[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 121 (Monday, June 26, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 28800-28801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-13277]
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Royalty Board
37 CFR Part 350
[Docket No. 17-CRB-0013 RM]
Proceedings of the Copyright Royalty Board; Violation of
Standards of Conduct
AGENCY: Copyright Royalty Board, Library of Congress.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Copyright Royalty Judges seek reply comments regarding a
proposed new Copyright Royalty Board rule that would authorize the
Judges to bar, either temporarily or permanently, certain individuals
and entities from participating in proceedings before the Judges.
DATES: Comments are due no later than July 26, 2017.
ADDRESSES: The proposed rule is posted on the agency's Web site
(www.loc.gov/crb) and at Regulations.gov (www.regulations.gov).
Interested parties may submit comments via the Copyright Royalty
Board's electronic filing system, eCRB, at https://app.crb.gov.
Commenters must register to use the system prior to filing comments.
Those who choose not to submit comments electronically should see How
to Submit Comments in the
[[Page 28801]]
Supplementary Information section below for online and physical
addresses and further instructions.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anita Blaine, Program Specialist, at
(202) 707-7658 or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 20, 2017, the Copyright Royalty
Judges (Judges) published a notice in the Federal Register seeking
comments on a proposed rule that would authorize the Judges to bar,
either temporarily or permanently, certain individuals and entities
from participating in proceedings before the Judges.\1\ In response to
the notice, the Judges received five comments, including two joint
comments, from people and entities that regularly participate in
proceedings before the Judges.\2\ The comments and the proposal are
available on the CRB Web site and in eCRB.
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\1\ 82 FR 18601.
\2\ The Judges received a joint comment from a group referring
to itself as ``The Allocation Phase Parties,'' which are Program
Suppliers, Joint Sports Claimants, Commercial Television Claimants,
Public Broadcasting Service, Settling Devotional Claimants, Canadian
Claimants Group, and National Public Radio. The Judges also received
a joint comment from a group referring to itself as Music Community
Participants, which are SoundExchange, Inc., the Recording Industry
Association of America, Inc., the American Association of
Independent Music, the American Federation of Musicians of the
United States and Canada, the Screen Actors Guild--American
Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the Alliance of Artists
and Recording Companies, Inc., and the National Music Publishers'
Association. The Judges also received comments from Raul Galaz and
from Worldwide Subsidy Group, LLC, dba Independent Producers Group.
The Judges also received a comment from David Powell.
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While some of the comments were supportive of the proposal or
certain aspects of it, others were critical and raised a number of
issues with the proposal, including the scope of the proposal,
potential abuses of the proposed provisions, the Constitutionality of
some of the proposed provisions, and whether the proposal is even
necessary. The Judges seek reply comments responding directly to issues
that commenters raised regarding the proposal. While the Judges will
review and consider all comments they receive on the proposal, they
request that commenters limit their comments at this point to issues
that other commenters raised in the initial round of comments,
including ways to address criticisms that some commenters raised with
respect to the proposal. Some commenters that criticized the proposal
suggested alternative language that might remedy perceived shortfalls
in the Judges' proposal. The Judges request comments on those
proposals, or welcome alternative suggestions the Judges might adopt to
address those perceived shortfalls, including the pros and cons of
choosing any proposed alternative approach. In light of some of the
negative comments, the Judges also seek comment on whether, on balance,
the remedies currently available to the Judges for addressing ethical
lapses of participants and counsel are adequate or preferable to the
remedial rule the Judges proposed. In particular, the Judges seek
detailed comments regarding the incidents to which the Judges
referredin the notice proposing the provision (or others that
commenters are aware of to which the Judges did not refer) and how
remedies currently available were used to address those incidents and
whether or not the extant remedies (e.g., discovery sanctions or loss
of the presumption of validity regarding claims) adequately addressed
those incidents or whether gaps in the current remedial framework might
lead to future incidents that could compromise public confidence in the
CRB ratemaking and royalty distribution system.
Solicitation of Comments
The Judges seek reply comments on the proposed new rule that
respond to comments that the Judges received in response to the initial
notice of proposed rulemaking.
How To Submit Comments
Interested members of the public must submit comments to only one
of the following addresses. If not submitting online, commenters must
submit an original of their comments, five paper copies, and an
electronic version in searchable PDF format on a CD.
Online: https://app.crb.gov or http://www.regulations.gov; or
U.S. mail: Copyright Royalty Board, P.O. Box 70977, Washington, DC
20024-0977; or Overnight service (only USPS Express Mail is
acceptable): Copyright Royalty Board, P.O. Box 70977, Washington, DC
20024-0977; or
Commercial courier: Address package to: Copyright Royalty Board,
Library of Congress, James Madison Memorial Building, LM-403, 101
Independence Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20559-6000. Deliver to:
Congressional Courier Acceptance Site, 2nd Street NE., and D Street
NE., Washington, DC; or
Hand delivery: Library of Congress, James Madison Memorial
Building, LM-401, 101 Independence Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20559-
6000.
Dated: June 21, 2017.
Suzanne M. Barnett,
Chief Copyright Royalty Judge.
[FR Doc. 2017-13277 Filed 6-23-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-72-P