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The US Copyright Office has announced that it will launch a new electronic system for online service providers to designate and search for agents to receive notifications of claimed infringement, as is required under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
The new electronic system was announced by the US Copyright Office on October 31.
It also published a final rule in the Federal Register on Tuesday, November 1.
The new rule will replace an interim rule put in place after the DMCA’s enactment in 1998.
A pre-publication version of the rule is available to view here.
On December 1, the new rule will be implemented, coupled with the launch of the new online registration system and directory.
Any service provider that has previously designated an agent with the Copyright Office has until December 31, 2017 to submit its new designation electronically.
Since the DMCA’s enactment, online service providers have designated agents with the Copyright Office via paper filings. The Copyright Office then makes scanned copies of these filings available to the public by posting them on its website.
Under the DMCA, service providers are required to update their designations with the Copyright Office when they change.
However, the Copyright Office examined a large sample of existing designations and “found that 22% were for defunct service providers, while approximately 65% of non-defunct service providers’ designations had inaccurate information” compared to their websites.
The Copyright Office said that “the new electronic system modernises the designation process and ensures a more usable and accurate public directory. The system has also been designed to encourage service providers to keep their information up to date”.
Moreover, the Copyright Office has reduced the fees to designate an agent from $105 to $6.
US Copyright Office, technology, Digital Millennium Copyright Act, DMCA, copyright, online copyright
