515.206—Exempt transactions.

(a) Information and informational materials. (1) The importation from any country and the exportation to any country of information or informational materials as defined in § 515.332, whether commercial or otherwise, regardless of format or medium of transmission, are exempt from the prohibitions and regulations of this part except for payments owed to Cuba for telecommunications services between Cuba and the United States, which are subject to the provisions of § 515.542.

(2) This section does not authorize transactions related to information or informational materials not fully created and in existence at the date of the transaction, or to the substantive or artistic alteration or enhancement of information or informational materials, or to the provision of marketing and business consulting services by a person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Such prohibited transactions include, without limitation, payment of advances for information or informational materials not yet created and completed, provision of services to market, produce or co-produce, create or assist in the creation of information or informational materials, and payment of royalties to a designated national with respect to income received for enhancements or alterations made by persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to information or informational materials imported from a designated national.

(3) This section does not authorize transactions incident to the transmission of restricted technical data as defined in the Export Administration Regulations, 15 CFR parts 730-774, or to the exportation of goods for use in the transmission of any data. The exportation of such goods to designated foreign countries is prohibited, as provided in § 515.201 of this part and § 785.1 of the Export Administration Regulations.

(4) This section does not authorize transactions related to travel to Cuba when such travel is not otherwise authorized under § 515.545.

Code of Federal Regulations

Example #1: A U.S. publisher ships 500 copies of a book to Cuba directly from Miami aboard a chartered aircraft, and receives payment by means of a letter of credit issued by a Cuban bank and confirmed by an American bank. These are permissible transactions under this section.

Code of Federal Regulations

Example #2: A Cuban party exports a single master copy of a Cuban motion picture to a U.S. party and licenses the U.S. party to duplicate, distribute, show and exploit in the United States the Cuban film in any medium, including home video distribution, for five years, with the Cuban party receiving 40% of the net income. All transactions relating to the activities described in this example are authorized under this section or § 515.545 .

Code of Federal Regulations

Example #3: A U.S. recording company proposes to contract with a Cuban musician to create certain musical compositions, and to advance royalties of $10,000 to the musician. The music written in Cuba is to be recorded in a studio that the recording company owns in the Bahamas. These are all prohibited transactions. The U.S. party is prohibited under § 515.201 from contracting for the Cuban musician's services, from transferring $10,000 to Cuba to pay for those services, and from providing the Cuban with production services through the use of its studio in the Bahamas. No information or informational materials are in being at the time of these proposed transactions. However, the U.S. recording company may contract to purchase and import preexisting recordings by the Cuban musician, or to copy the recordings in the United States and pay negotiated royalties to Cuba under this section or § 515.545 .

Code of Federal Regulations

Example #4: A Cuban party enters into a subpublication agreement licensing a U.S. party to print and publish copies of a musicial composition and to sub-license rights of public performance, adaptation, and arrangement of the musical composition, with payment to be a percentage of income received. All transactions related to the activities described in this example are authorized under this section and § 515.545 , except for adaptation, and arrangement, which constitute artistic enhancement of the Cuban composition. Payment to the Cuban party may not reflect income received as a result of these enhancements.

(b) Donation of food. The prohibitions contained in this part do not apply to transactions incident to the donation of food to nongovernmental organizations or individuals in Cuba.

Code of Federal Regulations

[54 FR 5233, Feb. 2, 1989, as amended at 60 FR 39256, Aug. 2, 1995; 64 FR 25812, May 13, 1999]