Page:H.R. Rep. No. 94-1476 (1976) Page 173.djvu

 Postal interruptions

Section 709 authorizes the Register of Copyrights to issue regulations to permit the acceptance by the Copyright Office of documents which are delivered after the close of the prescribed period if the delay was caused by a general disruption or suspension of postal or other transportation or communications services.

Reproductions for the blind and handicapped

Section 710 directs the Register of Copyrights to establish by regulation forms and procedures by which the copyright owners of certain categories of works may voluntarily grant to the Library of Congress a license to reproduce and distribute copies or phonorecords of the work solely for the use of the blind and physically handicapped.

Chapter 8 establishes a Copyright Royalty Commission for the purpose of periodically reviewing and adjusting statutory royalty rates for use of copyrighted materials pursuant to compulsory licenses provided in sections 111 (secondary transmissions by cable systems), 115 (mechanical royalties) and 116 (jukebox) of the bill. In addition, the Commission will make determinations as to reasonable terms and rates of royalty payments as provided in section 118 (public broadcasting), and to resolve disputes over the distribution of royalties paid pursuant to the statutory licenses in sections 111 and 116.

The Committee recognizes that the industries affected by the royalty rates over which the Commission has jurisdiction are very different, and it is therefore expected that any adjustment of a rate by the Commission shall be based on the economic conditions peculiar to the industries affected by that rate. Likewise, the Committee recognizes the fact that the cable television industry is a developing industry in transition, whereas the recording and jukebox industries are long-established. Therefore, the Committee has chosen periods of different lengths in which the Commission is to review the rates affecting those industries. Rates for retransmission of copyrighted works by cable television systems will be reviewed in 1980 and each subsequent fifth year. Rates established for mechanical reproduction will be reviewed, in 1980, 1987, and in each subsequent 10th year. Rates for performance by jukebox will be reviewed in 1980, and in each subsequent 10th year. Rates and terms under section 118 will be reviewed in 1982 and in each subsequent fifth year. The Committee does not intend that rate changes, whether up or down, should necessarily be made as the result of such periodic reviews.

The Committee has chosen to stagger the times for review of the various rates established under the bill so as to balance the workload of the Commission. Cable and copyright owners agreed to a set of standards for the adjustment of rates which the Committee in large measure has accepted. No specific standards governing the establishment or adjustment of rates by the Commission, other than rates for cable transmissions, have been detailed in the legislation, because the Committee did not wish to limit the factors that the Commission might consider in a world of constantly changing economics and technology. However, it is anticipated that the Commission will consider the following objectives in determining a reasonable rate under sections 115 and 116: