On June 4, 2018, the Copyright Royalty Board requested comments on a motion for partial distribution amounting to 50% of the 2016 cable royalty funds. Comments may be submitted on or before July 5, 2018 at https://app.crb.gov/ .

Every year, cable systems submit royalty payments to the Copyright Office under Section 111 of the Copyright Act for the retransmission of television and radio broadcast signals. The Copyright Royalty Judges oversee the distribution of these royalty payments to copyright owners that have works in the retransmissions. Allocation of the royalties happen when there is a negotiated settlement among all claiming parties or if the claimants do not reach an agreement, the Copyright Royalty Board Judges will hold a proceeding to determine any royalty payments that are in controversy. In the alternative, the judges on motion of claimants and on notice to the public, can approve a partial distribution of royalties. The Motion of the Allocation Phase Claimants for Partial Distribution of 2016 Cable Royalty Funds can be accessed at https://app.crb.gov/case/viewDocument/2527 . Any claimant that is allowed to claim the subject royalties and has a reasonable objection to the partial distribution, can submit comments.

For more information, see the rulemaking here: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-06-04/pdf/2018-11938.pdf .

By Rohan Parekh