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and specific provision is made for an agreement among them as to their respective pro rata shares. The three organizations have indicated that they are confident of being able to reach such an agreement.

A.4.6.3.2 The Compulsory License for CATV Systems. We have already outlined, in section A.2.6.1 of this report, the provisions of section 111 of the Copyright Act of 1976 under which cable television systems are given a compulsory license for their retransmissions of broadcast programs containing copyrighted works. To recapitulate the essential features of the compulsory licensing arrangement:

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The compulsory license covers the broadcasts of all
stations whose signals the cable system is authorized
by the FCC to carry.

To obtain the compulsory license, the cable system is
required to file in the Copyright Office a statement
identifying its owner and the broadcasting stations whose
signals are regularly carried by it. The Register of
Copyrights may, by regulation, require the filing of
further information if found to be necessary.

The cable system is to deposit with the Register of Copyrights semiannually a statement of account showing (1) the number of its channels used for retransmissions and the broadcasting stations whose programs were retransmitted, and (2) the number of its subscribers and the gross amounts paid by them to the system for its retransmission service. The Register of Copyrights may by regulation, require additional data to be furnished.

The cable system is to pay to the Register of Copyrights for each semiannual period a single royalty fee computed on a sliding scale of specified percentages of its gross receipts from subscribers for its retransmission service.

The aggregated royalty fees (after certain expenses are deducted) are to be distributed by the Copyright Royalty Tribunal on the basis of claims filed by copyright owners whose works were included in the nonnetwork programs of distant stations carried by the cable systems.

The Copyright Royalty Tribunal is authorized to review and adjust the royalty rates from time to time, under standards stated in the Act, upon petition by any interested party.

The task of the Copyright Royalty Tribunal in determining how the aggregated fees are to be distributed among the claimants will probably be more difficult here than in the case of jukeboxes. The copyright owners whose works are used in broadcast programs are large in number, and their works are diverse in character. This problem may be eased somewhat by a provision in the statute that claimants may lump their claims together and may agree among themselves as to their division of the aggregate sum paid on their claims.

A.4.6.3. The Compulsory License for Noncommercial Broadcasting. The Copyright Act of 1976 makes noncommercial broadcasters liable for their performances and displays of copyrighted works (with certain exceptions not pertinent here) for which they have heretofore claimed to be exempt from liability. The noncommercial broadcasters argued before the Congressional committees considering the revision bills, that with respect to certain kinds of works at least, the process of obtaining licenses for their use of copyrighted works individually would be extremely difficult and costly. Congress was persuaded to include in the 1976 Act, in section 118, a compulsory license for the use by noncommercial broadcasters of published nondramatic musical works and published pictorial, graphic and sculptural works (and for certain educational uses of recordings of their broadcast programs containing such works).

The compulsory license provisions in section 118 of the Act for noncommercial broadcasting are quite different from those relating to jukeboxes and CATV systems. The terms and conditions of the compulsory license under section 118 are not spelled out in the statute, but are left for the Copyright Royalty Tribunal to establish.

Section 118 contemplates that copyright owners and noncommercial broadcasters, or groups of them on either side, may negotiate their own licensing agreements, and these are given effect. For those instances where no such voluntary agreement is made, the Royalty Tribunal is to establish the "rates and terms" for the permitted uses of the specified categories of copyrighted works by the broadcasters, after considering proposals submitted to it by any interested parties and the rates for comparable circumstances under existing voluntary license agreements. The rates and terms for the compulsory license are to be reviewed and prescribed anew by the Tribunal every five years.

No express provision is made for the collection and distribution of royalty payments. It is provided that the Tribunal is to establish "requirements by which copyright owners may receive reasonable notice

of the use of their works under this section, and under which records of such use shall be kept" by the broadcasters. Apparently, the copyright owners or their group agencies are expected to collect their own royalties.

A.4.6.4 Concluding Comments. If a voluntary clearinghouse satisfactory to both copyright owners and users can be organized, that would seem to be preferable over a statutory compulsory licensing scheme. A voluntary clearinghouse would be more nearly in accord with the basic philosophy of copyright which contemplates that the author should have control over the use of his work. Congress seems to have demonstrated its preference for voluntary licensing arrangements in the provisions of section 118 of the Act of 1976, suggesting that the copyright owners and noncommercial broadcasters should try to negotiate voluntary agreements between themselves, and giving such agreements effect over the compulsory licensing scheme to be devised by the Copyright Royalty Tribunal. Perhaps the most important consideration is the greater flexibility of a voluntary arrangement and its easier accommodation, by negotiations between the groups concerned, to experience and changing circumstances.

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The conceptualization of the characteristics of STI Systems is important in order to develop an understanding of their capabilities as they might impact copyright law issues. As we have seen in Section 2, the development of new technologies has oftentimes raised serious legal issues in defining the applicability of these new technologies within the existing bounds of copyright law.

The development of computer technology has led a variety of organizations to incorporate the computer as an essential element of the organization resources. At first, the computer was used mainly as a tool to replace human resources in time consuming repetitive tasks. Within a relatively short time period, advances in electronic technology led to more and more applications for which computers offered benefits to increase the operational scope of organizations. One such application, the scientific and technological information (STI) System will be described in detail, and a brief history of some of its salient characteristics will be presented.

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STI facilities may be broadly divided between those organizations which create STI data bases and those who disseminate the information to the general public. Both types of organizations require a basic hardware/ software configuration in order to support STI applications. The major elements of such configurations are:

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S.2.1 CENTRAL PROCESSORS

The central processor found at a typical STI facility is a large-scale general purpose computer. A minicomputer, although it possesses considerable power, is not compatible as central processor for STI applications, at present. The use of minicomputers is limited by the demands of the users, which require relatively short response times to their inquiries and technology limitations to efficiently manage a large on-line data base. Computers of similar size are being used by creators and disseminators of STI Systems.

S.2.2 DISC STORAGE

The amount of information contained within a single data base is usually quite large. The Chemical Abstracts Condensates contain over 1.6 million items. The storage capacity of a large general purpose computer (core) is too small to store the data base in its main memory. Disc storage is therefore required to extend the storage capacity. Although information stored in core can be accessed within microseconds, while a disc operates in milliseconds, the impact upon a user is minimal.

A single disc may contain 5 million characters of information. A character is usually defined as equivalent to a single letter, number or punctuation identifier. However, since a record (of information) is composed of several letters, words, and other identifying information, a single disc can contain only part of the very largest STI data bases. An STI system therefore will often contain several disc packs, each disc pack consisting of approximately 8 discs. In this manner, the capacity of the STI system has been increased several times over the core storage available within the central processor.

S.2.3 DATA ENTRY DEVICES

Data

Another essential element of an STI system is data entry devices. They may be CRT (cathode ray tube) terminals, punched card readers, or paper or magnetic tape units. A distinction needs to be made between organizations which create STI data bases and those which operate on-line retrieval services. In the former case are organizations such as Chemical Abstracts who compile, edit, and organize STI data bases. base creation requires a staff which can punch or type in monthly updates to add to the existing data base. In this instance, a CRT or punched card facility is most appropriate. This method would be too costly for on-line search and retrieval services. They receive the data base or monthly update on magnetic tape. The tape is mounted and, through a software package, the information is used to update their online (disc) data base.

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