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Toggle navigation Overview Leadership Resources and Education Academic Partnerships Internships Kaminstein Program Ringer Fellowship News Federal Register Notices NewsNet Press/Media Information Law and Guidance Copyright Law Regulations Rulemakings Compendium Forms Circulars Policy Issues Policy Studies Legislative Developments Congressional Hearings International Issues Register’s Speeches Contact Us Home Licensing Licensing New Licensing Division Fees Effective March 20, 2020 The Copyright Office has adopted a new fee schedule, beginning March 20, 2020, that affects fees throughout the Office, including the Licensing Division (see the Federal Register, 85 FR 9374 ). The fee changes affect cable, satellite, and DART filers as well as those seeking section 112 and 114 licenses. The fees for the section 115 license remain the same. For amended statements of account filed by cable and satellite systems and digital audio recording device (DART) importers/manufacturers, the fee has been reduced to $50; however, it is important to note that the Office intends to charge that amendment fee in a wider range of circumstances. For information on the new fees for Division services, see Circular 76. Circular 76 Satellite Television Community Protection and Promotion Act of 2019 Congress recently passed the Satellite Television Community Protection and Promotion Act of 2019 (STCPPA”), which the President signed into law on December 20, 2019. This law makes permanent the satellite carrier distant broadcast signal license found in section 119 of the Copyright Act for non-network stations and for network stations transmitted to RVs and commercial trucks and to short markets” that lack one or more of the four most widely available network stations. It removes other previously permitted uses of the license and requires that a satellite carrier provide local service in all 210 designated market areas if it wishes to utilize the section 119 license. STCPPA page Attention Cable Operators: New Sports Surcharge Beginning with the 2019/1 (January 1–June 30, 2019) accounting period (filing period July 1 to August 29, 2019), certain Form SA3 cable systems may be required to pay a separate per-program royalty (the Sports Surcharge) in addition to the requisite royalties under section 111 of the Copyright Act. The Sports Surcharge went into effect January 1, 2019, for affected cable systems after the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) Judges issued a final rule ( 83 FR 62714 ) on December 6, 2018. To learn more, see the article in our Spring-Summer 2019 issue of The Licensing Connection newsletter. For more information about this regulation, who is affected, and how to make a Sports Surcharge payment, review the instructions here . Visit the link below to access the Sports Surcharge Addendum (Form SS) and make your royalty payment. Sports Surcharge Addendum (Form SS) Orrin G. Hatch—Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act On October 11, 2018, the Orrin G. Hatch–Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act (MMA) was signed into law. Among other things, it makes significant changes to the section 115 compulsory license and makes sound recordings created before February 15, 1972, subject to the section 112 and section 114 licenses. In accordance with the new law, the Copyright Office no longer accepts section 115 notices of intention to obtain a compulsory license for making a digital phonorecord delivery of a musical work. Please visit the Office’s MMA homepage for more information. MMA Homepage Statutory Licensing Fiduciary Assets Financial Statements and Independent Auditors’ Report The Library of Congress contracted with an independent public accounting firm, Cotton & Company LLP, to conduct an audit of the financial statements prepared for the fiduciary assets administered by the Copyright Office Licensing Division. The purpose of this independent audit was to provide an opinion on the fairness of the financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and to report on internal control over financial reporting and compliance with applicable laws and regulations. For more information on the results of the audit, visit the link below. FY 2018 Report About The Licensing Division is responsible for helping to administer the various statutory licenses and similar provisions, including: secondary transmissions of radio and television programs by cable and satellite systems; making and distributing phonorecords of nondramatic musical works; and importing, manufacturing, and distributing digital audio recording devices or media. In general the division deducts its operating costs from the royalty fees collected and invests the balance in interest-bearing securities with the U.S. Treasury for later distribution to copyright owners. The division also collects filing fees to cover part of the costs in administering the cable and satellite licenses. For further information read Circular 75 , The Licensing Division of the Copyright Office. Visit the Copyright Royalty Board website for information on determination of rates and terms for the copyright statutory licenses and for determinations on distribution of statutory license royalties collected by the Copyright Office. Types of Licenses Cable Section 111 – Statutory License for Secondary Transmissions by Cable Systems Music Section 112 – Statutory License for Making Ephemeral Recordings Section 114 – Statutory License for the public performance of Sound Recordings by Means of a Digital Audio Transmission Section 115 – Compulsory License for Making and Distributing Phonorecords Satellite Section 119 – Statutory License for Secondary Transmissions for Satellite Carriers Section 122 – Statutory License for Secondary Transmissions by Satellite Carriers for Local Retransmissions Other Licenses Section 1003 – Statutory Obligation for Distribution of Digital Audio Recording Devices and Media EFT Information Effective October 1, 2006, all statutory license royalty fee payments must be paid by Electronic Funds Transfer. For more information, please read: Payments How to Make Statutory License Royalty EFT Payments Using Pay.gov Pay.gov Tutorial Cable/Satellite Remittance Advice DART Remittance Advice Refunds and Disbursements EFT Form Change to EFT payment process Resources Technical Changes to the Regulations Governing Licensing Satellite Television Community Protection and Promotion Act of 2019 Licensing Documents Search LDS Licensing Fees Investigate the Status of a Work FAQs Contact Us Distribution and Financial Statements Report of Receipts Distribution Fund Chart Year-Over-Year Growth in the Copyright Royalty Funds Fiscal Year 2018 Statutory Licensing Fiduciary Assets Audited Financial Statements Fiscal Year 2017 Statutory Licensing Fiduciary Assets Audited Financial Statements The Licensing Connection Newsletter Current Issue Fall-Winter 2019 Previous Issues Spring-Summer 2019 Fall-Winter 2018 Spring-Summer 2018 Fall-Winter 2017 Summer 2017 Fall-Winter 2016 Survey To help us serve you better, please participate in an anonymous website survey . × Final rule making technical changes to the regulations governing licensing The Copyright Office has issued a final rule making technical changes to the regulations governing licensing. These amendments improve the quality of the Office’s regulations by updating cross-references, replacing outdated terminology, reflecting changes to Office practices, eliminating expired or obsolete provisions, and correcting nonsubstantive errors. Of note, Section 201.6(a) regarding payments was amended and Section 201.9 regarding the recordation of agreements between copyright owners and public broadcasting entities pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 118 was removed and reserved. Close × Change regarding electronic funds transfer (EFT) payments The Library of Congress is adopting a federal best practice by transferring its payment processes to the U.S. Treasury. As of April 3rd,...