Copyright Office Publishes Agreement On Rates And Terms For Noncommercial Webcasters (68 Fr 35008)

June 20, 2003

The Copyright Office is publishing an agreement that sets rates and terms for the reproduction and performance of sound recordings made by a noncommercial webcaster under the sections 112 and 114 statutory licenses and was negotiated under authority of the Small Webcaster Settlement Act of 2002. Noncommercial webcasters who meet the eligibility requirements may choose to operate under the statutory licenses in accordance with the rates and terms set forth in the published agreement, or they can utilize the statutory licenses in accordance with the rates and terms adopted by the Librarian of Congress following a hearing before a copyright arbitration royalty panel (CARP). Rates and terms for use of the section 112 and 114 licenses for the license period ending December 31, 2002, were adopted by the Librarian after such a hearing on June 20, 2002. For information on this 2002 proceeding, go to Webcasting

Rates and terms applicable to the next license period, which covers the period between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2004, are the subject of a current CARP proceeding and will be announced at a later date.

Beyond publication of the agreement, the Copyright Office has no responsibility for administering the rates and terms of the agreement. Thus questions regarding the rates and terms should be directed to SoundExchange. For contact information, see www.soundexchange.com

To read the

Federal Register announcement, go to Federal Register Notice