17 U.S.C. § 1007 : US Code - Section 1007: Procedures for distributing royalty payments

Search 17 U.S.C. § 1007 : US Code - Section 1007: Procedures for distributing royalty payments

(a) Filing of Claims and Negotiations. -
(1) Filing of claims. - During the first 2 months of each
calendar year, every interested copyright party seeking to
receive royalty payments to which such party is entitled under
section 1006 shall file with the Copyright Royalty Judges a claim
for payments collected during the preceding year in such form and
manner as the Copyright Royalty Judges shall prescribe by
regulation.
(2) Negotiations. - Notwithstanding any provision of the
antitrust laws, for purposes of this section interested copyright
parties within each group specified in section 1006(b) may agree
among themselves to the proportionate division of royalty
payments, may lump their claims together and file them jointly or
as a single claim, or may designate a common agent, including any
organization described in section 1001(7)(D), to negotiate or
receive payment on their behalf; except that no agreement under
this subsection may modify the allocation of royalties specified
in section 1006(b).
(b) Distribution of Payments in the Absence of a Dispute. - After
the period established for the filing of claims under subsection
(a), in each year, the Copyright Royalty Judges shall determine
whether there exists a controversy concerning the distribution of
royalty payments under section 1006(c). If the Copyright Royalty
Judges determine that no such controversy exists, the Librarian of
Congress shall, within 30 days after such determination, authorize
the distribution of the royalty payments as set forth in the
agreements regarding the distribution of royalty payments entered
into pursuant to subsection (a). The Librarian of Congress shall,
before such royalty payments are distributed, deduct the reasonable
administrative costs incurred by the Librarian under this section.
(c) Resolution of Disputes. - If the Copyright Royalty Judges
find the existence of a controversy, the Copyright Royalty Judges
shall, pursuant to chapter 8 of this title, conduct a proceeding to
determine the distribution of royalty payments. During the pendency
of such a proceeding, the Copyright Royalty Judges shall withhold
from distribution an amount sufficient to satisfy all claims with
respect to which a controversy exists, but shall, to the extent
feasible, authorize the distribution of any amounts that are not in
controversy. The Librarian of Congress shall, before such royalty
payments are distributed, deduct the reasonable administrative
costs incurred by the Librarian under this section.