6 · Highlights of Copyright Amendments in URAA
Public Access to NIE Information and Copyright Office Registrations
Public Access
The information contained in NIEs filed with the Copyright Office and in copyright registrations and related documents catalogued since January 1, 1978, is open to the public for searching. These records are also available via the Copyright Office website at www.copyright.gov. In addition, upon request, the Copyright Office will search its files for a fee.
The online information includes the title or brief description if untitled; an English translation of the title; the alternative titles if any; the name of the copyright owner or owner of an exclusive right; the author; the type of work (if given); the date of receipt of the NIE in the Copyright Office; the date of publication in the Federal Register; the rights covered by the notice (if given); and the address, telephone, and telefax number (if given) of the copyright owner.
Online records of NIEs are searchable by the title of the work, the copyright owner or owner of an exclusive right, and the author.
Office Searches
The Copyright Office is located in the Library of Congress, James Madison Memorial Building, 101 Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC. The public records of Notices of Intent to Enforce may be searched by the public Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, eastern time, except federal holidays. Public terminals are located in the Copyright Office and in the reading rooms of the Library of Congress.
Upon request and payment of a fee, the Copyright Office staff will search the records and furnish a written report. For further information, request Circular 22, How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work, or contact:
Copyright Office Reference and Bibliography Section
101 Independence Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20559-6000 USA
tel: (202) 707-6850
fax: (202) 707-6859
Relationship to NAFTA
Under the NAFTA Implementation Act,8 a number of Mexican motion picture owners timely filed a Statement of Intent to Restore with the Copyright Office.9 These works will continue to enjoy copyright protection, but such protection will be governed by the new section 104A substituted by the URAA.
Copyright owners of these works need not file an NIE under the URAA. However, other works from NAFTA countries that are in the public domain in the United States, including motion pictures for which no NAFTA restoration was sought, are subject to copyright restoration under the new section 104A. NAFTA works that have not been registered may be registered using the URAA registration procedures, including GATT forms and deposit preferences.
For Further Information
Information via the Internet
Circulars, announcements, regulations, other related materials, and all copyright application forms are available from the Copyright Office website at www.copyright.gov.
Information by telephone
For general information about copyright, call the Copyright Public Information Office at (202) 707-3000. The tty number is (202) 707-6737. Staff members are on duty from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, eastern time, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. Recorded information is available 24 hours a day. Or, if you know which application forms and circulars you want, request them 24 hours a day from the Forms and Publications Hotline at (202) 707-9100. Leave a recorded message.
Information by regular mail
Write to:
Copyright Office
Publications Section
101 Independence Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20559-6000
Endnotes
1 . Pub. L. No. 103-465, 108 Stat. 4809; House Document 103-316, 103d Congress, 2d Session, September 27, 1994. See also the Statement of Administrative Action id. 656, 981.
2 . Sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972, would not be in the public domain; they were protected by state, not federal, copyright law.
3 . The Copyright Office has issued final regulations governing its administration of restoration of copyrights under the URAA, including the filing of NIEs and registration of copyright claims in restored works by amending section 201.31 of 37 CFR and by adding new sections 201.33 and 202.12 to implement the URAA (60 FR 50414).
