4.  Additional Information

The AAP asked the Office to require copyright owners to expand on the information contained in the NIEs, such as the format on which first the work was fixed (film, disk, etc.), contributors (editors, publishers, or director, animator, screenwriter, cinematographer, etc.) and for photographs, collections, etc. a description (material/ subjects, organization, and/or classification).  The AAP also asked the Office to request an e-mail address, names and addresses of any agents, representatives, or collecting societies that can serve as licensing authorities.  The AAP suggested that the Office consider incentives such as fee discounts, for those providing more complete information.  Comment 7, at 6-8.  Ms. Theg asked that the year of creation be included in the NIE instead of the year of publication, since she believed it to be more consistently available.  Comment 9, at 2.

The Office has incorporated some of the AAP’s suggestions into the NIE format and hopes it has struck an appropriate balance in its NIE by requesting information helpful to reliance parties, while not burdening the filer of the NIE with lengthy and detailed suggested information.

5.  Accessible and Useful Public Record

The URAA requires the Copyright Office to publish the titles and owners of restored works in the Federal Register.  Since publication in the Federal Register is costly and the parties indicated that such information would not be as accessible as information made available via the Internet, the Office is limiting the information published in the Federal Register to what the law requires.  Much of the information contained in the NIE will be available on COPICS, the Copyright Office’s automated database of registrations and recorded copyright transfers and other documents.  These records may be accessed by the public on terminals in the Copyright Office at the Library of Congress and are also available via the Internet.

Since Internet access is not universal, Ms. Lorente asked that other means of getting information about NIEs, including written inquiries to the Copyright Office, should not be excluded.  Comment 5, at 3.  The AAP stated that it would be useful if the database could be searched in directories that listed all works restored in a particular country of origin.  Comment 7, at 11.  The AAP also asked that each work/ title be given in a separate entry in the database.  Comment 7, at 9.

Traditional search methods will continue to be available; NIEs may be searched in the COPICS database under the name of the owner, the titles it contains, as well as the names of the authors, if given.  Although the Office will not index works by country of origin in the COPICS database or provide separate entries in the database for multiple works listed on one NIE, each work can be easily identified since the database is searchable by title, author, and the owner or owner of an exclusive right.