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Electronic Code of Federal Regulations



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Title 37: Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights
PART 260—RATES AND TERMS FOR PREEXISTING SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES' DIGITAL TRANSMISSIONS OF SOUND RECORDINGS AND MAKING OF EPHEMERAL PHONORECORDS


§ 260.1   General



(a) This part 260 establishes rates and terms of royalty payments for the public performance of sound recordings by nonexempt preexisting subscription services in accordance with the provisions of 17 U.S.C. 114(d)(2), and the making of ephemeral phonorecords in connection with the public performance of sound recordings by nonexempt preexisting subscription services in accordance with the provisions of 17 U.S.C. 112(e).

(b) Upon compliance with 17 U.S.C. 114 and the terms and rates of this part, nonexempt preexisting subscription services may engage in the activities set forth in 17 U.S.C. 114(d)(2).

(c) Upon compliance with 17 U.S.C. 112(e) and the terms and rates of this part, nonexempt preexisting subscription services may engage in the activities set forth in 17 U.S.C. 112(e) without limit to the number of ephemeral phonorecords made.

(d) For purposes of this part, Licensee means any preexisting subscription service as defined in 17 U.S.C. 114(j)(11).

[68 FR 39840, July 3, 2003]


§ 260.2   Royalty fees for the digital performance of sound recordings and the making of ephemeral phonorecords by preexisting subscription services.



(a) Commencing January 1, 2002 and continuing through December 31, 2003, a Licensee's monthly royalty fee for the public performance of sound recordings pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 114(d)(2) and the making of any number of ephemeral phonorecords to facilitate such performances pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 112(e) shall be 7.0% of such Licensee's monthly gross revenues resulting from residential services in the United States.

(b) Commencing January 1, 2004 and continuing through December 31, 2007, a Licensee's monthly royalty fee for the public performance of sound recordings pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 114(d)(2) and the making of any number of ephemeral phonorecords to facilitate such performances pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 112(e) shall be 7.25% of such Licensee's monthly gross revenues resulting from residential services in the United States.

(c) Commencing in the year 2003 and continuing through the year 2007, each Licensee making digital performances of sound recordings pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 114(d)(2) and ephemeral phonorecords pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 112(e) shall make an advance payment of $100,000 per year, payable no later than January 20th of each year; Provided, however, that for 2003, the annual advance payment shall be due on August 20, 2003. The annual advance payment shall be nonrefundable, but the royalties due and payable for a given year or any month therein under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section shall be recoupable against the annual advance payment for such year; Provided, however, that any unused annual advance payment for a given year shall not carry over into a subsequent year.

(d) A Licensee shall pay a late fee of 1.5% per month, or the highest lawful rate, whichever is lower, for any payment received after the due date. Late fees shall accrue from the due date until payment is received.

(e)(1) For purposes of this section, gross revenues shall mean all monies derived from the operation of the programming service of the Licensee and shall be comprised of the following:

(i) Monies received by Licensee from Licensee's carriers and directly from residential U.S. subscribers for Licensee's programming service;

(ii) Licensee's advertising revenues (as billed), or other monies received from sponsors if any, less advertising agency commissions not to exceed 15% of those fees incurred to a recognized advertising agency not owned or controlled by Licensee;

(iii) Monies received for the provision of time on the programming service to any third party;

(iv) Monies received from the sale of time to providers of paid programming such as infomercials;

(v) Where merchandise, service, or anything of value is received by Licensee in lieu of cash consideration for the use of Licensee's programming service, the fair market value thereof or Licensee's prevailing published rate, whichever is less;

(vi) Monies or other consideration received by Licensee from Licensee's carriers, but not including monies received by Licensee's carriers from others and not accounted for by Licensee's carriers to Licensee, for the provision of hardware by anyone and used in connection with the programming service;

(vii) Monies or other consideration received for any references to or inclusion of any product or service on the programming service; and

(viii) Bad debts recovered regarding paragraphs (e)(1) (i) through (vii) of this section.

(2) Gross revenues shall include such payments as set forth in paragraphs (e)(1) (i) through (viii) of this section to which Licensee is entitled but which are paid to a parent, subsidiary, division, or affiliate of Licensee, in lieu of payment to Licensee but not including payments to Licensee's carriers for the programming service. Licensee shall be allowed a deduction from “gross revenues” as defined in paragraph (e)(1) of this section for affiliate revenue returned during the reporting period and for bad debts actually written off during reporting period.

(f) During any given payment period, the value of each performance of each digital sound recording shall be the same.

[63 FR 25413, May 8, 1998, as amended at 64 FR 36576, July 7, 1999; 65 FR 39820, June 28, 2000; 68 FR 36470, June 18, 2003; 68 FR 39840, July 3, 2003]


§ 260.3   Terms for making payment of royalty fees.



(a) All royalty payments shall be made to a designated agent(s), to be determined by the parties through voluntary license agreements or by a duly appointed Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel pursuant to the procedures set forth in subchapter B of 37 CFR, part 251.

(b) Payment shall be made on the forty-fifth day after the end of each month for that month, commencing with the month succeeding the month in which the royalty fees are set.

(c) The agent designated to receive the royalty payments and the statements of account shall have the responsibility of making further distribution of these fees to those parties entitled to receive such payment according to the provisions set forth at 17 U.S.C. 114(g).

(d) The designated agent may deduct from any of its receipts paid by Licensees under § 260.2, prior to the distribution of such receipts to any person or entity entitled thereto, the reasonable costs permitted to be deducted under 17 U.S.C. 114(g)(3); Provided, however, that the parties entitled to receive royalty payments according to the provisions set forth at 17 U.S.C. 114(g)(1) & (2) who have authorized a designated agent may agree to deduct such other costs agreed to by such other parties and the designated agent.

(e) Until such time as a new designation is made, SoundExchange, which initially is an unincorporated division of the Recording Industry Association of America, Inc., shall be the agent receiving royalty payments and statements of account and shall continue to be designated if it should be separately incorporated.

(f) A Licensee shall make any payments due under § 260.2(a) for digital transmissions or ephemeral phonorecords made between January 1, 2002, and July 31, 2003, to the Designated Agent, less any amounts previously paid by such period to the Recording Industry Association of America, Inc., or SoundExchange by September 15, 2003.

[63 FR 25413, May 8, 1998, as amended at 63 FR 30636, June 5, 1998; 68 FR 36470, June 18, 2003; 68 FR 39841, July 3, 2003]


§ 260.4   Confidential information and statements of account.



(a) For purposes of this part, confidential information shall include statements of account and any information pertaining to the statements of account designated as confidential by the nonexempt preexisting subscription service filing the statement. Confidential information shall also include any information so designated in a confidentiality agreement which has been duly executed between a nonexempt preexisting subscription service and an interested party, or between one or more interested parties; Provided that all such information shall be made available, for the verification proceedings provided for in §§ 260.5 and 260.6 of this part.

(b) Nonexempt preexisting subscription services shall submit monthly statements of account on a form provided by the agent designated to collect such forms and the monthly royalty payments.

(c) A statement of account shall include only such information as is necessary to verify the accompanying royalty payment. Additional information beyond that which is sufficient to verify the calculation of the royalty fees shall not be included on the statement of account.

(d) Access to the confidential information pertaining to the royalty payments shall be limited to:

(1) Those employees, agents, consultants and independent contractors of the designated agent, subject to an appropriate confidentiality agreement, who are engaged in the collection and distribution of royalty payments hereunder and activities directly related hereto, who are not also employees or officers of a sound recording copyright owner or performing artist, and who, for the purpose of performing such duties during the ordinary course of employment, require access to the records; and

(2) An independent and qualified auditor who is not an employee or officer of a sound recording copyright owner or performing artist, but is authorized to act on behalf of the interested copyright owners with respect to the verification of the royalty payments.

(e) The designated agent or any person identified in paragraph (d) of this section shall implement procedures to safeguard all confidential financial and business information, including, but not limited to royalty payments, submitted as part of the statements of account, using a reasonable standard of care, but no less than the same degree of security used to protect confidential financial and business information or similarly sensitive information belonging to the designated agent or such person.

(f) Books and records relating to the payment of the license fees shall be kept in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for a period of three years. These records shall include, but are not limited to, the statements of account, records documenting an interested party's share of the royalty fees, and the records pertaining to the administration of the collection process and the further distribution of the royalty fees to those interested parties entitled to receive such fees.

[63 FR 25413, May 8, 1998, as amended at 68 FR 39841, July 3, 2003]


§ 260.5   Verification of statements of account.



(a) General. This section prescribes general rules pertaining to the verification of the statements of account by interested parties according to terms promulgated by a duly appointed copyright arbitration royalty panel, under its authority to set reasonable terms and rates pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 114 and 801(b)(1), and the Librarian of Congress under his authority pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 802(f).

(b) Frequency of verification. Interested parties may conduct a single audit of a nonexempt preexisting subscription service during any given calendar year.

(c) Notice of intent to audit. Interested parties must submit a notice of intent to audit a particular service with the Copyright Office, which shall publish in the   Federal Register   a notice announcing the receipt of the notice of intent to audit within 30 days of the filing of the interested parties' notice. Such notification of intent to audit shall also be served at the same time on the party to be audited.

(d) Retention of records. The party requesting the verification procedure shall retain the report of the verification for a period of three years.

(e) Acceptable verification procedure. An audit, including underlying paperwork, which was performed in the ordinary course of business according to generally accepted auditing standards by an independent auditor, shall serve as an acceptable verification procedure for all parties.

(f) Costs of the verification procedure. The interested parties requesting the verification procedure shall pay for the cost of the verification procedure, unless an independent auditor concludes that there was an underpayment of five (5) percent or more; in which case, the service which made the underpayment shall bear the costs of the verification procedure.

(g) Interested parties. For purposes of this section, interested parties are those copyright owners who are entitled to receive royalty fees pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 114(g), their designated agents, or the entity designated by the copyright arbitration royalty panel in 37 CFR 260.3 to receive and to distribute the royalty fees.

[63 FR 25413, May 8, 1998, as amended at 68 FR 39841, July 3, 2003]


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