 
records that are governed by this section, the Office will respond 
within 10 working days indicating to the requester that the requested 
correction or amendment has been made or that it has been refused. If 
the requested correction or amendment is refused, the Office's response 
will indicate the reason for the refusal and the procedure available to 
the individual to appeal the refusal.

    Dated: January 23, 2017.
Karyn Temple Claggett,
Acting Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright 
Office.
    Approved by:
Carla Hayden,
Librarian of Congress.
[FR Doc. 2017-02238 Filed 2-1-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-30-P
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 21 / Thursday, February 2, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 9007

recommendation; it is unclear how and/or claimant can receive mail. And Final Regulations
providing PII but asking members of the the requester is required to append an For the reasons set forth in the
public to not contact an author using affidavit to the request stating as much. preamble, the Copyright Office amends
that PII will actually deter unwanted Therefore, the Office declines to adopt 37 CFR parts 201 and 204 of 37 CFR
contact. Additionally, eCO is not Music Reports recommendations in the chapter II as follows:
currently designed to permit a ‘‘do not final rule.
contact’’ option at registration, and Fees. The NPRM proposed that the PART 201—GENERAL PROVISIONS
adding such an option would require cost for filing an initial request for
updates to the eCO system. Accordingly, replacement or removal of requested PII ■ 1. The authority citation for part 201
at this time the Office declines to adopt would be $130, and the fee for continues to read, in part, as follows:
the Copyright Alliance’s ‘‘do not reconsideration of denied requests for Authority: 17 U.S.C. 702.
contact’’ suggestion, but may consider it replacement or removal of requested PII
at a later date as part of its broader * * * * *
would be $60. There would be no fee for ■ 2. In § 201.1, revise the section
technology modernization efforts. requests to remove extraneous PII. For
Finally, the Office notes that NWU/ heading and add paragraph (c)(8) to read
reconsiderations, the NPRM proposed a as follows:
ASJA made several comments not
flat fee of $60 per request, regardless of
relevant to the NPRM, including that the
Office should repeal the requirement of the number of registration records § 201.1 Communication with the Copyright
referenced in the request. As the NPRM Office.
registration for enforcement and
remedies and withdraw proposed stated, both fees are non-refundable. * * * * *
orphan works legislation. See NWU/ Several commenters thought the (c) * * *
ASJA Comments at 3. NWU/ASJA also initial fee for requesting the replacement (8) Requests to remove PII from
alleges that the requirement to make or removal of requested PII was registration records. Requests to remove
contact information public is a unreasonable. See e.g., Copyright personally identifiable information from
prohibited formality under the Berne Alliance Comments at 3; Cletus Price registration records pursuant to
Convention and that the Office’s Comments; Alexander Kunz Comments; §§ 201.2(e) and (f) should be addressed
gathering and maintaining information Helen Zhang Comments. The Office to: U.S. Copyright Office, Associate
on a registration application violates the calculated the fee, however, after Register of Copyrights and Director of
Privacy Act because the information carefully considering the time and labor the Office of Public Information and
gathered is not relevant and necessary to required to review and process these Education, P.O. Box 70400, Washington,
accomplish the mission of the Copyright requests, including the salaries of junior DC 20024–0400. Requests should be
Office, and is not mandated by statute. and senior staff who will take part in the clearly labeled ‘‘Request to Remove
See NWU/ASJA Comments at 4–5, 7. review, draft the decisions, and perform Requested PII,’’ ‘‘Request for
Although the Office does not agree that the data entry; costs associated with Reconsideration Following Denial of
these requirements violate Berne or the docketing and responding to requests Request to Remove Requested PII,’’ or
Privacy Act, this rulemaking is not the via U.S. mail; system costs related to ‘‘Request to Remove Extraneous PII,’’ as
proper forum in which to address these entering changes into the online public appropriate.
concerns in detail. The requirements catalog as well as updating the offline ■ 3. In § 201.2, add paragraphs (e) and
that NWU/ASJA complain of, however, registration records; and costs (f) to read as follows:
are part of the Copyright Act, and the associated with printing a new
§ 201.2 Information given by the Copyright
Office cannot create exceptions to them registration certificate. Office.
as part of this rulemaking. One commenter stated that
‘‘Verified’’ Addresses. As the NPRM * * * * *
‘‘[r]equiring [an] applicant to submit (e) Requests for removal of requested
explained, the proposed rule does not
requested PII then wait for the Office to personally identifiable information from
allow a claimant to eliminate address
publish it in its online records and then the online public catalog. (1) In general,
information from the online public
catalog, but instead would only allow requiring the individual to request and an author, claimant of record, or the
for the replacement of a home address pay $130 to have some of it taken down authorized representative of the author
with a verifiable substitute address, would be a very inconvenient process.’’ or claimant of record may submit a
such as a current post office box or Cletus Price Comments. But the Office request to remove certain categories of
third-party address. notes that PII does not necessarily need personally identifiable information
One commenter, Music Reports, to be provided as part of the initial (‘‘PII’’) described in paragraph (e)(2) of
recommended the following change to registration application. The registration this section from the Copyright Office’s
the proposed rule: The Office should application instructions, as well as the online public catalog by following the
require the substitute address above-mentioned privacy FAQs, warn procedure set forth in paragraph (e)(3) of
information be ‘‘verified’’—not just be applicants at the time of registration that this section. Where the requester
verifiable—at time of application, by any PII provided on the registration provides verifiable, non-personally
requiring notarized documentation of application will be made public and identifiable substitute information to
the requester’s identity, and by that, in order to avoid any issues replace the PII being removed, the
requiring the requester to provide regarding security or privacy, to provide Office will grant the request unless it
evidence that one is able to receive mail non-personal information (like a P.O. determines that the need to maintain the
at that address. Music Reports Box or business address) where original information in the public record
mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with RULES

Comments at 2. The Office believes that possible, or where the information is substantially outweighs the safety,
adding this burden is unnecessary. The optional, to not provide PII at all. privacy, or other stated concern. If the
rule already requires that the requester List of Subjects in 37 CFR Parts 201 and requester does not provide verifiable,
provide the Office with ‘‘verifiable’’ 204 non-personally-identifiable substitute
information, meaning that the requester information, the Office will grant the
will have to aver that the replacement Copyright, Information, Privacy, request only if the safety, privacy, or
address is one at which the author Records. other stated concern substantially

VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:35 Feb 01, 2017 Jkt 241001 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\02FER1.SGM 02FER1
Document Created: 2017-02-02 00:55:32
Document Modified: 2017-02-02 00:55:32
Category		Regulatory Information
Collection		Federal Register
sudoc Class		AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106:
Publisher		Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
Section		Rules and Regulations
Action		Final rule.
Dates		Effective March 6, 2017.
Contact		Cindy Abramson, Assistant General Counsel, by email at [email protected], or Abioye Mosheim, Attorney Advisor, by email at [email protected] Each can be reached by telephone by calling 202-707-8350.
FR Citation		82 FR 9004
CFR Citation		37 CFR 201 37 CFR 204
CFR Associated		Copyright; Information; Privacy and Records
82 FR 9004 - Removal of Personally Identifiable Information From Registration Records

LIBRARY OF CONGRESSU.S. Copyright Office

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 21 (February 2, 2017)

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
U.S. Copyright Office
