When dealing with the licensing of copyrighted material, most people have plenty of questions. Unless someone works in an industry that involves a lot of copyrights, many people will never have to worry about dealing with these matters directly.
To those who do, or who have interest in knowing how things work, it is important to know some basic information.
What is the Licensing Section?
The U.S. Copyright Office discusses some frequently asked questions about copyright and licensing. For example: what is the functionality of the Licensing Section?
It maintains public records and collects royalty fees for several peoples and purposes. This includes the retransmission of radio and television broadcasts for both satellite and cable, as well as manufacturers and distributors who work with recording products for digital audio.
Typically, the Licensing Section will deduct operation costs from royalty fees. They then invest the balance with U.S. Treasury, where it will later get distributed to the owners of the copyright.
How are royalty payments made?
Remitters need to use the U.S. Treasury Department’s online payment system in order to submit all EFT payments. This includes filing and royalty fees for any current, past or even future projects.
This method allows for remitters to complete the remittance advice form, which typically took more time out of a remitter’s day.
Licensing Section in public records
Note that it is possible to both view and search public records of licensing. It is also possible to get copies of Licensing Section public records. This comes with a fee of 50 cents per exposure and a minimum of $12. Searches done by the Licensing Section of its database on behalf of an individual plus the report of its findings will typically cost $200, as well.