251.63—Consideration of petition; settlements.
(a)
To allow time for the parties to settle their differences concerning cable, phonorecord, and jukebox rate adjustments, the Librarian of Congress shall, after the filing of the petition under § 251.62 and before the 45-day period specified in § 251.45(b)(2)(i), designate a 30-day period for negotiation of a settlement. The Librarian shall cause notice of the dates for that period to be published in the Federal Register.
(b)
In the case of a settlement among the parties to a proceeding, the Librarian may, upon the request of the parties, submit the agreed upon rate to the public in a notice-and-comment proceeding. The Librarian may adopt the rate embodied in the proposed settlement without convening an arbitration panel, provided that no opposing comment is received by the Librarian from a party with an intent to participate in a CARP proceeding.