FederalRegister.gov regulatory documents
Filter the reviewed cache from January 1, 2025 forward by document type, structured agency, publication date, and source-supplied open comment deadline.
The Copyright Royalty Judges are publishing for comment proposed continuation of regulations for rates and terms applicable during the period beginning January 1, 2028, and ending December 31, 2032, for the section 115 statutory license for making and distributing phonorecords of nondramatic musical works.
The United States Copyright Office is initiating the tenth triennial rulemaking proceeding under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") to determine whether to recommend temporary exemptions to the DMCA's prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. The Office is accepting petitions for renewal of current exemptions and petitions for new exemptions, and will subsequently accept comments in response to renewal petitions.
The U.S. Copyright Office is proposing to amend its regulation governing the group registration option for news websites. This update revises the definition of a "news website" to clarify the works eligible for the option. The Office invites comment on this proposal.
The Copyright Office proposes the adoption of a new fee schedule. The Office last adjusted fees in 2020, based on a study of its fiscal 2016 and 2017 costs. Since that time, the costs of providing Office services have risen substantially due to inflation and other increases. The proposed fees are intended to enable recovery of a percentage of the Office's costs, closer to historical levels, without imposing undue barriers to access its services. The Office welcomes public comment on the proposed changes in advance of submission of the fee schedule to Congress.
The Copyright Royalty Judges are publishing for comment proposed regulations governing the rates and terms for the digital performance of sound recordings by Educational Media Foundation and for the making of ephemeral recordings necessary for the facilitation of such transmissions for the period from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2030.
The Copyright Royalty Judges are publishing for comment proposed regulations governing the rates and terms for the nonsubscription digital performance of sound recordings by commercial broadcasters and for the making of ephemeral recordings necessary for the facilitation of such transmissions for the period commencing January 1, 2026, and ending on December 31, 2030.
The Copyright Royalty Judges are publishing for comment proposed regulations governing the rates and terms for the digital performance of sound recordings by certain public radio stations and for the making of ephemeral recordings necessary for the facilitation of such transmissions for the period commencing January 1, 2026, and ending on December 31, 2030.
On December 19, 2024, the Copyright Royalty Judges published for comment proposed regulations governing the rates and terms for the digital performances of sound recordings by new subscription services and for the making of ephemeral recordings necessary to facilitate those transmissions for the period commencing January 1, 2026, and ending on December 31, 2030. That document omitted certain parentheses in the rate adjustment formulas, leaving the parentheses in those formulas unbalanced. This document corrects those formulas.
The Copyright Royalty Judges announce an adjustment (based on CPI-U figures) in the royalty for the digital performances of sound recordings by new subscription services and for the making of ephemeral recordings necessary to facilitate those transmissions.
The Library of Congress is issuing this final rule to amend its regulations regarding photography on Library premises. This amendment updates terminology, institutes a permit process for posed, staged, or otherwise directed or organized photography (now defined in the regulation as "formal photography for personal use"), and clarifies the types of photography that require permission from the Director of Communications.
The Copyright Royalty Judges publish a final rule governing the rates and terms for the digital performance of sound recordings by certain public radio stations and for the making of ephemeral recordings necessary for the facilitation of such transmissions for the period commencing January 1, 2026, and ending on December 31, 2030.
The Copyright Royalty Judges publish a final rule governing the rates and terms for the nonsubscription digital performance of sound recordings by commercial broadcasters and for the making of ephemeral recordings necessary for the facilitation of such transmissions for the period commencing January 1, 2026, and ending on December 31, 2030.
The Copyright Royalty Judges publish a final rule governing the rates and terms for the digital performance of sound recordings by Educational Media Foundation and for the making of ephemeral recordings necessary for the facilitation of such transmissions for the period from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2030.
The Copyright Royalty Judges publish a final rule governing the rates and terms for the digital performance of sound recordings by noncommercial educational webcasters and for the making of ephemeral recordings necessary for the facilitation of such transmissions for the period commencing January 1, 2026, and ending on December 31, 2030.
The Copyright Royalty Judges publish a final rule governing the rates and terms for the digital performances of sound recordings by new subscription services and for the making of ephemeral recordings necessary to facilitate those transmissions for the period commencing January 1, 2026, and ending on December 31, 2030.
The U.S. Copyright Office is creating a new group registration option for two-dimensional artwork. This option will allow applicants to register up to twenty works published within one calendar year by submitting a single online application with a digital deposit copy of each work. The Office will examine each work to determine if it contains a sufficient amount of creative pictorial or graphic authorship. If the Office registers the claim, the registration will cover each artwork in the group as a separate work of authorship.
The Copyright Royalty Judges announce a cost of living adjustment (COLA) in the royalty rates for the statutory license for making and distributing phonorecords of nondramatic musical works regarding physical phonorecords and Permanent Downloads.
The Copyright Royalty Judges announce a cost of living adjustment (COLA) of 2.9% in the royalty rates satellite carriers pay for a compulsory license under the Copyright Act. The COLA is based on the change in the Consumer Price Index from October 2024 to September 2025.
The Copyright Royalty Judges announce a cost of living adjustment (COLA) to the royalty rate that noncommercial radio stations at certain colleges, universities, and other educational institutions that are not affiliated with National Public Radio must pay for the use in 2026 of published nondramatic musical compositions in the SESAC Performing Rights, LLC (SESAC), and Global Music Rights, LLC, (GMR), repertories pursuant to the statutory license under the Copyright Act for noncommercial broadcasting.
The Copyright Office is issuing a final rule to amend its regulations regarding the submission of royalty fees to the Copyright Office to require that all such fees be paid using Pay.gov.
This document clarifies the compliance date for certain reporting obligations issued in the U.S. Copyright Office's final rule governing the royalty reporting practices of cable operators, and the Statement of Account form and filing requirements.
The Copyright Royalty Judges publish their ruling on regulatory interpretation in a matter that was referred to them by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The regulation at issue is the definition of "Gross Proceeds" in the rates and terms set forth through settlements in the BES I and BES II proceedings in 37 CFR 384.3(a), which is used when calculating royalty payments paid to SoundExchange, a collective for copyright owners, in relation to digital transmissions of sound recordings pursuant to the statutory license in 17 U.S.C. 112.
