This subpart prescribes procedures whereby an interested copyright party, as defined in 17 U.S.C. 1001(7), claiming to be entitled to royalty payments made for the importation and distribution in the United States, or the manufacture and distribution in the United States, of digital audio recording devices and media (DART) pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 1006, shall file claims with the Copyright Royalty Board.

(a) General. During January and February of each year, every interested copyright party claiming to be entitled to DART royalty payments made for quarterly periods ending during the previous calendar year must file a claim with the Copyright Royalty Board. Claimants may file claims jointly or as a single claim.

(b) Consequences of an untimely filing. No royalty payments for the previous calendar year will be distributed to any interested copyright party who has not filed a claim to those royalty payments during January or February of the following calendar year.

(c) Authorization. Any organization or association acting as a common agent for collection and distribution of DART royalty fees must obtain from its members or affiliates separate, specific, and written authorization, signed by members, affiliates, or their representatives, apart from their standard affiliation agreements, for purposes of royalties claim filing and fee distribution relating to the DART Musical Works Fund or Sound Recordings Fund. The written authorization, however, will not be required for claimants to the Musical Works Fund when either:

(1) The agreement between the organization or association and its members or affiliates specifically authorizes the entity to represent its members or affiliates as a common agent before the Copyright Royalty Board in royalty claims filing and fee distribution proceedings; or

(2) The agreement between the organization or association and its members or affiliates, as specified in a court order issued by a court with authority to interpret the terms of the contract, authorizes the entity to represent its members or affiliates as a common agent before the Copyright Royalty Board in royalty claims filing and fee distribution proceedings.

(a) Electronic filing. (1) Each claim to DART royalty payments must be filed online using the claims filing feature of eCRB and must contain the information required by the online form and its accompanying instructions.

(2) Filers may access eCRB at https://app.crb.gov. The claims filing feature for claims to DART royalty payments will be available only during the months of January and February.

(b) Content. Claims filed by interested copyright parties for DART royalty payments must include the following information:

(1) The full legal name and address of the person or entity claiming royalty payments.

(2) The name, telephone number, full mailing address, and email address of the person or entity filing the claim. The information contained in a filer's eCRB profile will fulfill this requirement.

(3) The name, telephone number, and email address of a person whom the Copyright Royalty Board can contact regarding the claim.

(4) A statement as to how the claimant fits within the definition of interested copyright party.

(5) A statement as to whether the claim is being made against the Sound Recordings Fund or the Musical Works Fund, as set forth in 17 U.S.C. 1006(b), and as to which Subfund the claim is made. The Subfunds for the Sound Recordings Fund are the Copyright Owners Subfund and the Featured Recording Artists Subfund, The Subfunds for the Musical Works Fund are the Music Publishers Subfund and the Writers Subfund, as described in 17 U.S.C. 1006(b)(1) through (2).

(6) Identification, establishing a basis for the claim, of at least one musical work or sound recording embodied in a digital musical recording or an analog musical recording lawfully made under title 17 of the United States Code that has been distributed (as that term is defined in 17 U.S.C. 1001(6)), and that, during the period to which the royalty payments claimed pertain, has been:

(i) Distributed (as that term is defined in 17 U.S.C. 1001(6)) in the form of digital musical recordings or analog musical recordings; or

(ii) Disseminated to the public in transmissions.

(7) A declaration of the authority to file the claim and of the veracity of the information contained in the claim and the good faith of the person signing in providing the information. Penalties for fraud and false statements are provided under 18 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.

(c) Changes. In the event that the legal name and/or address of the claimant changes after the filing of the claim, the claimant must notify the Copyright Royalty Board of the change. Any other proposed changes or amendments must be submitted in accordance with 37 CFR 360.30. If the good faith efforts of the Copyright Royalty Board to contact the claimant are frustrated because of failure to notify the Copyright Royalty Board of a name and/or address change, the claim may be subject to dismissal. A person or entity that filed a claim online through eCRB must notify the Copyright Royalty Board of any change of name or address by updating that person or entity's eCRB profile as required by § 303.5(g).

(d) List of claimants. If the claim is a joint claim, it must include the name of each claimant participating in the joint claim. Filers submitting joint claims on behalf of ten or fewer claimants, must list the name of each claimant included in the joint claim directly on the filed joint claim. Filers submitting joint claims on behalf of more than ten claimants must include an Excel spreadsheet listing the name of each claimant included in the joint claim.

(e) Subfunds. If an interested copyright party intends to file claims against more than one Subfund, each Subfund claim must be filed separately with the Copyright Royalty Board. The Copyright Royalty Board will reject any claim that purports to claim funds from more than one Subfund.

(a) The independent administrator jointly appointed by the interested copyright parties, as defined in 17 U.S.C. 1001(7)(A), and the American Federation of Musicians (or any successor entity) for the purpose of managing and ultimately distributing royalty payments to nonfeatured musicians as defined in 17 U.S.C. 1006(b)(1), must file a notice informing the Copyright Royalty Board of his/her appointment.

(b) The independent administrator jointly appointed by the interested copyright parties, as defined in 17 U.S.C. 1001(7)(A) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (or any successor entity) for the purpose of managing and ultimately distributing royalty payments to nonfeatured vocalists as defined in 17 U.S.C. 1006(b)(1), must file a notice online through eCRB informing the Copyright Royalty Board of his/her appointment.

(c) A notice filed under paragraph (a) or (b) of this section must include the full name, telephone number, mailing address, and email address of the place of business of the independent administrator.

(d) The independent administrator must file the notices identified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section through eCRB no later than March 31 of each year, commencing with March 31, 2018.