REPORT OF THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, .C-. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WASH1 NGTON 1979 COPYRIGHT SERVICES Throughout its century-long history the Copyright the effects of the new law's first year upon the Office has survived some difficult years, but never Copyright Office ai a whole and upon its individ- one comparable to fiscal 1978. ual organizational units. A broader and more The new copyright law of the United States, detailed report of the year's copyright develop- which came into effect on January 1, 1978, ments will be found in the Annual Report of the shifted the philosophical basis for protection of Register of Copyrights for Fiscal Yem 1978, pub- authorss rights in this country and changed the lished separately in accordance with section 701(c) entire legal framework through which that protec- of the new statute. tion is achieved. One of the many effects of the new law was to transform the work of the Copy- right Office. Everything the offxe had been doing OPERATIONS AND SERWCES had to be changed. Old responsibilities were sub- stantially enlarged, and many new duties and services were created. The new law presented the Copyright Office The Copyright Office was reorganized in January with an enormous challenge, and in meeting it the 1978 to provide for the additional responsibilities entire staff of the office demonstrated a truly brought by revision of the copyright law and to remarkable devotion to duty. One can hope that the enable it to deal as effectively as possible with its Copyright Office never again has to face the increased workload. The sectional structures of the transitional problems and growing pains it met and Cataloging Division and the Examining Division surmounted in 1978, but if it ever does, the were realigned to correspond with the classifica- achievements of that year will be an inspiring tion system adopted for registering claims under example to follow. the new law. The Information and Reference One decision resulting from the new law has Division, replacing the former Reference Division, been to publish the annual report of the Copyright, enlarged its functions to meet the expanded infa- Office in two versions aimed at somewhat dif- mational and training needs of the offie. The ferent groups of readers. In this chapter of the Acquisitions and Processing Division continued the Librarian's annual report we shall concentrate on functions of the former Service Division with REPORT OF THE LIBRARUN OF CONGRESS, 1978 greatly expanded acquisitions responsibilities could be acted upon without correspondence. The assigned to the Copyright Office by the new law. complexities of the new law, particularly the pro- The new Licensing Division was established to visions concerning copyright registration, altered implement sections of the law pertaining to this situation dramatically: for at least the first compulsory licenses-those dealing with the half of 1978 less than 20 percent of the applica- secondary transmissions of radio and television tions and deposits received could be passed with- programs, making and distributing phonorecords of out first writing to the applicant to correct errors nondramatic musical works, public performance by or elicit missing information. This exploding work- means of coin-operated phonorecord players, and load required temporary details throughout the the use of published nondramatic musical, picto- Copyright Office. rial, graphic, and sculptural works, and nondra- Frequent meetings of division chiefs, section matic literary works, in connection with noncom- and unit heads, and other officers involved in the mercial broadcasting. A second new division, the registration process were called to explore new Records Management Division, was created to possibilities for work simplification and accelera- bring together under one administrative head the tion. Procedures were streamlined and less-essential Copyright Office's historic responsibilities for steps postponed in an effort to speed the registra- maintenance, service, and preservation of records tion process and the issuance of certificates. The related to the copyright registration process and to public proved remarkably understanding through- recognize these records as an important manage- out this difficult period, and by the end of the ment concern. fiscal year the backlog had begun to diminish. The administrative structure of the office was also revised to provide for two assistant registers of copyrights, rather than a single deputy register, Acquisitions and Recessing D~hn both assistants reporting to the register of copy- rights. The office was fortunate to have able, One of the principal effects of the reorganization experienced executives to fill these posts. Waldo of the Copyright Office in fiscal 1978 was the H. Moore, assistant register of copyrights for regis- demise of the Service Division and its rebirth as tration, oversees the divisions primarily involved in the Acquisitions and Recessing Division. There the registration process and acts as the register's were those in the division who regretted losing the deputy as required. Michael R Pew, assistant familiar name of "Service," an apt description for register of copyrights for automation and records, an operation dedicated to assisting and benefiting has jurisdiction over divisions concerned with auto- others. However, like the characters in the tele- mation applications, licensing activities, and vision commercials for its more famous namesake, records administration. Mr. Pew has continued also the office's new "A&P" might be said to deal with to carry the principal responsibilities of executive "Rice" (the accounting and fiscal control activities officer of the department. of the office) and "Pride" (the efficient processing and control of the entire registration workflow). And the A&P Division had special reasons for Workload and Problems Encountered pride in 1978. There was, first, the huge influx of work in While the Copyright Office anticipated and plan- December 1977, resulting from the public's rush ned for an influx of claims under the old law near to get registrations under the old law and at the the conclusion of calendar year 1977, it could not old fee. Then there was the deluge of requests for have foreseen the extraordinary crush of work that application forms and information concerning the immediately confronted its staff from the begin- new law. Next, after January 1, 1978, came the ning of revision implementation in January 1978. flood of new-law applications, most of which The unfamiliarity of the public with the new law required correspondence. For a time the volume of and the new application forms combined to create work going into the processing pipeline remained a backlog of cases requiring correspondence or quite heavy while completed output fell off to a awaiting replies. Before the 1976 law, an estimated dribble, and this meant the buildup of a tremen- 85 percent of copyright applications and deposits dous backlog of cases awaiting final resolution. COPYRIGHT SERVICES Physical contrd of the office's workload became Records, which records the works submitted in increasingly difficult, and searching for cases in compliance with the mandatory deposit provisions process became a nightmare. of section 407 of the law and provides administra- Throughout this period the staff of the Acquisi- tive support to the entire section, and Identifica- tions and Recessing Division managed not only to tion and Search, which issues demands for deposit cope with a crushing workload but, by massive of works identified by its own staff or recorn- infusions of ingenuity, dedication, and stamina, mending officers elsewhere in the Library, pur- they began to restore the day-to-day processing suing each case until it is resolved. The section's activities of the division to currency. This was by expanded horizons were reflected in its new name: far the division's greatest accomplishment during Deposits and Acquisitions. the year. The response to compliance demands issued There were other bright spots in the A@ under the new law has been excellent, with nearly picture. The many promises of automated in- all cases being resalved within the statutory three- process control began to be realized as the deposit month period, which begins with the demand. At account subsystem of the Copyright Off~eIn- year's end there were fewer than ten outstanding Rocess System (COINS)became operational. This demand cases that had passed the statutory limit; system, which is described in more detail in this these were being evaluated, with the expectation chapter in connection with the office's automation that some would be referred to the Department of activities, was an unqualified success and a tribute Justice for prosecution. to the dedication and competence of the staff of the Fiscal Contrd Section and its Accounting Unit. Examining Division Another important accounting change was made necessary by the new statutory requirement that Although the coming of the new law affected the first $3 million of Copyright Office fees be every operation in the Copyright Offxe, perhaps credited to the Library of Congress appropriation no single organizational unit felt its impact more to be used for Copyright Office salaries and ex- directly, broadly, and fundamentally than the penses. For this purpose the Library of Congress Examining Division. Tens of thousands of policies, sought and obtained General Accounting Office practices, and procedures-some going back to approval for the Copyright Office to take credit passage of the 1909 act or even further-had to be for fees as they are received, rather than waiting pulled up by the roots and, after thorough analysis until after a certificate has finally been issued. and reevaluation, either replaced or changed. It This new procedure was implemented in August was only through the efforts of a dedicated and 1978, and the $3 million target was achieved. In flexible staff that the Examining Division was able addition, virtually all of an additional $500,000 to meet this unprecedented challenge.