Press Release

NMPA/HFA Announce Program For Online Copyright Registration in Cooperation With the Library of Congress and the U.S. Copyright Office.
November 27, 2000, Washington, D.C. - Edward Murphy, President & CEO of the National Music Publishers' Association, Inc. (NMPA) and Robert Shaw, Executive Vice President and COO of The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (HFA) along with Winston Tabb, Associate Librarian for Library Services, and Marybeth Peters, Register of Copyrights, today announced the establishment of the CORDS Program (Copyright Office Electronic Registration, Recordation & Deposit System) for online copyright registration and deposit of musical works.

The CORDS system allows music publishers to register their copyrights online through the HFA SongFile.com website, eliminating paperwork and speeding up the copyright registration process. Registrants are also able to file deposit copies of their works online.

In a recent test of the system, four music publishers - EMI Music Publishing, peermusic, BMG Music Publishing and Famous Music Publishing - have effectively used the CORDS program through SongFile.com to register musical works and receive their copyright registration certificates promptly. HFA developed special software in order to enable its publisher principals to connect to the CORDS system.

"We are very pleased with the culmination of this NMPA/HFA joint project with the Library of Congress and the Copyright Office. CORDS takes the time consuming and paper-intensive work of registering music copyrights and makes it faster, easier and more accessible," stated Murphy. "It will be a great benefit to all of NMPA/HFA's publisher principals."

"This has been a significant step in the use of Internet technology to convert a paper intensive process to one which works efficiently and quickly for the benefit of our industry. I congratulate both parties for their efforts," said Irwin Z. Robinson, Chairman and CEO of Famous Music.

"EMI Music Publishing applauds the U.S. Copyright Office in this step towards harnessing the power of transactional solutions via the Internet," said EMI's Chairman and CEO Martin Bandier. "We welcomed the opportunity to assist them in this endeavor. Online registration dramatically reduces the Office's processing time, which affords yet another means of efficiently protecting our copyrights and our writers."

"I am delighted that music publishers are now able to use the CORDS system," exclaimed Peters. "In this age of electronic commerce, an important part of our copyright system is the ability of publishers to electronically submit claims for their content, and the Copyright Office to expeditiously make available online accurate and timely information about their copyright registrations."

"Our copyright professionals have been closely involved in testing the initial CORDS system, which has expedited the registration process. We find it useful and innovative and believe it has considerable potential to streamline the administrative process for both the registrant and the Copyright Office. We're very pleased that HFA and the Copyright Office have taken this B2B initiative to bring the important registration process online for the benefit of their clients," said Ralph Peer II, Chairman & CEO of peermusic.

Cathy Nolan, Vice President Administration at BMG Music Publishing, has also used the CORDS system and states, "One of the most heartening experiences I have had in the music industry in recent years has been watching the Copyright Office open its doors to communication with the music publishers in an effort to provide service that is in line with today's technological abilities and demands."

The National Music Publishers' Association, founded in 1917, works to protect and advance the interests of the music publishing industry. With over 800 members, NMPA represents the most important and influential music publishing firms throughout the United States. The Harry Fox Agency, Inc., the licensing subsidiary of NMPA, provides an information source, clearing house and monitoring service for licensing musical copyrights, and represents more than 25,000 music publisher principals. Fox Agency International, launched in 1994, is a special purpose subsidiary of HFA.

The copyright system has been a part of the Library of Congress since 1870. In addition to administering the copyright law, the U.S. Copyright Office creates and maintains the national public record of copyright registrations and recorded documents, provides technical assistance and policy advice on copyright issues to Congress and executive branch agencies, offers information to the general public and obtains copies of works for the collections of the Library of Congress. For more information, visit the Copyright Office on the World Wide Web at: www.loc.gov/copyright.