General Revision of the Copyright Law (House Report No. 94-1733)
For works with similar titles, see Copyright Law Revision.
GENERAL REVISION OF THE COPYRIGHT LAW,
TITLE 17 OF THE UNITED STATES CODE
September 29, 1976.—Ordered to be printed
Mr. Kastenmeier, from the committee of conference,
submitted the following
CONFERENCE REPORT
[To accompany S. 22]
The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendments of the House to the bill (S. 22) for the general revision of the Copyright Law, title 17 of the United States Code, and for other purposes having met, after full and free conference, have agreed to recommend and do recommend to their respective Houses as follows:
That the Senate recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the House and agree to the same with an amendment, as follows: In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the House amendment insert the following:
TITLE I—GENERAL REVISION OF THE COPYRIGHT LAW
| Sec. 101. | Title 17 of the United States Code, entitled “Copyrights”, is hereby amended in its entirety to read as follows: |
TITLE 17—COPYRIGHTS
| Chapter | Sec. |
| 1. Subject matter and scope of copyright | 101 |
| 2. Copyright ownership and transfer | 201 |
| 3. Duration of copyright | 301 |
| 4. Copyright notice, deposit, and registration | 401 |
| 5. Copyright infringement and remedies | 501 |
| 6. Manufacturing requirement and importation | 601 |
| 7. Copyright office | 701 |
| 8. Copyright royalty tribunal | 801 |
Chapter 1.—Subject Matter and Scope of Copyright
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Sec.
- Definitions.
- Subject matter of copyright: In general.
- Subject matter of copyright: Compilations and derivative works.
- Subject matter of copyright: National origin.
- Subject matter of copyright: United States Government works.
- Exclusive rights in copyrighted works.
- Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use.
- Limitations on exclusive rights: Reproduction by libraries and archives.
- Limitations on exclusive rights: Effect of transfer of particular copy or phonorecord.
- Limitations on exclusive rights: Exemption of certain performances and displays.
- Limitations on exclusive rights: Secondary transmissions.
- Limitations on exclusive rights: Ephemeral recordings.
- Scope of exclusive rights in pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works.
- Scope of exclusive rights in sound recordings.
- Scope of exclusive rights in nondramatic musical works: Compulsory license for making and distributing phonorecords.
- Scope of exclusive rights in nondramatic musical works: Public performances by means of coin-operated phonorecord players.
- Scope of exclusive rights: Use in conjunction with computers and similar information systems.
- Scope of exclusive rights: Use of certain works in connection with noncommercial broadcasting.
§ 101. Definitions
[edit]- As used in this title, the following terms and their various forms mean the following:
- An “anonymous work” is a work on the copies or phenorecords of which no natural person is identified as author.
- “Audiovisual works” are works that consist of a series of related images which are intrinsically intended to be shown by the use of machines or devices such as projectors, viewers, or electronic equipment, together with accompanying sounds, if any, regardless of the nature of the material objects, such as films or tapes, in which the works are embodied.
- The “best edition” of a work is the edition, published is the United States at any time before the date of deposit, that the Library of Congress determines to be most suitable for its purposes.
- A person’s “children” are that person’s immediate offspring, whether legitimate or not, and any children legally adopted by that person.
- A “collective work” is a work, such as a periodical issue, anthology, or encyclopedia, in which a number of contributions, constituting separate and independent works in themselves, are assembled into a collective whole.
- A “compilation” is a work formed by the collection and assembling of preexisting materials or of data that are selected, coordinated, or arranged in such a way that the resulting work as a whole constitutes an original works of authorship. The term “compilation” includes collective works.
- “Copies” are material objects, other than phonorecords, in which a work is fixed by any method now known or later developed, and from which the work can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. The term “copies” includes the material object, other than a phonorecord, in which the work is first fixed.
- “Copyright owner”, with respect to any one of the exclusive rights comprised in a copyright, refers to the owner of that particular right.
- A work is “created” when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time; where a work is prepared over a period of time, the portion of it that has been fixed at any particular time constitutes the work as of that time, and where the work has been prepared in different versions, each version constitutes a separate work.
- A “derivative work” is a work based upon one or more pre-existing works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted. A work consisting of editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other modifications which, as a whole, represent an original work of authorship, is a “derivative work”.
- A “device”, “machine”, or “process” is one now known or later developed.
- To “display” a work means to show a copy of it, either directly or by means of a film, slide, television image, or any other device or process or, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to show individual images nonsequentially.
- A work is “fixed” in a tangible medium of expression when its embodiment in a copy or phonorecord, by or under the authority of the author, is sufficiently permanent or stable to permit it to be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated for a period of more than transitory duration. A work consisting of sounds, images, or both, that are being transmitted, is “fixed” for purposes of this title if a fixation of the work is being made simultaneously with its transmission.
- The terms “including” and “such as” are illustrative and not limitative.
- A “joint work” is a work prepared by two or more authors with the intention that their contributions be merged into inseparable or interdependent parts of a unitary whole.
- “Literary works” are works, other than audiovisual works, expressed in words, numbers, or other verbal or numerical symbols or indicia, regardless of the nature of the material objects, such as books, periodicals, manuscripts, phonorecords, film, tapes, disks, or cards, in which they are embodied.
- “Motion pictures” are audiovisual works consisting of a series of related images which, when shown in succession, impart an impression of motion, together with accompanying sounds, if any.
- To “perform” a work means to recite, render, play, dance, or act it, either directly or by means of any device or process or, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to show its images in any sequence or to make the sounds accompanying it audible.
- “Phonorecords” are material objects in which sounds, other than those accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work, are fixed by any method now known or later developed, and from which the sounds can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. The term “phonorecords” includes the material object in which the sounds are first fixed.
- “Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works” include two-dimensional and three-dimensional works of fine, graphic, and applied art, photographs, prints and art reproductions, maps, globes, charts, technical drawings, diagrams, and models. Such works shall include works of artistic craftsmanship insofar as their form but not their mechanical or utilitarian aspects are concerned; the design of a useful article, as defined in this section, shall be considered a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work only if, and only to the extent that, such design incorporates pictorial, graphic, or sculptural features that can be identified separately from, and are capable of existing independently of, the utilitarian aspects of the article.
- A “pseudonymous work” is a work on the copies or phonorecords of which the author is identified under a fictitious name.
- “Publication” is the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending. The offering to distribute copies or phonorecords to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display, constitutes publication. A public performance or display of a work does not of itself constitute publication.
- To perform or display a work “publicly” means—
(1) to perform or display it at a place open to the public or at any place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered; or (2) to transmit or otherwise communicate a performance or display of the work to a place specified by clause (1) or to the public, by means of any device or process, whether the members of the public capable of receiving the performance or display receive it in the same place or in separate places and at the same time or at different times. - “Sound recordings” are works that result from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds, but not including the sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work, regardless of the nature of the material objects, such as disks, tapes, or other phonorecords, in which they are embodied.
- “State” includes the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territories to which this title is made applicable by an Act of Congress.
- A “transfer of copyright ownership” is an assignment, mortgage, exclusive license, or any other conveyance, alienation, or hypothecation of a copyright or of any of the exclusive rights comprised in a copyright, whether or not it is limited in time or place of effect, but not including a nonexclusive license.
- A “transmission program” is a body of material that, as an aggregate, has been produced for the sole purpose of transmission to the public in sequence and as a unit.
- To “transmit” a performance or display is to communicate it by any device or process whereby images or sounds are received beyond the place from which they are sent.
- The “United States”, when used in a geographical sense, comprises the several States, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the organized territories under the jurisdiction of the United States Government.
- A ‘‘useful article’’ is an article having an intrinsic utilitarian function that is not merely to portray the appearance of the article or to convey information. An article that is normally a part of a useful article is considered a ‘‘useful article’’.
- The author's ‘‘widow’’ or ‘‘widower’’ is the author's surviving spouse under the law of the author's domicile at the time of his or her death, whether or not the spouse has later remarried.
- A ‘‘work of the United States Government’’ is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person's official duties.
- A ‘‘work made for hire’’ is—
(1) a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or (2) a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as al contribution to a collective work, as a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, as a translation, as a supplementary work, as a compilation, as an instructional text, as a test, as answer material for a test, or as an atlas, if the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire. For the purpose of the foregoing sentence, a "supplementary work" is a work prepared for publication as a secondary adjunct to a work by another author for the purpose of introducing, concluding, illustrating, explaining, revising, commenting upon, or assisting in the use of the other work, such as forewords, afterwords, pictorial illustrations, maps, charts, tables, editorial notes, musical arrangements, answer material for tests, bibliographies, appendixes, and indexes, and an "instructional text" is a literary, pictorial, or graphic work prepared for publication with the purpose of use in systematic instructional activities.
§ 102. Subject matter of copyright: In general
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| (a) | Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. Works of authorship include the following categories: |
| (1) | literary works; |
| (2) | musical works, including any accompanying words; |
| (3) | dramatic works, including any accompanying music; |
| (4) | pantomimes and choreographic works; |
| (5) | pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works; |
| (6) | motion pictures and other audiovisual works; and |
| (7) | sound recordings. |
| (b) | In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work. |
§ 103. Subject matter of copyright: Compilations and derivative works
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| (a) | The subject matter of copyright as specified by section 102 includes compilations and derivative works, but protection for a work employing preexisting material in which copyright subsists does not extend to any part of the work in which such material has been used unlawfully. |
| (b) | The copyright in a compilation or derivative work extends only to the material contributed by the author of such work, as distinguished from the preexisting material employed in the work, and does not imply any exclusive right in the preexisting material. The copyright in such work is independent of, and does not affect or enlarge the scope, duration, ownership, or subsistence of, any copyright protection in the preexisting material. |
§ 104. Subject matter of copyright: National origin
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| (a) | Unpublished Works.—The works specified by sections 102 and 103, while unpublished, are subject to protection under this title without regard to the nationality or domicile of the author. |
| (b) | Published Works.—The works specified by sections 102 and 103, when published, are subject to protection under this title if− |
| (1) | on the date of first publication, one or more of the authors is a national or domiciliary of the United States, or is a national, domiciliary, or sovereign authority of a foreign nation that is a party to a copyright treaty to which the United States is also a party, or is a stateless person, wherever that person may be domiciled; or |
| (2) | the work is first published in the United States or in a foreign nation that, on the date of first publications, is a party to the Universal Copyright Convention; or |
| (3) | the work is first published by the United Nations or any of its specialized agencies, or by the Organization of American States; or |
| (4) | the work comes within the scope of a Presidential proclamation. Whenever the President finds that a particular foreign nation extends, to works by authors who are nationals or domiciliaries of the United States or to works that are first published in the United States, copyright protection on substantially the same basis as that on which the foreign nation extends protection to works of its own nationals and domiciliaries and works first published in that nation, the President may by proclamation extend protection under this title to works of which one or more of the authors is, on the date of first publication, a national, domiciliary, or sovereign authority of that nation, or which was first published in that nation. The President may revise, suspend, or revoke any such proclamation or impose any conditions or limitations on protection under a proclamation. |
§ 105. Subject matter of copyright: United States Government works
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| Copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government, but the United States Government is not precluded from receiving and holding copyrights transferred to it by assignment, bequest, or otherwise. |
§ 106. Exclusive rights in copyrighted works
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| Subject to sections 107 through 118, the owner of copyright under this title has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the following: |
| (1) | to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords; |
| (2) | to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work; |
| (3) | to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending; |
| (4) | in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works, to perform the copyrighted work publicly; and |
| (5) | in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to display the copyrighted work publicly. |
§ 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use
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| Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include− |
| (1) | the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; |
| (2) | the nature of the copyrighted work; |
| (3) | the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and |
| (4) | the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. |
§ 108. Limitations on exclusive rights: Reproduction by libraries and archives
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| (a) | Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, it is not an infringement of copyright for a library or archives, or any of its employees acting within the scope of their employment, to reproduce no more than one copy or phonorecord of a work, or to distribute such copy or phonorecord, under the conditions specified by this section, if− |
| (1) | the reproduction or distribution is made without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage; |
| (2) | the collections of the library or archives are (i) open to the public, or (ii) available not only to researchers affiliated with the library or archives or with the institution of which it is a part, but also to other persons doing research in a specialized field; and |
| (3) | the reproduction or distribution of the work includes a notice of copyright. |
| (b) | The rights of reproduction and distribution under this section apply to a copy or phonorecord of an unpublished work duplicated in facsimile form solely for purposes of preservation and security or for deposit for research use in another library or archives of the type described by clause (2) of subsection (a), if the copy or phonorecord reproduced is currently in the collections of the library or archives. |
| (c) | The right of reproduction under this section applies to a copy or phonorecord of a published work duplicated in facsimile form. solely for the purpose of replacement of a copy or phonorecord that is damaged, deteriorating, lost, or stolen, if the library or archives has, after a reasonable effort, determined that an unused replacement cannot be obtained at a fair price. |
| (d) | The rights of reproduction and distribution under this section apply to a copy, made from the collection of a library or archives where the user makes his or her request or from that of another library or archives, of no more than one article or other contribution to a copyrighted collection or periodical issue, or to a copy or phonorecord of a small part of any other copyrighted work, if− |
| (1) | the copy or phonorecord becomes the property of the user, and the library or archives has had no notice that the copy or phonorecord would be used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research; and |
| (2) | the library or archives displays prominently, at the place where orders are accepted, and includes on its order form, a warning of copyright in accordance with requirements that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation. |
| (e) | The rights of reproduction and distribution under this section apply to the entire work, or to a substantial part of it, made from the collection of a library or archives where the user makes his or her request or from that of another library or archives, if the library or archives has first determined. on the basis of a reasonable investigation, that a copy or phonorecord of the copyrighted work cannot be obtained at a fair price, if− |
| (1) | the copy or phonorecord becomes the property of the user, and the library or archives has had no notice that the copy or phonorecord would be used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research; and |
| (2) | the library or archives displays prominently, at the place where orders are accepted, and includes on its order from, a warning of copyright in accordance with requirements that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation. |
| (f) | Nothing in this section− |
| (1) | shall be construed to impose liability for copyright infringement upon a library or archives or its employees for the unsupervised use of reproducing equipment located on its premises: Provided, That such equipment displays a notice that the making of a copy may be subject to the copyright law; |
| (2) | excuses a person who uses such reproducing equipment or who requests a copy or phonorecord under subsection (d) from liability for copyright infringement for any such act, or for any later use of such copy or phonorecord, if it exceeds fair use as provided by section 107; |
| (3) | shall be construed to limit the reproduction and distribution by lending of a limited number of copies and excerpts by a library or archives of an audiovisual news program, subject to clauses (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (a); or |
| (4) | in any way affects the right of fair use as provided by section 107, or any contractual obligations assumed at any time by the library or archives when it obtained a copy or phonorecord of a work in its collections. |
| (g) | The rights of reproduction and distribution under this section extend to the isolated and unrelated reproduction or distribution pf a single copy or phonorecord of the same material on separate occasions, but do not extend to cases where the library or archives, or its employee− |
| (1) | is aware or has substantial reason to believe that it is engaging in the related or concerted reproduction or distribution of multiple copies or phonorecords of the same material, whether made on one occasion or over a period of time, and whether intended for aggregate use by one or more individuals or for separate use by the individual members of a group; or |
| (2) | engages in the systematic reproduction or distribution of single or multiple copies or phonrecords of material described in subsection (d): Provided, That nothing in this clause prevents a library ,or archives from participating in interlibrary arrangements that do not have, as their purpose or effect, that the library or archives receiving such copies or phonorecords for distribution does so in such aggregate quantities as to substitute for a subscription to or purchase of such work. |
| (h) | The rights of reproduction and distribution under this section do not apply to a musical work, a pictorial, graphic or sculptural work, or a motion picture or other audiovisual work other than an audiovisual work dealing with news, except that no such limitation shall apply with respect to rights granted by subsections (b) and (c), or with respect to pictorial or graphic works published as illustrations, diagrams, or similar adjuncts to-works of which copies are reproduced or distributed in, accordance with subsections (d) and (e). |
| (i) | Five years from the effective date of this Act, and at five-year intervals thereafter, the Register of Copyrights, after consulting with representatives of authors, book and periodical publishers, and other owners of copyrighted materials, and with representatives of library users and librarians, shall submit to the Congress a report setting forth the extent to which this section has achieved the intended statutory balancing of the rights of creators, and the needs of users. The report should also describe any problems that may have arisen, and present legislative or other recommendations, if warranted. |
§ 109. Limitations on exclusive rights: Effect of transfer of particular copy or phonorecord
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| (a) | Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106(3), the owner of a particular copy or phonorecord lawfully made under this title, or any person authorized by such owner, is entitled, without the authority of the copyright owner, to sell or otherwise dispose of the possession of that copy or phonorecord. |
| (b) | Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106(5), the owner of a particular copy lawfully made under this title, or any person authorized by such owner, is entitled, without the authority of the copyright owner, to display that copy publicly, either directly or by the projection of no more than one image at a time, to viewers present at the place where the copy is located. |
| (c) | The privileges prescribed by subsections (a) and (b) do not, unless authorized by the coyright owner, extend to any person who has acquired possession of the copy or phonorecord from the copyright owner, by rental, lease, loan, or otherwise, without acquiring ownership of it. |
§ 110. Limitations on exclusive rights: Exemption of certain performances and displays
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| Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, the following are not infringements of copyright: |
| (1) | performance or display of a work by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction, unless, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, the performance, or the display of individual images, is given by means of a copy that was not lawfully made under this title, and that the person responsible for the performance knew or had reason to believe was not lawfully made; |
| (2) | performance of a nondramatic literary or musical work or display of a work, by or in the course of a transmission, if− |
| (A) | the performance or display is a regular part of the systematic instructional activities of a governmental body or a nonprofit educational institution; and |
| (B) | the performance or display is directly related and of material assistance to the teaching content of the transmission; and |
| (C) | the transmission is made primarily for− |
| (i) | reception in classrooms or similar places normally devoted to instruction, or |
| (ii) | reception by persons to whom the transmission is directed because their disabilities or other special circumstances prevent their attendance in classrooms or similar places normally devoted to instruction, or |
| (iii) | reception by officers or employees of governmental bodies as a part of their official duties or employment; |
| (3) | performance of a nondramatic literary or musical work or of a dramatico-musical work of a religious nature, or display of a work, in the course of services at a place of worship or other religious assembly; |
| (4) | performance of a nondramatic literary or musical work otherwise than in a transmission to the public, without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage and without payment of any fee or other compensation for the performance to any of its performers, promoters, or organizers, if−
|
| (A) | there is no direct or indirect admission charge; or |
| (B) | the proceeds, after deducting the reasonable costs of producing the performance, are used exclusively for educational, religious, or charitable purposes and not for private financial gain, except where the copyright owner has served notice of objection to the performance under the following conditions: |
| (i) | the notice shall be in writing and signed by the copyright owner or such owner's duly authorized agent; and |
| (ii) | the notice shall be served on the person responsible for the performance at least seven days before the date of the performance, and shall state the reasons for the objection; and |
| (iii) | the notice shall comply, in form, content, and manner of service, with requirements that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation; |
| (5) | communication of a transmission embodying a performance or display of a work by the public reception of the transmission on a single receiving apparatus of a kind commonly used in private homes, unless− |
| (A) | a direct charge is made to see or hear the transmission; or |
| (B) | the transmission thus received is further transmitted to the public; |
| (6) | performance of a nondramatic musical work by a governmental body or a nonprofit agricultural or horticultural organization, in the course of an annual agricultural or horticultural fair or exhibition conducted by such body or organization; the exemption provided by this clause shall extend to any liability for copyright infringement that would otherwise be imposed on such body or organization, under doctrines of vicarious liability or related infringement, for a performance by a concessionaire, business establishment, or other person at such fair or exhibition, but shall not excuse any such person from liability for the performance; |
| (7) | performance of a nondramatic musical work by a vending establishment open to the public at large without any direct or indirect admission charge, where the sole purpose of the performance is to promote the retail sale of copies or phonorecords of the work, and the performance is not transmitted beyond the place where the establishment is located and is within the immediate area where the sale is occurring; |
| (8) | performance of a nondramatic literary work, by or in the course of a transmission specifically designed for and primarily directed to blind or other handicapped persons who are unable to read normal printed material as a result of their handicap, or deaf or other handicapped persons who are unable to hear the aural signals accompanying a transmission of visual signals, if the performance is made without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage and its transmission is made through the facilities of: (i) a governmental body; or (ii) a noncommercial educational broadcast station (as defined in section 397 of title 47); or (iii) a radio subcarrier authorization (as defined in 47 CFR 73.293-73.295 and 73.593-73.595); or (iv) a cable system (as defined in section 111(f). |
| (9) | performance on a single occasion of a dramatic literary work published at least ten years before the date of the performance, by or in the course of a transmission specifically designed for and primarily directed to blind or other handicapped persons who are unable to read normal printed material as a result of their handicap, if the performance is made without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage and its transmission is made through the facilities of a radio subcarrier authorization referred to in clause (8)(iii), Provided, That the provisions of this clause shall not be applicable to more than one performance of the same work by the same performers or under the auspices of the same organization. |
§ 111. Limitations on exclusive rights: Secondary transmissions
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| (a) | Certain Secondary Transmissions Exempted.—The secondary transmission of a primary transmission embodying a performance or display of a work is not an infringement of copyright if− |
| (1) | the secondary transmission is not made by a cable system, and consists entirely of the relaying, by the management of a hotel, apartment house, or similar establishment, of signals transmitted by a broadcast station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, within the local service area of such station, to the private lodgings of guests or residents of such establishment, and no direct charge is mode to see or hear the secondary transmission; or |
| (2) | the secondary transmission is made solely for the purpose and under the conditions specified by clause (2) of section 110; or |
| (3) | the secondary transmission is made by any carrier who has no direct or indirect control over the content or selection of the primary transmission or over the particular recipients of the secondary transmission, and whose activities with respect to the secondary transmission consist solely of providing wires, cables, or other communications channels for the use of others: Provided, That the provisions of this clause extend only to the activities of said carrier with respect to secondary transmissions and do not exempt from liability the activities of others with respect to their own primary or secondary transmissions; or |
| (4) | the secondary transmission is not made by a cable system but is made by a governmental body, or other nonproht organization, without any purpose of direct or indirect comrmercial advantage, and without charge to the recipients of the secondary transmission other than assessments necessary to defray the actual and reasonable costs of maintaining and operating the secondary transmission service. |
| (b) | Secondary Transmission of Primary Transmission to Controlled Group.—Notwithstariding the provisions of subsections (a) and (c), the secondary transmission to the public of a primary tramsmission embodying a performance or display of a work is actionable as an act of infringement under section 501, amd is fully subject to the remedies provided by sectionis 502 through 506 and 509, if the primary transmission is not made for reception by the public at large but is controlled and limited to reception by particular members of the public: Provided, however, That such secondary transmission is not actionable as an act of infringement if− |
| (1) | the primary transmission is made by a broadcast station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission; and |
| (2) | the carriage of the signals comprising the secondary transmission is required under the rules, regulations, or authorizations of the Federal Communications Commission; and |
| (3) | the signal of the primary transmitter is not altered or changed in any way by the secondary transmitter. |
| (c) | Secondary Transmissions by Cable Systems.— |
| (1) | Subject to the provisions of clauses (2), (3), and (4) of this subsection, secondary transmissions to the public by a cable system of a primary transmission made by a broadcast station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission or by an appropriate governmental authority of Canada or Mexico and embodying a performance or display of a work shall be subject to compulsory licensing upon compliance with the requirements of subsection (d) where the carriage of the signals comprising the secondary transmission is permissible under the rules, regulations, or authorizations of the Federal Communications Commission. |
| (2) | Notwithstanding the provisions of clause (1) of this subsection, the willful or repeated secondary transmission to the public by a cable system of a primary transmission made by a broadcast station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission or by an appropriate governmental authority of Canada or Mexico and embodying a performance or display of a work is actionable as an act of infringement under section 501, and is fully subject to the remedies provided by sections 502 through 506 and 509, in the following cases: |
| (A) | where the carriage of the signals comprising the secondary transmission is not permissible under the rules, regulations, or authorizations of the Federal Communications Commission; or |
| (B) | where the cable system has not recorded the notice specified by subsection (d) and deposited the statement of account and royalty fee required by subsection (d). |
| (3) | Notwithstanding the provisions of clause (1) of this subsection and subject to the provisions of subsection (e) of this section, the secondary transmission to the public by a cable system of a primary transmission made by a broadcast station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission or by an appropriate governmental authority of Canada or Mexico and embodying a performance or display of a work is actionable as an act of infringement under section 501, and is fully subject to the remedies provided by sections 502 through 506 and sections 509 and 510, if the content of the particular program in which the performance or display is embodied, or any commercial advertising or station announcements transmitted by the primary transmitter during, or immediately before or after, the transmission of such program, is in any way willfully altered by the cable system through changes, deletions, or additions, except for the alteration, deletion, or substitution of commercial advertisements performed by those engaged in television commercial advertising market research: Provided, That the research company has obtained the prior consent of the advertiser who has purchased the original commercial advertisement, the television station broadcasting that commercial advertisement, and the cable system performing the secondary transmission: And provided further, That such commercial alteration, deletion, or substitution is not performed for the purpose of deriving income from the sale of that commercial time. |
| (4) | Notwithstanding the provisions of clause (1) of this subsection, the secondary transmission to the public by a cable system of a primary transmission made by a broadcast station licensed by an appropriate governmental authority of Canada or Mexico and embodying a performance or display of a work is actionable as an act of infringement under section 501, and is fully subject to the remedies provided by sections 502 through 506 and section 509, if (A) with respect to Canadian signals, the community of the cable system is located more than 150 miles from the United States-Canadian border and is also located south of the forty-second parallel of latitude, or (B) with respect to Mexican signals, the secondary transmission is made by a cable system which received the primary transmission by means other than direct interception of a free space radio wave emitted by such broadcast television station, unless prior to April 15, 1976, such cable system was actually carrying, or was specifically authorized to carry, the signal of such foreign station on the system pursuant to the rules, regulations, or authorizations of the Federal Communications Commission. |
| (d) | Compulsory License for Secondary Transmissions by Cable Systems.— |
| (1) | For any secondary transmission to be subject to compulsory licensing under subsection (c), the cable system shall, at least one month before the date of the commencement of operations of the cable system or within one hundred and eighty days after the enactment of this Act, whichever is later, and thereafter within thirty days after each occasion on which the ownership or control or the signal carriage complement of the cable system changes, record in the Copyright Office a notice including a statement of the identity and address of the person who owns or operates the secondary transmission service or has power to exercise primary control over it, together with the name and location of the primary transmitter or primary transmitters whose signals are regularly carried by the cable system, and thereafter, from time to time, such further information as the Register of Copyrights, after consultation with the Copyright Royalty Tribunal (if and when the Tribunal has been constituted), shall prescribe by regulation to carry out the purpose of this clause. |
| (2) | A cable system whose secondary transmissions have been subject to compulsory licensing under subsection (c) shall, on a semiannual basis, deposit with the Register of Copyrights, in accordance with requirements that the Register shall, after consultation with the Copyright Royalty Tribunal (if and when the Tribunal has been constituted), prescribe by regulation− |
| (A) | a statement of account, covering the six months next preceding, specifying the number of channels on which the cable system made secondary transmissions to its subscribers, the names and locations of all primary transmitters whose transmissions were further transmitted by the cable system, the total number of subscribers, the gross amounts paid to the cable system for the basic service of providing secondary transmissions of primary broadcast transmitters, and such other data as the Register of Copyrights may, after consultation with the Copyright Royalty Tribunal (if and when the Tribunal has been constituted), from time to time prescribe by regulation. Such statement shall also include a special statement of account covering any nonnetwork television programming that was carried by the cable system in whole or in part beyond the local service area of the primary transmitter, under rules, regulations, or authorizations of the Federal Communications Commission permitting the substitution or addition of signals under certain circumstances, together with logs showing the times, dates, stations, and programs involved in such substituted or added carriage; and |
| (B) | except in the case of a cable system whose royalty is specified in subclause (C) or (D), a total royalty fee for the period covered by the statement, computed on the basis of specified percentages of the gross receipts from subscribers to the cable service during said period for the basic service of providing secondary transmissions of primary broadcast transmitters, as follows: |
| (i) | 0.675 of 1 per centum of such gross receipts for the privilege of further transmitting any nonnetwork programming of a primary transmitter in whole or in part beyond the local service area of such primary transmitter, such amount to be applied against the fee, if any, payable pursuant to paragraphs (ii) through (iv); |
| (ii) | 0.675 of 1 per centum of such gross receipts for the first distant signal equivalent; |
| (iii) | 0.425 of 1 per centum of such gross receipts for each of the second, third, and fourth distant signal equivalents; |
| (iv) | 0.2 of 1 per centum of such gross receipts for the fifth distant signal equivalent and each additional distant signal equivalent thereafter; and |
| in computing the amounts payable under paragraphs (ii) through (iv), above, any fraction of a distant signal equivalent shall be computed at its fractional value and, in the case of any cable system located partly within and partly without the local service area of a primary transmitter, gross receipts shall be limited to those gross receipts derived from subscribers located without the local service area of such primary transmitter; and |
| (C) | if the actual gross receipts paid by subscribers to a cable system for the period covered by the statement for the basic service of providing secondary transmissions of primary broadcast transmitters total $80,000 or less, gross receipts of the cable system for the purpose of this subclause shall be computed by subtracting from such actual gross receipts the amount by which $80,000 exceeds such actual gross receipts, except that in no case shall a cable system's gross receipts be reduced to less than $3,000. The royalty fee payable under this subclause shall be 0.5 of 1 per centum, regardless of the number of distant signal equivalents, if any; and |
| (D) | if the actual gross receipts paid by subscribers to a cable system for the period covered by the statement, for the basic service of providing secondary transmissions of primary broadcast transmitters, are more than $80,000 but less than $160,000, the royalty fee payable under this subclause shall be (i) 0.5 of 1 per centum of any gross receipts up to $80,000; and (ii) 1 per centum of any gross receipts in excess of $80,000 but less than $160,000, regardless of the number of distant signal equivalents, if any. |
| (3) | The Register of Copyrights shall receive all fees deposited under this section and, after deducting the reasonable costs incurred by the Copyright Office under this section, shall deposit the balance in the Treasury of the United States, in such manner as the Secretary of the Treasury directs. All funds held by the Secretary of the Treasury shall be invested in interest-bearing U.S. securities for later distribution with interest by the Copyright Royalty Tribunal as provided by this title. The Register shall submit to the Copyright Royalty Tribunal, on a semiannual basis, a compilation of all statements of account covering the relevant six-month period provided by clause (2) of this subsection. |
| (4) | The royalty fees thus deposited shall, in accordance with the procedures provided by clause (5), be distributed to those among the following copyright owners who claim that their works were the subject of secondary transmissions by cable systems during the relevant semiannual period: |
| (A) | any such owner whose work was included in a secondary transmission made by a cable system of a nonnetwork television program in whole or in part beyond the local service area of the primary transmitter; and |
| (B) | any such owner whose work was included in a secondary transmission identified in a special statement of account deposited under clause (2)(A); and |
| (C) | any such owner whose work was included in nonnetwork programming consisting exclusively of aural signals carried by a cable system in whole or in part beyond the local service area of the primary transmitter of such programs. |
| (5) | The royalty fees thus deposited shall be distributed in accordance with the following procedures: |
| (A) | During the month of July in each year, every person claiming to be entitled to compulsory license fees for secondary transmissions shall file a claim with the Copyright Royalty Tribunal, in accordance with requirements that the Tribunal shall prescribe by regulation. Notwithstanding any provisions of the antitrust laws, for purposes of this clause any claimants may agree among themselves as to the proportionate division of compulsory licensing fees among them, may lump their claims together and file them jointly or as a single claim, or may designate a common agent to receive payment on their behalf. |
| (B) | After the first day of August of each year, the Copyright Royalty Tribunal shall determine whether there exists a controversy concerning the distribution of royalty fees. If the Tribunal determines that no such controversy exists, it shall, after deducting its reasonable administrative costs under this section, distribute such fees to the copyright owners entitled, or to their designated agents. If the Tribunal finds the existence of a controversy, it shall, pursuant to chapter 8 of this title, conduct a proceeding to determine the distribution of royalty fees. |
| (C) | During the pendency of any proceeding under this subsection, the Copyright Royalty Tribunal shall withhold from distribution an amount sufficient to satisfy all claims with respect to which a controversy exists, but shall have discretion to proceed to distribute any amounts that are not in controversy. |
| (e) | Nonsimultaneous Secondary Transmissions by Cable Systems.— |
| (1) | Notwithstanding those provisions of the second paragraph of subsection (f) relating to nonsimultaneous secondary transmissions by a cable system, any such transmissions are actionable as an act of infringement under section 501, and are fully subject to the remedies provided by sections 502 through 506 and sections 509 and 510, unless− |
| (A) | the program on the videotape is transmitted no more than one time to the cable system's subscribers; and |
| (B) | the copyrighted program, episode, or motion picture videotape, including the commercials contained within such program, episode, or picture, is transmitted without deletion or editing; and |
| (C) | an owner or officer of the cable system (i) prevents the duplication of the videotape while in the possession of the system, (ii) prevents unauthorized duplication while in the possession of the facility making the videotape for the system if the system owns or controls the facility, or takes reasonable precautions to prevent such duplication if it does not own or control the facility, (iii) takes adequate precautions to prevent duplication while the tape is being transported, and (iv) subject to clause (2), erases or destroys, or causes the erasure or destruction of, the videotape; and |
| (D) | within forty-five days after the end of each calendar quarter, an owner or officer of the cable system executes an affidavit attesting (i) to the steps and precautions taken to prevent duplication of the videotape, and (ii) subject to clause (2), to the erasure or destruction of all videotapes made or used during such quarter; and |
| (E) | such owner or officer places or causes each such affidavit, and affidavits received pursuant to clause (2)(C), to be placed in a file, open to public inspection, at such system's main office in the community where the transmission is made or in the nearest community where such system maintains an office; and |
| (F) | the nonsimultaneous transmission is one that the cable system would be authorized to transmit under the rules, regulations, and authorizations of the Federal Communications Commission in effect at the time of the nonsimultaneous transmission if the transmission had been made simultaneously, except that this subclause shall not apply to inadvertent or accidental transmissions. |
| (2) | If a cable system transfers to any person a videotape of a program nonsimultaneously transmitted by it, such transfer is actionable as an act of infringement under section 501, and is fully subject to the remedies provided by sections 502 through 506 and 509, except that, pursuant to a written, nonprofit contract providing for the equitable sharing of the costs of such videotape and its transfer, a videotape nonsimultaneously transmitted by it, in accordance with clause (1), may be transferred by one cable system in Alaska to another system in Alaska, by one cable system in Hawaii permitted to make such nonsimultaneous transmissions to another such cable system in Hawaii, or by one cable system in Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, to another cable system in any of those three territories, if− |
| (A) | each such contract is available for public inspection in the offices of the cable systems involved, and a copy of such contract is filed, within thirty days after such contract is entered into, with the Copyright Office (which Office shall make each such contract available for public inspection); and |
| (B) | the cable system to which the videotape is transferred complies with clause (1)(A), (B), (C)(i), (iii), and (iv), and (D) through (F); and |
| (C) | such system provides a copy of the affidavit required to be made in accordance with clause (1)(D) to each cable system making a previous nonsimultaneous transmission of the same videotape. |
| (3) | This subsection shall not be construed to supersede the exclusivity protection provisions of any existing agreement, or any such agreement hereafter entered into, between a cable system and a television broadcast station in the area in which the cable system is located, or a network with which such station is affiliated. |
| (4) | As used in this subsection, the term ‘‘videotape’’, and each of its variant forms, means the reproduction of the images and sounds of a program or programs broadcast by a television broadcast station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, regardless of the nature of the material objects, such as tapes or films, in which the reproduction is embodied. |
| (f) | Definitions.—As used in this section, the following terms and their variant forms mean the following:
|
§ 112. Limitations on exclusive rights: Ephemeral recordings
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| (a) | Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, and except in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, it is not an infringement of copyright for a transmitting organization entitled to transmit to the public a performance or display of a work, under a license or transfer of the copyright or under the limitations on exclusive rights in sound recordings specified by section 114 (a), to make no more than one copy or phonorecord of a particular transmission program embodying the performance or display, if— |
| (1) | the copy or phonorecord is retained and used solely by the transmitting organization that made it, and no further copies or phonorecords are reproduced from it; and |
| (2) | the copy or phonorecord is used solely for the transmitting organization's own transmissions within its local service area, or for purposes of archival preservation or security; and |
| (3) | unless preserved exclusively for archival purposes, the copy or phonorecord is destroyed within six months from the date the transmission program was first transmitted to the public. |
| (b) | Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, it is not an infringement of copyright for a governmental body or other nonprofit organization entitled to transmit a performance or display of a work, under section 110(2) or under the limitations on exclusive rights in sound recordings specified by section 114(a), to make no more than thirty copies or phonorecords of a particular transmission program embodying the performance or display, if— |
| (1) | no further copies or phonorecords are reproduced from the copies or phonorecords made under this clause; and |
| (2) | except for one copy or phonorecord that may be preserved exclusively for archival purposes, the copies or phonorecords are destroyed within seven years from the date the transmission program was first transmitted to the public. |
| (c) | Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, it is not an infringement of copyright for a governmental body or other nonprofit organization to make for distribution no more than one copy or phonorecord, for each transmitting organization specified in clause (2) of this subsection, of a particular transmission program embodying a performance of a nondramatic musical work of a religious nature, or of a sound recording of such a musical work, if— |
| (1) | there is no direct or indirect charge for making or distributing any such copies or phonorecords; and |
| (2) | none of such copies or phonorecords is used for any performance other than a single transmission to the public by a transmitting organization entitled to transmit to the public a performance of the work under a license or transfer of the copyright; and |
| (3) | except for one copy or phonorecord that may be preserved exclusively for archival purposes, the copies or phonorecords are all destroyed within one year from the date the transmission program was first transmitted to the public. |
| (d) | Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, it is not an infringement of copyright for a governmental body or other nonprofit organization entitled to transmit a performance of a work under section 110(8) to make no more than ten copies or phonorecords embodying the performance, or to permit the use of any such copy or phonorecord by any governmental body or nonprofit organization entitled to transmit a performance of a work under section 110(8), if— |
| (1) | any such copy or phonorecord is retained and used solely by the organization that made it, or by a governmental body or nonprofit organization entitled to transmit a performance of a work under section 110 (8), and no further copies or phonorecords are reproduced from it; and |
| (2) | any such copy or phonorecord is used solely for transmissions authorized under section 110 (8), or for purposes of archival preservation or security; and |
| (3) | the governmental body or nonprofit organization permitting any use of any such copy or phonorecord by any governmental body or nonprofit organization under this subsection does not make any charge for such use. |
| (e) | The transmission program embodied in a copy or phonorecord made under this section is not subject to protection as a derivative work under this title except with the express consent of the owners of copyright in the preexisting works employed in the program. |
§ 113. Scope of exclusive rights in pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
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| (a) | Subject to the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this section, the exclusive right to reproduce a copyrighted pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work in copies under section 106 includes the right to reproduce the work in or on any kind of article, whether useful or otherwise. |
| (b) | This title does not afford, to the owner of copyright in a work that portrays a useful article as such, any greater or lesser rights with respect to the making, distribution, or display of the useful article so portrayed than those afforded to such works under the law, whether title 17 or the common law or statutes of a State, in effect on December 31, 1977. as held applicable and construed by a court in an action brought under this title. |
| (c) | In the case of a work lawfully reproduced in useful articles that have been offered for sale or other distribution to the public, copyright does not include any right to prevent the making, distribution, or display of pictures or photographs of such articles in connection with advertisements or commentaries related to the distribution or display of such articles, or in connection with news reports. |
§ 114. Scope of exclusive rights in sound recordings
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| (a) | The exclusive rights of the owner of copyright in a sound recording are limited to the rights specified by clauses (1), (2), and (3) of section 106, and do not include any right of performance under section 106(4). |
| (b) | The exclusive right of the owner of copyright in a sound recording under clause (1) of section 106 is limited to the right to duplicate the sound recording in the form of phonorecords, or of copies of motion pictures and other audiovisual works, that directly or indirectly recapture the actual sounds fixed in the recording. The exclusive right of the owner of copyright in a sound recording under clause (2) of section 106 is limited to the right to prepare a derivative work in which the actual sounds fixed in the sound recording are rearranged, remixed, or otherwise altered in sequence or quality. The exclusive rights of the owner of copyright in a sound recording under clauses (1) and (2) of section 106 do not extend to the making or duplication of another sound recording that consists entirely of an independent fixation of other sounds, even though such sounds imitate or simulate those in the copyrighted sound recording. The exclusive rights of the owner of copyright in a sound recording under clauses (1), (2), and (3) of section 106 do not apply to sound recordings included in educational television and radio programs (as defined in section 397 of title 47) distributed or transmitted by or through public broadcasting entities (as defined by section 118(g)): Provided, That copies or phonorecords of said programs are not commercially distributed by or through public broadcasting entities to the general public. |
| (c) | This section does not limit or impair the exclusive right to perform publicly, by means of a phonorecord, any of the works specified by section 106(4). |
| (d) | On January 3, 1978, the Register of Copyrights, after consulting with representatives of owners of copyrighted materials, representatives of the broadcasting, recording, motion picture, entertainment industries, and arts organizations, representatives of organized labor and performers of copyrighted materials, shall submit to the Congress a report setting forth recommendations as to whether this section should be amended to provide for performers and copyright owners of copyrighted material any performance rights in such material. The report should describe the status of such rights in foreign countries, the views of major interested parties, and specific legislative or other recommendations, if any. |
§ 115. Scope of exclusive rights in nondramatic musical works: Compulsory license for making and distributing phonorecords
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- In the case of nondramatic musical works, the exclusive rights provided by clauses (1) and (3) of section 106, to make and to distribute phonorecords of such works, are subject to compulsory licensing under the conditions specified by this section.
| (a) | Availability and Scope of Compulsory License.— |
| (1) | When phonorecords of a nondramatic musical work have been distributed to the public in the United States under the authority of the copyright owner, any other person may, by complying with the provisions of this section, obtain a compulsory license to make and distribute phonorecords of the work. A person may obtain a compulsory license only if his or her primary purpose in making phonorecords is to distribute them to the public for private use. A person may not obtain a compulsory license for use of the work in the making of phonorecords duplicating a sound recording fixed by another, unless: (i) such sound recording was fixed lawfully; and (ii) the making of the phonorecords was authorized by the owner of copyright in the sound recording or, if the sound recording was fixed before February 15, 1972, by any person who fixed the sound recording pursuant to an express license from the owner of the copyright in the musical work or pursuant to a valid compulsory license for use of such work in a sound recording. |
| (2) | A compulsory license includes the privilege of making a musical arrangement of the work to the extent necessary to conform it to the style or manner of interpretation of the performance involved, but the arrangement shall not change the basic melody or fundamental character of the work, and shall not be subject to protection as a derivative work under this title, except with the express consent of the copyright owner. |
| (b) | Notice of Intention to Obtain Compulsory License.— |
| (1) | Any person who wishes to obtain a compulsory license under this section shall, before or within thirty days after making, and before distributing any phonorecords of the work, serve notice of intention to do so on the copyright owner. It the registration or other public records of the Copyright Office do not identify the copyright owner and include an address at which notice can be served, it shall be sufficient to file the notice of intention in the Copyright Office. The notice shall comply, in form, content, and manner of service, with requirements that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation. |
| (2) | Failure to serve or file the notice required by clause (1) forecloses the possibility of a compulsory license, and in the absence of a negotiated license, renders the making and distribution of phonorecords actionable as acts of infringement under section 501 and fully subject to the remedies provided by sections 502 through 506 and 509. |
| (c) | Royalty Payable Under Compulsory License.— |
| (1) | To be entitled to receive royalties under a compulsory license, the copyright owner must be identified in the registration or other public records of the Copyright Office. The owner is entitled to royalties for phonorecords made and distributed after being so identified, but is not entitled to recover for any phonorecords previously made and distributed. |
| (2) | Except as provided by clause (1), the royalty under a compulsory license shall be payable for every phonorecord made and distributed in accordance with the license. For this purpose, a phonorecord is considered ‘‘distributed’’ if the person exercising the compulsory license has voluntarily and permanently parted with its possession. With respect to each work embodied in the phonorecord, the royalty shall be either two and three-fourth cents, or one-half of one cent per minute of playing time or fraction thereof, whichever amount is larger. |
| (3) | Royalty payments shall be made on or before the twentieth day of each month and shall include all royalties for the month next preceding. Each monthly payment shall be made under oath and shall comply with requirements that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation. The Register shall also prescribe regulations under which detailed cumulative annual statements of account, certified by a certified public accountant, shall be filed for every compulsory license under this section. The regulations covering both the monthly and the annual statements of account shall prescribe the form, content, and manner of certification with respect to the number of records made and the number of records distributed. |
| (4) | If the copyright owner does not receive the monthly payment and the monthly and annual statements of account when due, the owner may give written notice to the licensee that, unless the default is remedied within thirty days from the date of the notice, the compulsory license will be automatically terminated. Such termination renders either the making or the distribution, or both, of all phonorecords for which the royalty had not been paid, actionable as acts of infringement under section 501 and fully subject to the remedies provided by sections 502 through 506 and 509. |
§ 116. Scope of exclusive rights in nondramatic musical works: Public performances by means of coin-operated phonorecord players
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| (a) | Limitation on Exclusive Right.—In the case of a nondramatic musical work embodied in a phonorecord, the exclusive right under clause (4) of section 106 to perform the work publicly by means of a coin-operated phonorecord player is limited as follows: |
| (1) | The proprietor of the establishment in which the public performance takes place is not liable for infringement with respect to such public performance unless− |
| (A) | such proprietor is the operator of the phonorecord player; or |
| (B) | such proprietor refuses or fails, within one month after receipt by registered or certified mail of a request, at a time during which the certificate required by clause (1) (C) of subsection (b) is not affixed to the phonorecord player, by the copyright owner, to make full disclosure, by registered or certified mail, of the identity of the operator of the phonorecord player. |
| (2) | The operator of the coin-operated phonorecord player may obtain a compulsory license to perform the work publicly on that phonorecord player by filing the application, affixing the certificate, and paying the royalties provided by subsection (b). |
| (b) | Recordation of Coin-Operated Phonorecord Player, Affixation of Certificate, and Royalty Payable Under Compulsory License.— |
| (1) | Any operator who wishes to obtain a compulsory license for the public performance of works on a coin-operated phonorecord player shall fulfill the following requirements: |
| (A) | Before or within one month after such performances are made available on a particular phonorecord player, and during the month of January in each succeeding year that such performances are made available on that particular phonorecord player, the operator shall file in the Copyright Office, in accordance with requirements that the Register of Copyrights, after consultation with the Copyright Royalty Tribunal (if and when the Tribunal has been constituted), shall prescribe by regulation, an application containing the name and address of the operator of the phonorecord player and the manufacturer and serial number or other explicit identification of the phonorecord player, and deposit with the Register of Copyrights a royalty fee for the current calendar year of $8 for that particular phonorecord player. If such performances are made available on a particular phonorecord player for the first time after July 1 of any year, the royalty fee to be deposited for the remainder of that year shall be $4. |
| (B) | Within twenty days of receipt of an application and a royalty fee pursuant to subclause (A) the Register of Copyrights shall issue to the applicant a certificate for the phonorecord player. |
| (C) | On or before March 1 of the year in which the certificate prescribed by subclause (B) of this clause is issued, or within ten days after the date of issue of the certificate, the operator shall affix to the particular phonorecord player, in a position where it can be readily examined by the public, the certificate, issued by the Register of Copyrights under subclause (B), of the latest application made by such operator under subclause (A) of this clause with respect to that phonorecord player. |
| (2) | Failure to file the application, to affix the certificate, or to pay the royalty required by clause (1) of this subsection renders the public performance actionable as an act of infringement under section 501 and fully subject to the remedies provided by sections 502 through 506 and 509. |
| (c) | Distribution of Royalties.— |
| (1) | The Register of Copyrights shall receive all fees deposited under this section and, after deducting the reasonable costs incurred by the Copyright Office under this section, shall deposit the balance in the Treasury of the United States, in such manner as the Secretary of the Treasury directs. All funds held by the Secretary of the Treasury shall be invested in interest-bearing U.S. securities for later distribution with interest by the Copyright Royalty Tribunal as provided by this title. The Register shall submit to the Copyright Royalty Tribunal, on an annual basis, a detailed statement of account covering all fees received for the relevant period provided by subsection (b). |
| (2) | During the month of January in each year, every person claiming to be entitled to compulsory license fees under this section for performances during the preceding twelve-month period shall file a claim with the Copyright Royalty Tribunal, in accordance with requirements that the Tribunal shall prescribe by regulation. Such claim shall include an agreement to accept as final, except as provided in section 810 of this title, the determination of the Copyright Royalty Tribunal in any controversy concerning the distribution of royalty fees deposited under subclause (A) of subsection (b) (1) of this section to which the claimant is a party. Notwithstanding any provisions of the antitrust laws, for purposes of this subsection any claimants may agree among themselves as to the proportionate division of compulsory licensing fees among them, may lump their claims together and file them jointly or as a single claim, or may designate a common agent to receive payment on their behalf. |
| (3) | After the first day of October of each year, the Copyright Royalty Tribunal shall determine whether there exists a controversy concerning the distribution of royalty fees deposited under subclause (A) of subsection (b) (1). If the Tribunal determines that no such controversy exists, it shall, after deducting its reasonable administrative costs under this section, distribute such fees to the copyright owners entitled, or to their designated agents. If it finds that such a controversy exists, it shall, pursuant to chapter 8 of this title, conduct a proceeding to determine the distribution of royalty fees. |
| (4) | The fees to be distributed shall be divided as follows: |
| (A) | to every copyright owner not affiliated with a performing rights society, the pro rata share of the fees to be distributed to which such copyright owner proves entitlement. |
| (B) | to the performing rights societies, the remainder of the fees to be distributed in such pro rata shares as they shall by agreement stipulate among themselves, or, if they fail to agree, the pro rata share to which such performing rights societies prove entitlement. |
| (C) | During the pendency of any proceeding under this section, the Copyright Royalty Tribunal shall withhold from distribution an amount sufficient to satisfy all claims with respect to which a controversy exists, but shall have discretion to proceed to distribute any amounts that are not in controversy. |
| (5) | The Copyright Royalty Tribunal shall promulgate regulations under which persons who can reasonably be expected to have claims may, during the year in which performance takes place, without expense to or harassment of operators or proprietors of establishments in which phonorecord players are located, have such access to such establishments and to the phonorecord players located therein and such opportunity to obtain information with respect thereto as may be reasonably necessary to determine, by sampling procedures or otherwise, the proportion of contribution of the musical works of each such person to the earnings of the phonorecord players for which fees shall have been deposited. Any person who alleges that he or she has been denied the access permitted under the regulations prescribed by the Copyright Royalty Tribunal may bring an action in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia for the cancellation of the compulsory license of the phonorecord player to which such access has been denied, and the court shall have the power to declare the compulsory license thereof invalid from the date of issue thereof. |
| (d) | Criminal Penalties.—Any person who knowingly makes a false representation of a material fact in an application filed under clause (1) (A) of subsection (b), or who knowingly alters a certificate issued under clause (1) (B) of subsection (b) or knowingly affixes such a certificate to a phonorecord player other than the one it covers, shall be fined not more than $2,500. |
| (e) | Definitions.—As used in this section, the following terms and their variant forms mean the following: |
| (1) | A ‘‘coin-operated phonorecord player’’ is a machine or device that− |
| (A) | is employed solely for the performance of nondramatic musical works by means of phonorecords upon being activated by insertion of coins, currency, tokens, or other monetary units or their equivalent; |
| (B) | is located in an establishment making no direct or indirect charge for admission; |
| (C) | is accompanied by a list of the titles of all the musical works available for performance on it, which list is affixed to the phonorecord player or posted in the establishment in a prominent position where it can be readily examined by the public; and |
| (D) | affords a choice of works available for performance and permits the choice to be made by the patrons of the establishment in which it is located. |
| (2) | An ‘‘operator’’ is any person who, alone or jointly with others: |
| (A) | owns a coin-operated phonorecord player; or |
| (B) | has the power to make a coin-operated phonorecord player available for placement in an establishment for purposes of public performance; or |
| (C) | has the power to exercise primary control over the selection of the musical works made available for public performance on a coin-operated phonorecord player. |
| (3) | A ‘‘performing rights society’’ is an association or corporation that licenses the public performance of nondramatic musical works on behalf of the copyright owners, such as the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Broadcast Music, Inc., and SESAC, Inc. |
§ 117. Scope of exclusive rights: Use in conjunction with computers and similar information systems
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| Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 through 116 and 118, this title does not afford to the owner of copyright in a work any greater or lesser rights with respect to the use of the work in conjunction with automatic systems capable of storing, processing, retrieving, or transferring information, or in conjunction with any similar device, machine, or process, than those afforded to works under the law, whether title 17 or the common law or statutes of a State, in effect on December 31, 1977, as held applicable and construed by a court in an action brought under this title. |
§ 118. Scope of exclusive rights: Use of certain works in connection with noncommercial broadcasting
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| (a) | The exclusive rights provided by section 106 shall, with respect to the works specified by subsection (b) and the activities specified by subsection (d), be subject to the conditions and limitations prescribed by this section. |
| (b) | Not later than thirty days after the Copyright Royalty Tribunal has been constituted in accordance with section 802, the Chairman of the Tribunal shall cause notice to be published in the Federal Register of the initiation of proceedings for the purpose of determining reasonable terms and rates of royalty payments for the activities specified by subsection (d) with respect to published nondramatic musical works and published pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works during a period beginning as provided in clause (3) of this subsection and ending on December 31, 1982. Copyright owners and public broadcasting entities shall negotiate in good faith and cooperate fully with the Tribunal in an effort to reach reasonable and expeditious results. Notwithstanding any provision of the antitrust laws, any owners of copyright in works specified by this subsection and any public broadcasting entities, respectively, may negotiate and agree upon the terms and rates of royalty payments and the proportionate division of fees paid among various copyright owners, and may designate common agents to negotiate, agree to, pay, or receive payments: |
| (1) | Any owner of copyright in a work specified in this subsection or any public broadcasting entity may, within one hundred and twenty days after publication of the notice specified in this subsection, submit to the Copyright Royalty Tribunal proposed licenses covering such activities with. respect to such works. The Copyright Royalty Tribunal shall proceed on the basis of the proposals submitted to it as well as any other relevant information. The Copyright Royalty Tribunal shall permit any interested party to submit information relevant to such proceedings. |
| (2) | License agreements voluntarily negotiated at any time between one or more copyright owners and one or more public broadcasting entities shall be given effect in lieu of any determination by the Tribunal: Provided, That copies of such agreements are filed in the Copyright Office within thirty days of execution in accordance with regulations that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe. |
| (3) | Within six months, but not earlier than one hundred and twenty days, from the date of publication of the notice specified in this subsection the Copyright Royalty Tribunal shall make a determination and publish in the Federal Register a schedule of rates and terms which, subject to clause (2) of this subsection, shall be binding on all owners of copyright in works specified by this subsection and public broadcasting entities, regardless of whether or not such copyright owners and public broadcasting entities have submitted proposals to the Tribunal. In establishing such rates and terms the Copyright Royalty Tribunal may consider the rates for comparable circumstances under voluntary license agreements negotiated as provided in clause (2) of this subsection. The Copyright Royalty Tribunal shall also establish requirements by which copyright owners may receive reasonable notice of the use of their works under this section, and under which records of such use shall be kept by public broadcasting entities. |
| (4) | With respect to the period beginning on the effective date of this title and ending on the date of publication of such rates and terms, this title shall not afford to owners of copyright or public broadcasting entities any greater or lesser rights with respect to the activities specified in subsection (d) as applied to works specified in this subsection than those afforded under the law in effect on December 31, 1977, as held applicable and construed by a court in an action brought under this title. |
| (c) | The initial procedure specified in subsection (b) shall be repeated and concluded between June 30 and December 31, 1982, and at five-year intervals thereafter, in accordance with regulations that the Copyright Royalty Tribunal shall prescribe. |
| (d) | Subject to the transitional provisions of subsection (b) (4), and to the terms of any voluntary license agreements that have been negotiated as provided by subsection (b) (2), a public broadcasting entity may, upon compliance with the provisions of this section, including the rates and terms established by the Copyright Royalty Tribunal under subsection (b) (3), engage in the following activities with respect to published nondramatic musical works and published pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works: |
| (1) | performance or display of a work by or in the course of a transmission made by a noncommercial educational broadcast station referred to in subsection (g); and |
| (2) | production of a transmission program, reproduction of copies or phonorecords of such a transmission program, and distribution of such copies or phonorecords, where such production, reproduction, or distribution is made by a nonprofit institution or organization solely for the purpose of transmissions specified in clause (1); and |
| (3) | the making of reproductions by a governmental body or a nonprofit institution of a transmission program simultaneously with its transmission as specified in clause (1), and the performance or display of the contents of such program under the conditions specified by clause (1) of section 110, but only if the reproductions are used for performances or displays for a period of no more than seven days from the date of the transmission specified in clause (1), and are destroyed before or at the end of such period. No person supplying, in accordance with clause (2), a reproduction of a transmission program to governmental bodies or nonprofit institutions under this clause shall have any liability as a result of failure of such body or institution to destroy such reproduction: Provided, That it shall have notified such body or institution of the requirement for such destruction pursuant to this clause: And provided further, That if such body or institution itself fails to destroy such reproduction it shall be deemed to have infringed. |
| (e) | Except as expressly provided in this subsection, this section shall have no applicability to works other than those specified in subsection (b). |
| (1) | Owners of copyright in nondramatic literary works and public broadcasting entities may, during the course of voluntary negotiations, agree among themselves, respectively, as to the terms and rates of royalty payments without liability under the antitrust laws. Any such terms and rates of royalty payments shall be effective upon filing in the Copyright Office, in accordance with regulations that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe. |
| (2) | On January 3, 1980, the Register of Copyrights, after consulting with authors and other owners of copyright in nondramatic literary works and their representatives, and with public broadcasting entities and their representatives, shall submit to the Congress a report setting forth the extent to which voluntary licensing arrangements have been reached with respect to the use of nondramatic literary works by such broadcast stations. The report should also describe any problems that may have arisen, and present legislative or other recommendations, if warranted. |
| (f) | Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit, beyond the limits of fair use as provided by section 107, the unauthorized dramatization of a nondramatic musical work, the production of a transmission program drawn to any substantial extent from a published compilation of pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, or the unauthorized use of any portion of an audiovisual work. |
| (g) | As used in this section, the term ‘‘public broadcasting entity’’ means a noncommercial educational broadcast station as defined in section 397 of title 47 and any nonprofit institution or organization engaged in the activities described in clause (B) of subsection (d). |
Chapter 2.—Copyright Ownership and Transfer
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Sec.
- Ownership of copyright.
- Ownership of copyright as distinct from ownership of material object.
- Termination of transfers and licenses granted by the author.
- Execution of transfers of copyright ownership.
- Recordation of transfers and other documents.
§ 201. Ownership of copyright
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| (a) | Initial Ownership.—Copyright in a work protected under this title vests initially in the author or authors of the work. The authors of a joint work are coowners of copyright in the work. |
| (b) | Works Made for Hire.—In the case of a work made for hire, the employer or other person for whom the work was prepared is considered the author for purposes of this title, and, unless the parties have expressly agreed otherwise in a written instrument signed by them, owns all of the rights comprised in the copyright. |
| (c) | Contributions to Collective Works.—Copyright in each separate contribution to a collective work is distinct from copyright in the collective work as a whole, and vests initially in the author of the contribution. In the absence of an express transfer of the copyright or of any rights under it, the owner of copyright in the collective work is presumed to have acquired only the privilege of reproducing and distributing the contribution as part of that particular collective work, any revision of that collective work, and any later collective work in the same series. |
| (d) | Transfer of Ownership.— |
| (1) | The ownership of a copyright may be transferred in whole or in part by any means of conveyance or by operation of law, and may be bequeathed by will or pass as personal property by the applicable laws of intestate succession. |
| (2) | Any of the exclusive rights comprised in a copyright, including any subdivision of any of the rights specified by section 106, may be transferred as provided by clause (1) and owned separately. The owner of any particular exclusive right is entitled, to the extent of that right, to all of the protection and remedies accorded to the copyright owner by this title. |
| (e) | Involuntary Transfer.—When an individual author's ownership of a copyright, or of any of the exclusive rights under a copyright, has not previously been transferred voluntarily by that individual author, no action by any governmental body or other official or organization purporting to seize, expropriate, transfer, or exercise rights of ownership with respect to the copyright, or any of the exclusive rights under a copyright, shall be given effect under this title. |
§ 202. Ownership of copyright as distinct from ownership of material object
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Ownership of a copyright, or of any of the exclusive rights under a copyright, is distinct from ownership of any material object in which the work is embodied. Transfer of ownership of any material object, including the copy or phonorecord in which the work is first fixed, does not, of itself convey any rights in the copyrighted work embodied in the object; nor, in the absence of an agreement, does transfer of ownership of a copyright or of any exclusive rights under a copyright convey property rights in any material object.
§ 203. Termination of transfers and licenses granted by the author
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| (a) | Conditions for Termination.—In the case of any work other than a work made for hire, the exclusive or nonexclusive grant of a transfer or license of copyright or of any right under a copyright, executed by the author on or after January 1, 1978, otherwise than by will, is subject to termination under the following conditions: |
| (1) | In the case of a grant executed by one author, termination of the grant may be effected by that author or, if the author is dead, by the person or persons who, under clause (2) of this subsection, own and are entitled to exercise a total of more than one-half of that author's termination interest. In the case of a grant executed by two or more authors of a joint work, termination of the grant may be effected by a majority of the authors who executed it; if any of such authors is dead, the termination interest of any such author may be exercised as a unit by the person or persons who, under clause (2) of this subsection, own and are entitled to exercise a total of more than one-half of that author's interest. |
| (2) | Where an author is dead, his or her termination interest is owned, and may be exercised, by his widow or her widower and his or her children or grandchildren as follows: |
| (A) | the widow or widower owns the author's entire termination interest unless there are any surviving children or grandchildren of the author, in which case the widow or widower owns one-half of the author's interest; |
| (B) | the author's surviving children, and the surviving children of any dead child of the author, own the author's entire termination interest unless there is a widow or widower, in which case the ownership of one-half of the author's interest is divided among them; |
| (C) | the rights of the author's children and grandchildren are in all cases divided among them and exercised on a per stirpes basis according to the number of such author's children represented; the share of the children of a dead child in a termination interest can be exercised only, by the action of a majority of them. |
| (3) | Termination of the grant may be effected at anytime during a period of five years beginning at the end of thirty-five years from the date of execution of the grant; or, if the grant covers the right of publication of the work, the period begins at the end of thirty-five years from the date of publication of the work under the grant or at the end of forty years from the date of execution of the grant, whichever term ends earlier. |
| (4) | The termination shall be effected by serving an advance notice in writing, signed by the number of proportion of owners of termination interests required under clauses (1) and (2) of this subsection, or by their duly authorized agents, upon the grantee or the grantee's successor in title. |
| (A) | The notice shall state the effective date of the termination, which shall fall within the five-year period specified by clause (3) of this subsection, and the notice shall be served not less than two or more than ten years before that date. A copy of the notice shall be recorded in the Copyright Office before the effective date of termination, as a condition to its taking effect. |
| (B) | The notice shall comply, in form, content, and manner of service, with requirements that the Register of Copyright shall prescribe by regulation. |
| (5) | Termination of the grant may be effected notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary, including an agreement to make a will or to make any future grant. |
| (b) | Effect of Termination.—Upon the effective date of termination, all rights under this title that were covered by the terminated grant revert to the author, authors, and other persons owning termination interests under clauses (1) and (2) of subsection (a), including those owners who did not join in signing the notice of termination under clause (4) of subsection (a), but with the following limitations: |
| (1) | A derivative work prepared under authority of the grant before its termination may continue to be utilized under the terms of the grant after its termination, but this privilege does not extend to the preparation after the termination of other derivative works based upon the copyrighted work covered by the terminated grant. |
| (2) | The future rights that will revert upon termination of the grant become vested on the date the notice of termination has been served as provided by clause (4) of subsection (a). The rights vest in the author, authors and other persons named in, and in the proportionate shares provided by, clauses (1) and (2) of subsection (a). |
| (3) | Subject to the provisions of clause (4) of this subsection, a further grant, or agreement to make a further grant, of any right covered by a terminated grant is valid only if it is signed by the same number and proportion of the owners, in whom the right has vested under clause (2) of this subsection, as are required to terminate the grant under clauses (1) and (2) of subsection (a). Such further grant or agreement is effective with respect to all of the persons in whom the right it covers has vested under clause (2) of this subsection, including those who did not join in signing it. If any person dies after rights under a terminated grant have vested in him or her, that person's legal representatives, legatees, or heirs at law represent him or her for purposes of this clause. |
| (4) | A further grant, or agreement to make a further grant, of any right covered by a terminated grant is valid only if it is made after the effective date of the termination. As an exception, however, an agreement for such a further grant may be made between the persons provided by clause (3) of this subsection and the original grantee or such grantee's successor in title, after the notice of termination has been served as provided by clause (4) of subsection (a). |
| (5) | Termination of a grant under this section affects only those rights covered by the grant that arise under this title, and in no way affects rights arising under any other Federal, State, or foreign laws. |
| (6) | Unless and until termination is effected under this section, the grant, if it does not provide otherwise, continues in effect for the term of copyright provided by this title. |
§ 204. Execution of transfers of copyright ownership
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| (a) | A transfer of copyright ownership, other than by operation of law, is not valid unless an instrument of conveyance, or a note or memorandum of the transfer, is in writing and signed by the owner of the rights conveyed or such owner's duly authorized agent. |
| (b) | A certificate of acknowledgement is not required for the validity of a transfer, but is prima facie evidence of the execution of the transfer if− |
| (1) | in the case of a transfer executed in the United States, the certificate is issued by a person authorized to administer oaths within the United States; or |
| (2) | in the case of a transfer executed in a foreign country, the certificate is issued by a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States, or by a person authorized to administer oaths whose authority is proved by a certificate of such an officer. |
§ 205. Recordation of transfers and other documents
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| (a) | Conditions for Recordation.—Any transfer of copyright ownership or other document pertaining to a copyright may be recorded in the Copyright Office if the document filed for recordation bears the actual signature of the person who executed it, or if it is accompanied by a sworn or official certification that it is a true copy of the original, signed document. |
| (b) | Certificate of Recordation.—The Register of Copyrights shall, upon receipt of a document as provided by subsection (a) and of the fee provided by section 708, record the document and return it with a certificate of recordation. |
| (c) | Recordation as Constructive Notice.—Recordation of a document in the Copyright Office gives all persons constructive notice of the facts stated in the recorded document, but only if− |
| (1) | the document, or material attached to it, specifically identifies the work to which it pertains so that, after the document is indexed by the Register of Copyrights, it would be revealed by a reasonable search under the title or registration number of the work; and |
| (2) | registration has been made for the work. |
| (d) | Recordation as Prerequisite to Infringement Suit.—No person claiming by virtue of a transfer to be the owner of copyright or of any exclusive right under a copyright is entitled to institute an infringement action under this title until the instrument of transfer under which such person claims has been recorded in the Copyright Office, but suit may be instituted after such recordation on a cause of action that arose before recordation. |
| (e) | Priority Between Conflicting Transfers.—As between two conflicting transfers, the one executed first prevails if it is recorded, in the manner required to give constructive notice under subsection (c), within one month after its execution in the United States or within two months after its execution' outside the United States, or at any time before recordation in such manner of the later transfer. Otherwise the later transfer prevails if recorded first in such manner. and if taken in good faith, for valuable consideration or on the basis of a binding promise to pay royalties, and without notice of the earlier transfer. |
| (f) | Priority Between Conflicting Transfer of Ownership and Nonexclusive License.—A nonexclusive license, whether recorded or not, prevails over a conflicting transfer of copyright ownership if the license is evidenced by a written instrument signed by the owner of the rights licensed or such owner's duly authorized agent, and if− |
| (1) | the license was taken before execution of the transfer; or |
| (2) | the license was taken in good faith before recordation of the transfer arid without notice of it. |
Chapter 3.—Duration of Copyright
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Sec.
- Preemption with respect to other laws.
- Duration of copyright: Works created on or after January 1, 1978.
- Duration of copyright: Works created but not published or copyrighted before January 1, 1978.
- Duration of copyright: Subsisting copyrights.
- Duration of copyright: Terminal date.
§ 301. Preemption with respect to other laws
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| (a) | On and after January 1, 1978, all legal or equitable rights that are equivalent to any of the exclusive rights within the general scope of copyright as specified by section 106 in works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible medium of expression and come within the subject matter of copyright as specified by sections 102 and 103, whether created before or after that date and whether published or unpublished, are governed exclusively by this title. Thereafter, no person is entitled to any such right or equivalent right in any such work under the common law or statutes of any State. |
| (b) | Nothing in this title annuls or limits any rights or remedies under the common law or statutes of any State with respect to− |
| (1) | subject matter that does not come within the subject matter of copyright as specified by sections 102 and 103, including works of authorship not fixed in any tangible medium of expression; or |
| (2) | any cause of action arising from undertakings commenced before January 1, 1978; or |
| (3) | activities violating legal or equitable rights that are not equivalent to any of the exclusive rights within the general scope of copyright as specified by section 106. |
| (c) | With respect to sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972, any rights or remedies under the common law or statutes of any State shall not be annulled or limited by this title. until February 15, 2047. The preemptive provisions of subsection (a) shall apply to any such rights and remedies pertaining to any cause of action arising from undertakings commenced on and after February 15, 2047. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 303, no sound recording fixed before February 15, 1972, shall be subject to copyright under this title before, on, or after February 15, 2047. |
| (d) | Nothing in this title annuls or limits any rights or remedies under any other Federal statute. |
§ 302. Duration of copyright: Works created on or after January 1, 1978
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| (a) | In General.—Copyright in a work created on or after January 1, 1978, subsists from its creation and, except as provided by the following subsections, endures for a term consisting of the life of the author and fifty years after the author's death. |
| (b) | Joint Works.—In the ease of a joint work prepared by two or more authors who did not work for hire, the copyright endures for a term consisting of the life of the last surviving author and fifty years after such last surviving author's death. |
| (c) | Anonymous Works Pseudonymous Works, and Works Made for Hire.—In the case of an anonymous work, a pseudonymous work, or a work made for hire, the copyright endures for a term of seventy-five years from the year of its first publication, or a term of one hundred years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first. If, before the end of such term, the identity of one or more of the authors of an anonymous or pseudonymous work is revealed in the records of a registration made for that work under subsections (a) or (d) of section 408, or in the records provided by this subsection, the copyright in the work endures for the term specified by subsection (a) or (b), based on the life of the author or authors whose identity has been revealed. Any person having an interest in the copyright in an anonymous or pseudonymous work may at any time record, in records to be maintained by the Copyright Office for that purpose, a statement identifying one or more authors of the work; the statement shall also identify the person filing it, the nature of that person's interest, the source of the information recorded, and the particular work affected, and shall comply in form and content with requirements that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation. |
| (d) | Records Relating to Death of Authors.—Any person having an interest in a copyright may at any time record in the Copyright Office a statement of the date of death of the author of the copyrighted work, or a statement that the author is still living on a particular date. The statement shall identify the person filing it, the nature of that person's interest, and the source of the information recorded, and shall comply in form and content with requirements that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation. The Register shall maintain current records of information relating to the death of authors of copyrighted works, based on such recorded statements and, to the extent the Register considers practicable, on data contained in any of the records of the Copyright Office or in other reference sources. |
| (e) | Presumption as to Author's Death.—After a period of seventy-five years from the year of first publication of a work, or a period of one hundred years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first, any person who; obtains from the Copyright Office a certified report that the records provided by subsection (d) disclose nothing to indicate that the author of the work is living, or died less than fifty years before, is entitled to the benefit of a presumption that the author has been dead for at least fifty years. Reliance in good faith upon this presumption shall be a complete defense to any action for infringement under this title. |
§ 303. Duration of copyright: Works created but not published or copyrighted before January 1, 1978
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- Copyright in a work created before January 1, 1978, but not theretofore in the public domain or copyrighted, subsists from January 1, 1978, and endures for the term provided by section 302. In no case, however, shall the term of copyright in such a work expire before December 31, 2002; and, if the work is published on or before December 31, 2002, the term of copyright shall not expire before December 31, 2027.
§ 304. Duration of copyright: Subsisting copyrights
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| (a) | Copyrights in Their First Term on January 1, 1978.—Any copyright, the first term of which is subsisting on January 1, 1978, shall endure for twenty-eight years from the date it was originally secured: Provided, That in the case of any posthumous work or of any periodical, cyclopedic, or other composite work upon which the copyright was originally secured by the proprietor thereof, or any work copyrighted by a corporate body (otherwise than an assignee or licensee of the individual author) or by an employer for whom such work is made for hire, the proprietor of such copyright shall be entitled to a renewal and extension of the copyright in such work for the further term of forty-seven years when application for such renewal and extension shall have been made to the Copyright Office and duly registered therein within one year prior to the expiration of the original term of copyright: And provided further, That in the case of any other copyrighted work, including a contribution by an individual author to a periodical or to a cyclopedic or other composite work, the author of such work, if still living, or the widow, widower, or children of the author, if the author be not living, or if such author, widow, widower, or children be not living, then the author's executors, or in the absence of a will, his or her next of kin shall be entitled to a renewal and extension of the copyright in such work for a further term of forty-seven years when application for such renewal and extension shall have been made to the Copyright Office and duly registered therein within one year prior to the expiration of the original term of copyright: And provided further, That in default of the registration of such application for renewal and extension, the copyright in any work shall terminate at the expiration of twenty-eight years from the date copyright was originally secured. |
| (b) | Copyrights in Their Renewal Term or Registered for Renewal Before January 1, 1978.—The duration of any copyright, the renewal term of which is subsisting at any time between December 31, 1976, and December 31, 1977, inclusive, or for which renewal registration is made between December 31, 1976, and December 31, 1977, inclusive, is extended to endure for a term of seventy-five years from the date copyright was originally secured. |
| (c) | Termination of Transfers and Licenses Covering Extended Renewal Term.—In the case of any copyright subsisting in either its first or renewal term on January 1, 1978, other than a copyright in a work made for hire, the exclusive or nonexclusive grant of a transfer or license of the renewal copyright or any right under it, executed before January 1, 1978, by any of the persons designated by the second proviso of subsection (a) of this section, otherwise than by will, is subject to termination under the following conditions: |
| (1) | In the case of a grant executed by a person or persons other than the author, termination of the grant may be effected by the surviving person or persons who executed it. In the case of a grant executed by one or more of the authors of the work, termination of the grant may be effected, to the extent of a particular author's share in the ownership of the renewal copyright, by the author who executed it or, if such author is dead, by the person or persons who, under clause (2) of this subsection, own and are entitled to exercise a total of more than one-half of that author's termination interest. |
| (2) | Where an author is dead, his or her termination interest is owned, and may be exercised, by his widow or her widower and his or her children or grandchildren as follows: |
| (A) | the widow or widower owns the author's entire termination interest unless there are any surviving children or grandchildren of the author, in which case the widow or widower owns one-half of the author's interest; |
| (B) | the author's surviving children, and the surviving children of any dead child of the author, own the author's entire termination interest unless there is a widow or widower, in which case the ownership of one-half of the author's interest is divided among them; |
| (C) | the rights of the author's children and grandchildren are in all cases divided among them and exercised on a per stirpes basis according to the number of such author's children represented; the share of the children of a dead child in a termination interest can be exercised only by the action of a majority of them. |
| (3) | Termination of the grant may be effected at any time during a period of five years beginning at the end of fifty-six years from the date copyright was originally secured, or beginning on January 1, 1978, whichever is later. |
| (4) | The termination shall be effected by serving an advance notice in writing upon the grantee or the grantee's successor in title. In the case of a grant executed by a person or persons other than the author, the notice shall be signed by all of those entitled to terminate the grant under clause (1) of this subsection, or by their duly authorized agents. In the case of a grant executed by one or more of the authors of the work, the notice as to any one author's share shall be signed by that author or his or her duly authorized agent or, if that author is dead, by the number and proportion of the owners of his or her termination interest required under clauses (1) and (2) of this subsection, or by their duly authorized agents. |
| (A) | The notice shall state the effective date of the termination, which shall fall within the five-year period specified by clause (3) of this subsection, and the notice shall be served not less than two or more than ten years before that date. A copy of the notice shall be recorded in the Copyright Office before the effective date of termination, as a condition to its taking effect. |
| (B) | The notice shall comply, in form, content, and manner of service, with requirements that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation. |
| (5) | Termination of the grant may be effected notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary, including an agreement to make a will or to make any future grant. |
| (6) | In the case of a grant executed by a person or persons other than the author, all rights under this title that were covered by the terminated grant revert, upon the effective date of termination, to all of those entitled to terminate the grant under clause (1) of this subsection. In the case of a grant executed by one or more of the authors of the work, all of a particular author's rights under this title that were covered by the terminated grant revert, upon the effective date of termination, to that author or, if that author is dead, to the persons owning his or her termination interest under clause (2) of this subsection, including those owners who did not join in signing the notice of termination under clause (4) of this subsection. In all cases the reversion of rights is subject to the following limitations: |
| (A) | A derivative work prepared under authority of the grant before its termination may continue to be utilized under the terms of the grant after its termination, but this privilege does not extend to the preparation after the termination of other derivative works based upon the copyrighted work covered by the terminated grant. |
| (B) | The future rights that will revert upon termination of the grant become vested on the date the notice of termination has been served as provided by clause (4) of this subsection. |
| (C) | Where the author's rights revert to two or more persons under clause (2) of this subsection, they shall vest in those persons in the proportionate shares provided by that clause. In such a case, and subject to the provisions of subclause (D) of this clause, a further grant, or agreement to make a further grant, of a particular author's share with respect to any right covered by a terminated grant is valid only if it is signed by the same number and proportion of the owners, in whom the right has vested under this clause, as are required to terminate the grant under clause (2) of this subsection. Such further grant or agreement is effective with respect to all of the persons in whom the right it covers has vested under this subclause, including those who did not join in signing it. If any person dies after rights under a terminated grant have vested in him or her, that person's legal representatives, legatees, or heirs at law represent him or her for purposes of this subclause. |
| (D) | A further grant, or agreement to make a further grant, of any right covered by a terminated grant if valid only if it is made after the effective date of the termination. As an exception, however, an agreement for such a further grant may be made between the author or any of the persons provided by the first sentence of clause (6) of this subsection, or between the persons provided by subclause (C) of this clause, and the original grantee or such grantee's successor in title, after the notice of termination has been served as provided by clause (4) of this subsection. |
| (E) | Termination of a grant under this subsection affects only those rights covered by the grant that arise under this title, and in no way affects rights arising under any other Federal, State, or foreign laws. |
| (F) | Unless and until termination is effected under this subsection, the grant, if it does not provide otherwise, continues in effect for the remainder of the extended renewal term. |
§ 305. Duration of copyright: Terminal date
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- All terms of copyright provided by sections 302 through 304 run to the end of the calendar year in which they would otherwise expire.
Chapter 4.—Copyright Notice, Deposit, and Registration
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Sec.
- Notice of copyright: Visually perceptible copies.
- Notice of copyright: Phonorecords of sound recordings.
- Notice of copyright: Publications incorporating United States Government works.
- Notice of copyright: Contributions to collective works.
- Notice of copyright: Omission of notice.
- Notice of copyright: Error in name or date.
- Deposit of copies or phonorecords for Library of Congress.
- Copyright registration in general.
- Application for registration.
- Registration of claim and issuance of certificate.
- Registration as prerequisite to infringement suit.
- Registration as prerequisite to certain remedies for infringement.
§ 401. Notice of copyright: Visually perceptible copies
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| (a) | General Requirement.—Whenever a work protected under this title is published in the United States or elsewhere by authority of the copyright owner, a notice of copyright as provided by this section shall be placed on all publicly distributed copies from which the work can be visually perceived, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. |
| (b) | Form of Notice.—The notice appearing on the copies shall consist of the following three elements: |
| (1) | the symbol © (the letter C in a circle), or the word ‘‘Copyright’’, or the abbreviation ‘‘Copr.’’; and |
| (2) | the year of first publication of the work; in the case of compilations or derivative works incorporating previously published material, the year date of first publication of the compilation or derivative work is sufficient. The year date may be omitted where a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work, with accompanying text matter, if any, is reproduced in or on greeting cards, postcards, stationery, jewelry, dolls, toys, or any useful articles; and |
| (3) | the name of the owner of copyright in the work, or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner. |
| (c) | Position of Notice.—The notice shall be affixed to the copies in such manner and location as to give reasonable notice of the claim of copyright. The Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation, as examples, specific methods of affixation and positions of the notice on various types of works that will satisfy this requirement, but these specifications shall not be considered exhaustive. |
§ 402. Notice of copyright: Phonorecords of sound recordings
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| (a) | General Requirement.—Whenever a sound recording protected under this title is published in the United States or elsewhere by authority of the copyright owner, a notice of copyright as provided by this section shall be placed on all publicly distributed phonorecords of the sound recording. |
| (b) | Form of Notice.-The notice appearing on the phonorecords shall consist of the following three elements: |
| (1) | the symbol ® (the letter P in circle); and |
| (2) | the year of first publication of the sound recording; and |
| (3) | the name of the owner of copyright in the sound recording, or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner; if the producer of the sound recording is named on the phonorecord labels or containers, and if no other name appears in conjunction with the notice, the producer's name shall be considered a part of the notice. |
| (c) | Position of Notice.—The notice shall be placed on the surface of the phonorecord, or on the phonorecord label or container, in such manner and location as to give reasonable notice of the claim of copyright. |
§ 403. Notice of copyright: Publications incorporating United States Government works
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| Whenever a work is published in copies or phonorecords consisting preponderantly of one or more works of the United States Government, the notice of copyright provided by sections 401 or 402 shall also include a statement identifying, either affirmatively or negatively those portions of the copies or phonorecords embodying any work or works protected under this title. |
§ 404. Notice of copyright: Contributions to collective works
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| (a) | A separate contribution to a collective work may bear its own notice of copyright, as provided by sections 401 through 403. However, a single notice applicable to the collective work as a whole is sufficient to satisfy the requirements of sections 401 through 403 with respect to the separate contributions it contains (not including advertisements inserted on behalf of persons other than the owner of copyright in the collective work), regardless of the ownership of copyright in the contributions and whether or not they have been previously published. |
| (b) | Where the person named in a single notice applicable to a collective work as a whole is not the owner of copyright in a separate contribution that does not bear its own notice, the case is governed by the provisions of section 406(a). |
§ 405. Notice of copyright: Omission of notice
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| (a) | Effect of Omission on Copyright.—The omission of the copyright notice prescribed by sections 401 through 403 from copies or phonorecords publicly distributed by authority of the copyright owner does not invalidate the copyright in a work if− |
| (1) | the notice has been omitted from no more than a relatively small number of copies or phonorecords distributed to the public; or |
| (2) | registration for the work has been made before or is made within five years after the publication without notice, and a reasonable effort is made to add notice to all copies or phonorecords that are distributed to the public in the United States after the omission has been discovered; or |
| (3) | the notice has been omitted in violation of an express requirement in writing that, as a condition of the copyright owner's authorization of the public distribution of copies or phonorecords, they bear the prescribed notice. |
| (b) | Effect of Omission on Innocent Infringers.—Any person who innocently infringes a copyright, in reliance upon an authorized copy or phonorecord from which the copyright notice has been omitted, incurs no liability for actual or statutory damages under section 504 for any infringing acts committed before receiving actual notice that registration for the work has been made under section 408, if such person proves that he or she was misled by the omission of notice. In a suit for infringement in such a case the court may allow or disallow recovery of any of the infringer's profits attributable to the infringement, and may enjoin the continuation of the infringing undertaking or may require, as a condition for permitting the continuation of the infringing undertaking, that the infringer pay the copyright owner a reasonable license fee in an amount and on terms ficed by the court. |
| (c) | Removal of Notice.—Protection under this title is not affected by the removal, destruction, or obliteration of the notice, without the authorization of the copyright owner, from any publicly distributed copies or phonorecords. |
§ 406. Notice of copyright: Error in name or date
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| (a) | Error in Name.—Where the person named in the copyright notice on copies or phonorecords publicly distributed by authority of the copyright owner is not the owner of copyright, the validity and ownership of the copyright are not affected. In such a case, however, any person who innocently begins an undertaking that infringes the copyright has a complete defense to any action for such infringement if such person proves that he or she was misled by the notice and began the undertaking in good faith under a purported transfer or license from the person named therein, unless before the undertaking was begun− |
| (1) | registration for the work had been made in the name of the owner of copyright; or |
| (2) | a document executed by the person named in the notice and showing the ownership of the copyright had been recorded. |
| The person named in the notice is liable to account to the copyright owner for all receipts from transfers or licenses purportedly made under the copyright by the person named in the notice. |
| (b) | Error in Date.—When the year date in the notice on copies or phonorecords distributed by authority of the copyright owner is earlier than the year in which publication first occurred, any period computed from the year of first publication under section 302 is to be computed from the year in the notice. Where the year date is more than one year later than the year in which publication first occurred, the work is considered to have been published without any notice and is governed by the provisions of section 405. |
| (c) | Omission of Name or Date.—Where copies or phonorecords publicly distributed by authority of the copyright owner contain no name or no date that could reasonably be considered a part of the notice, the work is considered to have been published without any notice and is governed by the provisions of section 405. |
§ 407. Deposit of copies or phonorecords for Library of Congress
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| (a) | Except as provided by subsection (c), and subject to the provisions of subsection (e), the owner of copyright or of the exclusive right of publication in a work published with notice of copyright in the United States shall deposit, within three months after the date of such publication− |
| (1) | two complete copies of the best edition; or |
| (2) | if the work is a sound recording, two complete phonorecords of the best edition, together with any printed or other visually perceptible material published with such phonorecords. |
| Neither the deposit requirements of this subsection nor the acquisition provisions of subsection (e) are conditions of copyright protection. |
| (b) | The required copies or phonorecords shall be deposited in the Copyright Office for the use or disposition of the Library of Congress. The Register of Copyrights shall, when requested by the depositor and upon payment of the fee prescribed by section 708, issue a receipt for the deposit. |
| (c) | The Register of Copyrights may by regulation exempt any categories of material from the deposit requirements of this section, or require deposit of only one copy or phonorecord with respect to any categories. Such regulations shall provide either for complete exemption from the deposit requirements of this section, or for alternative forms of deposit aimed at providing a satisfactory archival record of a work without imposing practical or financial hardships on the depositor, where the individual author is the owner of copyright in a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work and (i) less than five copies of the work have been published, or (ii) the work has been published in a limited edition consisting of numbered copies, the monetary value of which would make the mandatory deposit of two copies of the best edition of the work burdensome, unfair, or unreasonable. |
| (d) | At any time after publication of a work as provided by subsection (a), the Register of Copyrights may make written demand for the required deposit on any of the persons obligated to make the deposit under subsection (a). Unless deposit is made within three months after the demand is received, the person or persons on whom the demand was made are liable− |
| (1) | to a fine of not more than $250 for each work; and |
| (2) | to pay into a specially designated fund in the Library of Congress the total retail price of the copies or phonorecords demanded, or, if no retail price has been fixed, the reasonable cost to the Library of Congress of acquiring them; and |
| (3) | to pay a fine of $2,500, in addition to any fine or liability imposed under clauses (1) and (2), if such person willfully or repeatedly fails or refuses to comply with such a demand. |
| (e) | With respect to transmission programs that have been fixed and transmitted to the public in the United States but have not been published, the Register of Copyrights shall, after consulting with the Librarian of Congress and other interested organizations and officials, establish regulations governing the acquisition, through deposit or otherwise, of copies or phonorecords of such programs for the collections of the Library of Congress: |
| (1) | The Librarian of Congress shall be permitted, under the standards and conditions set forth in such regulations, to make a fixation of a transmission program directly from a transmission to the public, and to reproduce one copy or phonorecord from such fixation for archival purposes. |
| (2) | Such regulations shall also provide standards and procedures by which the Register of Copyrights may make written demand, upon the owner of the right of transmission in the United States, for the deposit of a copy or phonorecord of a specific transmission program. Such deposit may, at the option of the owner of the right of transmission in the United States, be accomplished by gift, by loan for purposes of reproduction, or by sale at a price not to exceed the cost of reproducing and supplying the copy or phonorecord. The regulations established under this clause shall provide reasonable periods of not less than three months for compliance with a demand, and shall allow for extensions of such periods and adjustments in the scope of the demand or the methods for fulfilling it, as reasonably warranted by the circumstances. Willful failure or refusal to comply with the conditions prescribed by such regulations shall subject the owner of the right of transmission in the United States to liability for an amount, not to exceed the cost of reproducing and supplying the copy or phonorecord in question, to be paid into a specially designated fund in the Library of Congress. |
| (3) | Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require the making or retention, for purposes of deposit, of any copy or phonorecord of an unpublished transmission program, the transmission of which occurs before the receipt of a specific written demand as provided by clause (2). |
| (4) | No activity undertaken in compliance with regulations prescribed under clauses (1) or (2) of this subsection shall result in liability if intended solely to assist in the acquisition of copies or phonorecords under this subsection. |
§ 408. Copyright registration in general
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| (a) | Registration Permissive.—At any time during the subsistence of copyright in any published or unpublished work, the owner of copyright or of any exclusive right in the work may obtain registration of the copyright claim by delivering to the Copyright Office the deposit specified by this section, together with the application and fee specified by sections 409 and 708. Subject to the provisions of section 405(a), such registration is not a condition of copyright protection. |
| (b) | Deposit for Copyright Registration.—Except as provided by subsection (c), the material deposited for registration shall include− |
| (1) | in the case of an unpublished work, one complete copy or phonorecord; |
| (2) | in the case of a published work, two complete copies or phonorecords of the best edition; |
| (3) | in the case of a work first published outside the United States, one complete copy or phonorecord as so published; |
| (4) | in the case of a contribution to a collective work, one complete copy or phonorecord of the best edition of the collective work. |
| Copies or phonorecords deposited for the Library of Congress under section 407 may be used to satisfy the deposit provisions of this section, if they are accompanied by the prescribed application and fee, and by any additional identifying material that the Register may, by regulation, require. The Register shall also prescribe regulations establishing requirements under which copies or phonorecords acquired for the Library of Congress under subsection (e) of section 407, otherwise than by deposit, may be used to satisfy the deposit provisions of this section. |
| (c) | Administrative Classification and Optional Deposit.— |
| (1) | The Register of Copyrights is authorized to specify by regulation the administrative classes into which works are to be placed for purposes of deposit and registration, and the nature of the copies or phonorecords to be deposited in the various classes specified. The regulations may require or permit, for particular classes, the deposit of identifying material instead of copies or phonorecords. the deposit of only one copy or phonorecord where two would normally be required, or a single registration for a group of related works. This administrative classification of works has no significance with respect to the subject matter of copyright or the exclusive rights provided by this title. |
| (2) | Without prejudice to the general authority provided under clause (1), the Register of Copyrights shall establish regulations specifically permitting a single registration for a group of works by the same individual author, all first published as contributions to periodicals, including newspapers, within a twelve-month period, on the basis of a single deposit, application, and registration fee, under all of the following conditions− |
| (A) | if each of the works as first published bore a separate copyright notice, and the name of the owner of copyright in the work, or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner was the same in each notice; and |
| (B) | if the deposit consists of one copy of the entire issue of the periodical, or of the entire section in the case of a newspaper, in which each contribution was first published; and |
| (C) | if the application identifies each work separately, including the periodical containing it and its date of first publication. |
| (3) | As an alternative to separate renewal registrations under subsection (a) of section 304, a single renewal registration may be made for a group of works by the same individual author, all first published as contributions to periodicals, including newspapers, upon the filing of a single application and fee, under all of the following conditions: |
| (A) | the renewal claimant or claimants, and the basis of claim or claims under section 304(a), is the same for each of the works; and |
| (B) | the works were all copyrighted upon their first publication, either through separate copyright notice and registration or by virtue of a general copyright notice in the periodical issue as a whole; and |
| (C) | the renewal application and fee are received not more than twenty-eight or less than twenty-seven years after the thirty-first day of December of the calendar year in which all of the works were first published; and |
| (D) | the renewal application identifies each work separately, including the periodical containing it and its date of first publication. |
| (d) | Corrections and Amplifications.—The Register may also establish, by regulation, formal procedures for the filing of an application for supplementary registration, to correct an error in a copyright registration or to amplify the information given in a registration. Such application shall be accompanied by the fee provided by section 708, and shall clearly identify the registration to be corrected or amplified. The information contained in a supplementary registration augments but does not supersede that contained in the earlier registration. |
| (e) | Published Edition of Previously Registered Work.—Registration for the first published edition of a work previously registered in unpublished form may be made even though the work as published is substantially the same as the unpublished version. |
§ 409. Application for copyright registration
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- The application for copyright registration shall be made on a form prescribed by the Register of Copyrights and shall include−
| (1) | the name and address of the copyright claimant; |
| (2) | in the case of a work other than an anonymous or pseudonymous work, the name and nationality or domicile of the author or authors, and, if one or more of the authors is dead, the dates of their deaths; |
| (3) | if the work is anonymous or pseudonymous, the nationality or domicile of the author or authors; |
| (4) | in the ease of a work made for hire, a statement to this effect; |
| (5) | if the copyright claimant is not the author, a brief statement of how the claimant obtained ownership of the copyright; |
| (6) | the title of the work, together with any previous or alternative titles under which the work can be identified; |
| (7) | the year in which creation of the work was completed; |
| (8) | if the work has been published, the date and nation of its first publication; |
| (9) | in the case of a compilation or derivative work, an identification of any preexisting work or works that it is based on or incorporates, and a brief, general statement of the additional material covered by the copyright claim being registered; |
| (10) | in the case of a published work containing material of which copies are required by section 601 to be manufactured in the United States, the names of the persons or organizations who performed the processes specified by subsection (c) of section 601 with respect to that material, and the places where those processes were performed; and |
| (11) | any other information regarded by the Register of Copyrights as bearing upon the preparation or identification of the work or the existence, ownership, or duration of the copyright. |
§ 410. Registration of claim and issuance of certificate
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| (a) | When, after examination, the Register of Copyrights determines that, in accordance with the provisions of this title, the material deposited constitutes copyrightable subject matter and that the other legal and formal requirements of this title have been met, the Register shall register the claim and issue to the applicant a certificate of registration under the seal of the Copyright Office. The certificate shall contain the information given in the application, together with the number and effective date of the registration. |
| (b) | In any case in which the Register of Copyrights determines that, in accordance with the provisions of this title, the material deposited does not constitute copyrightable subject matter or that the claim is invalid for any other reason, the Register shall refuse registration and shall notify the applicant in writing of the reasons for such refusal. |
| (c) | In any judicial proceedings the certificate of a registration made before or within five years after first publication of the work shall constitute prima facie evidence of the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate. The evidentiary weight to be accorded the certificate of a registration made thereafter shall be within the discretion of the court. |
| (d) | The effective date of a copyright registration is the day on which an application, deposit, and fee, which are later determined by the Register of Copyrights or by a court of competent jurisdiction to be acceptable for registration, have all been received in the Copyright Office. |
§ 411. Registration as prerequisite to infringement suit
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| (a) | Subject to the provisions of subsection (b), no action for infringement of the copyright in any work shall be instituted until registration of the copyright claim has been made in accordance with this title. In any case, however, where the deposit, application, and fee required for registration have been delivered to the Copyright Office in proper form and registration has been refused, the applicant is entitled to institute an action for infringement if notice thereof, with a copy of the complaint, is served on the Register of Copyrights. The Register may, at his or her option, become a party to the action with respect to the issue of registrability of the copyright claim by entering an appearance within sixty days after such service, but the Register's failure to become a party shall not deprive the court of jurisdiction to determine that issue. |
| (b) | In the case of a work consisting of sounds, images, or both, the first fixation of which is made simultaneously with its transmission, the copyright owner may, either before or after such fixation takes place, institute an action for infringement under section 501, fully subject to the remedies provided by sections 502 through 506 and sections 509 and 510, if, in accordance with requirements that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation, the copyright owner− |
| (1) | serves notice upon the infringer, not less than ten or more than thirty days before such fixation, identifying the work and the specific time and source of its first transmission, and declaring an intention to secure copyright in the work; and |
| (2) | makes registration for the work within three months after its first transmission. |
§ 412. Registration as prerequisite to certain remedies for infringement
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| In any action under this title, other than an action instituted under section 411 (b), no award of statutory damages or of attorney's fees, as provided by sections 504 and 505, shall be made for− |
| (1) | any infringement of copyright in an unpublished work commenced before the effective date of its registration; or |
| (2) | any infringement of copyright commenced after first publication of the work and before the effective date of its registration, unless such registration is made within three months after the first publication of the work. |
Chapter 5.—Copyright Infringement and Remedies
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Sec.
- Infringement of copyright.
- Remedies for infringement: Injunctions.
- Remedies for infringement: Impounding and disposition of infringing articles.
- Remedies for infringement: Damages and profits.
- Remedies for infringement: Costs and attorney's fees.
- Criminal offenses.
- Limitations on actions.
- Notification of filing and determination of actions.
- Seizure and forfeiture.
- Remedies for alteration of programing by cable systems.
§ 501. Infringement of copyright
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| (a) | Anyone who violates any of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner as provided by sections 106 through 118, or who imports copies or phonorecords into the United States in violation of section 602, is an infringer of the copyright. |
| (b) | The legal or beneficial owner of an exclusive right under a copyright is entitled, subject to the requirements of sections 205 (d) and 411, to institute an action for any infringement of that particular right committed while he or she is the owner of it. The court may require such owner to serve written notice of the action with a copy of the complaint upon any person shown, by the records of the Copyright Office or otherwise, to have or claim an interest in the copyright, and shall require that such notice be served upon any person whose interest is likely to be affected by a decision in the case. The court may require the joinder, and shall permit the intervention, of any person having or claiming an interest in the copyright. |
| (c) | For any secondary transmission by a cable system that embodies a performance or a display of a work which is actionable as an act of infringement under subsection (c) of section 111, a television broadcast station holding a copyright or other license to transmit or perform the same version of that work shall, for purposes of subsection (b) of this section, be treated as a legal or beneficial owner if such secondary transmission occurs within the local service area of that television station. |
| (d) | For any secondary transmission by a cable system that is actionable as an act of infringement pursuant to section 111 (c) (3), the following shall also have standing to sue: (i) the primary transmitter whose transmission has been altered by the cable system; and (ii) any broadcast station within whose local service area the secondary transmission occurs. |
§ 502. Remedies for infringement: Injunctions
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| (a) | Any court having jurisdiction of a civil action arising under this title may, subject to the provisions of section 1498 of title 28, grant temporary and final injunctions on such terms as it may deem reasonable to prevent or restrain infringement of a copyright. |
| (b) | Any such injunction may be served anywhere in the United States on the person enjoined; it shall be operative throughout the United States and shall be enforceable, by proceedings in contempt or otherwise, by any United States court having jurisdiction of that person. The clerk of the court granting the injunction shall, when requested by any other court in which enforcement of the injunction is sought, transmit promptly to the other court a certified copy of all the papers in the case on file in such clerk's office. |
§ 503. Remedies for infringement: Impounding and disposition of infringing articles
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| (a) | At any time while an action under this title is pending, the court may order the impounding, on such terms as it may deem reasonable, of all copies or phonorecords claimed to have been made or used in violation of the copyright owner's exclusive rights, and of all plates, molds, matrices, masters, tapes, film negatives, or other articles by means of which such copies or phonorecords may be reproduced. |
| (b) | As part of a final judgment or decree, the court may order the destruction or other reasonable disposition of all copies or phonorecords found to have been made or used in violation of the copyright owner's exclusive rights, and of all plates, molds, matrices, masters, tapes, film negatives, or other articles by means of which such copies or phonorecords may be reproduced. |
§ 504. Remedies for infringement: Damages and profits
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| (a) | In General.—Except as otherwise provided by this title, an infringer of copyright is liable for either− |
| (1) | the copyright owner's actual damages and any additional profits of the infringer, as provided by subsection (b); or |
| (2) | statutory damages, as provided by subsection (c). |
| (b) | Actual Damages and Profits.—The copyright owner is entitled to recover the actual damages suffered by him or her as a result of the infringement, and any profit of the infringer that are attributable to the infringement and are not taken into account in computing the actual damages. In establishing the infringer's profits, the copyright owner is required to present proof only of the infringer's gross revenue, and the infringer is required to prove his or her deductible expenses and the elements of profit attributable to factors other than the copyrighted work. |
| (c) | Statutory Damages.— |
| (1) | Except as provided by clause (2) of this subsection, the copyright owner may elect, at any time before final judgment is rendered, to recover, instead of actual damages and profits, an award of statutory damages for all infringements involved in the action, with respect to any one work, for which any one infringer is liable individually, or for which any two or more infringers are liable jointly and severally, in a sum of not less than $250 or more than $10,000 as the court considers just. For the purposes of this subsection, all the parts of a compilation or derivative work constitute one work. |
| (2) | In a case where the copyright owner sustains the burden of proving, and the court finds, that infringement was committed willfully, the court in its discretion may increase the award of statutory damages to a sum of not more than $50,000. In a case where the infringer sustains the burden of proving, and the court finds, that such infringer was not aware and had no reason to believe that his or her acts constituted an infringement of copyright, the court in its discretion may reduce the award of statutory damages to a sum of not less than $100. The court shall remit statutory damages in any case where an infringer believed and had reasonable grounds for believing that his or her use of the copyrighted work was a fair use under section 107, if the infringer was: (i) an employee or agent of a nonprofit educational institution, library, or archives acting within the scope of his or her employment who, or such institution, library, or archives itself, which infringed by reproducing the work in copies or phonorecords; or (ii) a public broadcasting entity which or a person who, as a regular part of the nonprofit activities of a public broadcasting entity (as defined in subsection (g) of section 118) infringed by performing a published nondramatic literary work or by reproducing a transmission program embodying a performance of such a work. |
§ 505. Remedies for infringement: Costs and attorney's fees
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| In any civil action under this title, the court in its discretion may allow the recovery of full costs by or against any party other than the United States or an officer thereof. Except as otherwise provided by this title, the court may also award a reasonable attorney's fee to the prevailing party as part of the costs. |
§ 506. Criminal offenses
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| (a) | Criminal Infringement.—Any person who infringes a copyright willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both: Provided, however, That any person who infringes willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain the copyright in a sound recording afforded by subsection (1), (2), or (3) of section 106 or the copyright in a motion, picture afforded by subsections (1), (3), or (4) of section 106 shall be fined not more than $25,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both, for the first such offense and shall be fined not more than $50,000 or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both, for any subsequent offense. |
| (b) | Forfeiture and Destruction.—When any person is convicted of any violation of subsection (a), the court in its judgment of conviction shall, in addition to the penalty therein prescribed, order the forfeiture and destruction or other disposition of all infringing copies or phonorecords and all implements, devices, or equipment used in the manufacture of such infringing copies or phonorecords. |
| (c) | Fraudulent Copyright Notice.—Any person who, with fraudulent intent, places on any article a notice of copyright or words of the same purport that such person knows to be false, or who, with fraudulent intent, publicly distributes or imports for public distribution any article bearing such notice or words that such person knows to be false, shall be fined not more than $2,500. |
| (d) | Fraudulent Removal of Copyright Notice.—Any person who, with fraudulent intent, removes or alters any notice of copyright appearing on a copy of a copyrighted work shall be fined not more than $2,500. |
| (e) | False Representation.—Any person who knowingly makes a false representation of a material fact in the application for copyright registration provided for by section 409, or in any written statement filed in connection with the application, shall be fined not more than $2,500. |
§ 507. Limitations on actions
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| (a) | Criminal Proceedings.—No criminal proceeding shall be maintained under the provisions of this title unless it is commenced within three years after the cause of action arose. |
| (b) | Civil Actions.—No civil action shall be maintained under the provisions of this title unless it is commenced within three years after the claim accrued. |
§ 508. Notification of filing and determination of actions
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| (a) | Within one month after the filing of any action under this title, the clerks of the courts of the United States shall send written notification to the Register of Copyrights setting forth, as far as is shown by the papers filed in the court, the names and addresses of the parties and the title, author, and registration number of each work involved in the action. If any other copyrighted work is later included in the action by amendment, answer, or other pleading, the clerk shall also send a notification concerning it to the Register within one month after the pleading is filed. |
| (b) | Within one month after any final order or judgment is issued in the case, the clerk of the court shall notify the Register of it, sending with the notification a copy of the order or judgment together with the written opinion, if any, of the court. |
| (c) | Upon receiving the notifications specified in this section, the Register shall make them a part of the public records of the Copyright Office. |
§ 509. Seizure and forfeiture
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| (a) | All copies or phonorecords manufactured, reproduced, distributed, sold, or otherwise used, intended for use, or possessed with intent to use in violation of section 506(a), and all plates, molds, matrices, masters, tapes, film negatives, or other articles by means of which such copies or phonorecords may be reproduced, and all electronic, mechanical, or other devices for manufacturing, reproducing, or assembling such copies or phonorecords may be seized and forfeited to the United States. |
| (b) | The applicable procedures relating to (i) the seizure, summary and judicial forfeiture, and condemnation of vessels, vehicles, merchandise, and baggage for violations of the customs laws contained in title 19, (ii) the disposition of such vessels, vehicles, merchandise, and baggage or the proceeds from the sale thereof, (iii) the remission or mitigation of such forfeiture, (iv) the compromise of claims, and (v) and award of compensation to informers in respect of such forfeitures, shall apply to seizures and forfeitures incurred, or alleged to have been incurred, under the provisions of this section, insofar as applicable and not inconsistent with the provisions of this section; except that such duties as are imposed upon any officer or employee of the Treasury Department or any other person with respect to the seizure and forfeiture of vessels, vehicles, merchandise, and baggage under the provisions of the customs laws contained in title 19 shall be performed with respect to seizure and forfeiture of all articles described in subsection (a) by such officers, agents, or other persons as may be authorized or designated for that purpose by the Attorney General. |
§ 510. Remedies for alteration of programming by cable systems
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| (a) | In any action filed pursuant to section 111 (c) (3), the following remedies shall be available: |
| (1) | Where an action is brought by a party identified in subsections (b) or (c) of section 501, the remedies provided by sections 502 through 505, and the remedy provided by subsection (b) of this section; and |
| (2) | Where an action is brought by a party identified in subsection (d) of section 501, the remedies provided by sections 502 and 505, together with any actual damages suffered by such party as a result of the infringement, and the remedy provided by subsection (b) of this section. |
| (b) | In any action filed pursuant to section 111(c) (3), the court may decree that, for a period not to exceed thirty days, the cable system shall be deprived of the benefit of a compulsory license for one or more distant signals carried by such cable system. |
Chapter 6.—Manufacturing Requirement and Importation
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Sec.
- Manufacture, importation, and public distribution of certain copies.
- Infringing importation of copies or phonorecords.
- Importation prohibitions: Enforcement and disposition of excluded articles.
§ 601. Manufacture, importation, and public distribution of certain copies
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| (a) | Prior to July 1, 1982, and except as provided by subsection (b), the importation into or public distribution in the United States of copies of a work consisting preponderantly of nondramatic literary material that is in the English language and is protected under this title is prohibited unless the portions consisting of such material have been manufactured in the United States or Canada. |
| (b) | The provisions of subsection (a) do not apply− |
| (1) | where, on the date when importation is sought or public distribution in the United States is made, the author of any substantial part of such material is neither a national nor a domiciliary of the United States or, if such author is a national of the United States, he or she has been domiciled outside the United States for a continuous period of at least one year immediately preceding that date; in the case of a work made for hire, the exemption provided by this clause does not apply unless a substantial part of the work was prepared for an employer or other person who is not a national or domiciliary of the United States or a domestic corporation or enterprise; |
| (2) | where the United States Customs Service is presented with an import statement issued under the seal of the Copyright Office, in which case a total of no more than two thousand copies of any one such work shall be allowed entry; the import statement shall be issued upon request to the copyright owner or to a person designated by such owner at the time of registration for the work under section 408 or at any time thereafter; |
| (3) | where importation is sought under the authority or; for the use, other than in schools, of the Government of the United States or of any State or political subdivision of a State; |
| (4) | where importation, for use and not for sale, is sought− |
| (A) | by any person with respect to no more than one copy of any work at any one time; |
| (B) | by any person arriving from outside the United States, with respect to copies forming part of such person's personal baggage; or |
| (C) | by an organization operated for scholarly, educational, or religious purposes and not for private gain, with respect to copies intended to form a part of its library; |
| (5) | where the copies are reproduced in raised characters for the use of the blind; or |
| (6) | where, in addition to copies imported under clauses (3) and (4) of this subsection, no more than two thousand copies of any one such work, which have not been manufactured in the United States or Canada, are publicly distributed in the United States; or |
| (7) | where, on the date when importation is sought or public distribution in the United States is made− |
| (A) | the author of any substantial part of such material is an individual and receives compensation for the transfer or license of the right to distribute the work in the United States; and |
| (B) | the first publication of the work has previously taken place outside the United States under a transfer or license granted by such author to a transferee or licensee who was not a national or domiciliary of the United States or a domestic corporation or enterprise; and |
| (C) | there has been no publication of an authorized edition of the work of which the copies were manufactured in the United States; and |
| (D) | the copies were reproduced under a transfer or license granted by such author or by the transferee or licensee of the right of first publication as mentioned in subclause (B), and the transferee or the licensee of the right of reproduction was not a national or domiciliary of the United States or a domestic corporation or enterprise. |
| (c) | The requirement of this section that copies be manufactured in the United States or Canada is satisfied if− |
| (1) | in the case where the copies are printed directly from type that has been set, or directly from plates made from such type, the setting of the type and the making of the plates have been performed in the United States or Canada; or |
| (2) | in the case where the making of plates by a lithographic or photoengraving process is a final or intermediate step preceding the printing of the copies, the making of the plates has been performed in the United States or Canada; and |
| (3) | in any case, the printing or other final process of producing multiple copies and any binding of the copies have been performed in the United States or Canada. |
| (d) | Importation or public distribution of copies in violation of this section does not invalidate protection for a work under this title. However, in any civil action or criminal proceeding for infringement of the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute copies of the work, the infringer has a complete defense with respect to all of the nondramatic literary material comprised in the work and any other parts of the work in which the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute copies are owned by the same person who owns such exclusive rights in the nondramatic literary material, if the infringer proves− |
| (1) | that copies of the work have been imported into or publicly distributed in the United States in violation of this section by or with the authority of the owner of such exclusive rights; and |
| (2) | that the infringing copies were manufactured in the United States or Canada in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c); and |
| (3) | that the infringement was commenced before the effective date of registration for an authorized edition of the work, the copies of which have been manufactured in the United States or Canada in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c). |
| (e) | In any action for infringement of the the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute copies of a work containing material required by this section to be manufactured in the United States or Canada, the copyright owner shall set forth in the complaint the names of the persons or organizations who performed the processes specified by subsection (c) with respect to that material, and the places where those processes were performed. |
§ 602. Infringing importation of copies or phonorecords
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| (a) | Importation into the United States, without the authority of the owner of copyright under this title, of copies or phonorecords of a work that have been acquired outside the United States is an infringement of the exclusive right to distribute copies or phonorecords under section 106, actionable under section 501. This subsection does not apply to− |
| (1) | importation of copies or phonorecords under the authority or for the use of the Government of the United States or of any State or political subdivision of a State, but not including copies or phonorecords for use in schools, or copies of any audiovisual work imported for purposes other than archival use; |
| (2) | importation, for the private use of the importer and not for distribution, by any person with respect to no more than one copy or phonorecord of any one work at any one time, or by any person arriving from outside the United States with respect to copies or phonorecords forming part of such person's personal baggage; or |
| (3) | importation by or for an organization operated for scholarly, educational, or religious purposes and not for private gain, with respect to no more than one copy of an audiovisual work solely for its archival purposes, and no more than five copies or phonorecords of any other work for its library lending or archival purposes, unless the importation of such copies or phonorecords is part of an activity consisting of systematic reproduction or distribution, engaged in by such organization in violation of the provisions of section 108(g) (B). |
| (b) | In a case where the making of the copies or phonorecords would have constituted an infringement of copyright if this title had been applicable, their importation is prohibited. In a case where the copies or phonorecords were lawfully made, the United States Customs Service has no authority to prevent their importation unless the provisions of section 601 are applicable. In either case, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to prescribe, by regulation, a procedure under which any person claiming an interest in the copyright in a particular work may, upon payment of a specified fee, be entitled to notification by the Customs Service of the importation of articles that appear to be copies or phonorecords of the work. |
§ 603. Importation prohibitions: Enforcement and disposition of excluded articles
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| (a) | The Secretary of the Treasury and the United States Postal Service shall separately or jointly make regulations for the enforcement of the provisions of this title prohibiting importation. |
| (b) | These regulations may require, as a condition for the exclusion of articles under section 602− |
| (1) | that the person seeking exclusion obtain a court order enjoining importation of the articles; or |
| (2) | that the person seeking exclusion furnish proof, of a specified nature and in accordance with prescribed procedures, that the copyright in which such person claims an interest is valid and that the importation would violate the prohibition in section 602; the person seeking exclusion may also be required to post a surety bond for any injury that may result if the detention or exclusion of the articles proves to be unjustified. |
| (c) | Articles imported in violation of the importation prohibitions of this title are subject to seizure and forfeiture in the same manner as property imported in violation of the customs revenue laws. Forfeited articles shall be destroyed as directed by the Secretary of the Treasury or the court, as the case may be; however, the articles may be returned to the country of export whenever it is shown to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury that the importer had no reasonable grounds for believing that his or her acts constituted a violation of law. |
Chapter 7.—Copyright Office
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Sec.
- The Copyright Office: General responsibilities and organization.
- Copyright Office regulations.
- Effective date of actions in Copyright Office.
- Retention and disposition of articles deposited in Copyright Office.
- Copyright Office records: Preparation, maintenance, public inspection, and searching.
- Copies of Copyright Office records.
- Copyright Office forms and publications.
- Copyright Office fees.
- Delay in delivery caused by disruption of postal or other services.
- Reproductions for use of the blind and physically handicapped: Voluntary licensing forms and procedures.
§ 701. The Copyright Office: General responsibilities and organization
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| (a) | All administrative functions and duties under this title, except as otherwise specified, are the responsibility of the Register of Copyrights as director of the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress. The Register of Copyrights, together with the subordinate officers and employees of the Copyright Office, shall be appointed by the Librarian of Congress, and shall act under the Librarian's general direction and supervision. |
| (b) | The Register of Copyrights shall adopt a seal to be used on and after January 1, 1978, to authenticate all certified documents issued by the Copyright Office. |
| (c) | The Register of Copyrights shall make an annual report to the Librarian of Congress of the work and accomplishments of the Copyright Office during the previous fiscal year. The annual report of the Register of Copyrights shall be published separately and as a part of the annual report of the Librarian of Congress. |
| (d) | Except as provided by section 706(b) and the regulations issued thereunder, all actions taken by the Register of Copyrights under this title are subject to the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act of June 11, 1946, as amended (c.324, 60 Stat. 237, title 5, United States Code, Chapter 5, Subchapter II and Chapter 7). |
§ 702. Copyright Office regulations
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| The Register of Copyrights is authorized to establish regulations not inconsistent with law for the administration of the functions and duties made the responsibility of the Register under this title. All regulations established by the Register under this title are subject to the approval of the Librarian of Congress. |
§ 703. Effective date of actions in Copyright Office
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| In any case in which time limits are prescribed under this title for the performance of an action in the Copyright Office, and in which the last day of the prescribed period falls on a Saturday, Sunday, holiday, or other nonbusiness day within the District of Columbia or the Federal Government, the action may be taken on the next succeeding business day, and is effective as of the date when the period expired. |
§ 704. Retention and disposition of articles deposited in Copyright Office
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| (a) | Upon their deposit in the Copyright Office under sections 407 and 408, all copies, phonorecords, and identifying material, including those deposited in connection with claims that have been refused registration, are the property of the United States Government. |
| (b) | In the case of published works, all copies, phonorecords, and identifying material deposited are available to the Library of Congress for its collections, or for exchange or transfer to any other library. In the case of unpublished works, the Library is entitled, under regulations that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe, to select any deposits for its collections or for transfer to the National Archives of the United States or to a Federal records center, as defined in section 2901 of title 44. |
| (c) | The Register of Copyrights is authorized, for specific or general categories of works, to make a facsimile reproduction of all or any part of the material deposited under section 408, and to make such reproduction a part of the Copyright Office records of the registration, before transferring such material to the Library of Congress as provided by subsection (b), or before destroying or otherwise disposing of such material as provided by subsection (d). |
| (d) | Deposits not selected by the Library under subsection (b), or identifying portions or reproductions of them, shall be retained under the control of the Copyright Office, including retention in Government storage facilities, for the longest period considered practicable and desirable by the Register of Copyrights and the Librarian of Congress. After that period it is within the joint discretion of the Register and the Librarian to order their destruction or other disposition; but, in the case of unpublished works, no deposit shall be knowingly and intentionally destroyed or otherwise disposed of during its term of copyright unless a facsimile reproduction of the entire deposit has been made a part of the Copyright Office records as provided by subsection (c). |
| (e) | The depositor of copies, phonorecords, or identifying material under section 408, or the copyright owner of record, may request retention, under the control of the Copyright Office, of one or more of such articles for the full term of copyright in the work. The Register of Copyrights shall prescribe, by regulation, the conditions under which such requests are to be made and granted, and shall fix the fee to be charged under section 708(a) (11) if the request is granted. |
§ 705. Copyright Office records: Preparation, maintenance, public inspection, and searching
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| (a) | The Register of Copyrights shall provide and keep in the Copyright Office records of all deposits, registrations, recordations, and other actions taken under this title, and shall prepare indexes of all such records. |
| (b) | Such records and indexes, as well as the articles deposited in connection with completed copyright registrations and retained under the control of the Copyright Office, shall be open to public inspection. |
| (c) | Upon request and payment of the fee specified by section 708, the Copyright Office shall make a search of its public records, indexes and deposits, and shall furnish a report of the information they disclose with respect to any particular deposits, registrations, or recorded documents. |
§ 706. Copies of Copyright Office records
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| (a) | Copies may be made of any public records or indexes of the Copyright Office; additional certificates of copyright registration and copies of any public records or indexes may be furnished upon request and payment of the fees specified by section 708. |
| (b) | Copies or reproductions of deposited articles retained under the control of the Copyright Office shall be authorized or furnished only under the conditions specified by the Copyright Office regulations. |
§ 707. Copyright Office forms and publications
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| (a) | Catalog of Copyright Entries.—The Register of Copyrights shall compile and publish at periodic intervals catalogs of all copyright registrations. These catalogs shall be divided into parts in accordance with the various classes of works, and the Register has discretion to determine, on the basis of practicability and usefulness, the form and frequency of publication of each particular part. |
| (b) | Other Publications.—The Register shall furnish, free of charge upon request, application forms for copyright registration and general informational material in connection with the functions of the Copyright Office. The Register also has the authority to publish compilations of information, bibliographies, and other material he or she considers to be of value to the public. |
| (c) | Distribution of Publications.—All publications of the Copyright Office shall be furnished to depository libraries as specified under section 1905 of title 44, and, aside from those furnished free of charge, shall be offered for sale to the public at prices based on the cost of reproduction and distribution. |
§ 708. Copyright Office fees
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| (a) | The following fees shall be paid to the Register of Copyrights: |
| (1) | for the registration of a copyright claim or a supplementary registration under section 408, including the issuance of a certificate of registration, $10; |
| (2) | for the registration of a claim to renewal of a subsisting copyright in its first term under section 304 (a), including the issuance of a certificate of registration, $6; |
| (3) | for the issuance of a receipt for a deposit under section 407, $2; |
| (4) | for the recordation, as provided by section 205, of a transfer of copyright ownership or other document of six pages ior less, covering no more than one title, $10; for each page over six and each title over one, 50 cents additional; |
| (5) | for the filing, under section 115(b), of a notice of intention to make phonorecords, $6; |
| (6) | for the recordation, under section 302(c), of a statement revealing the identity of an author of an anonymous or pseudonymous work, or for the recordation, under section 302(d), of a statement relating to the death of an author, $10 for a document of six pages or less, covering no more than one title; for each page over six and for each title over one, $1 additional; |
| (7) | for the issuance, under section 601, of an import statement, $3; |
| (8) | for the issuance, under section 706, of an additional certificate of registration, $4; |
| (9) | for the issuance of any other certification, $4; the Register of Copyrights has discretion, on the basis of their cost, to fix the fees for preparing copies of Copyright Office records, whether they are to be certified or not; |
| (10) | for the making and reporting of a search as provided by section 705, and for any related services, $10 for each hour or fraction of an hour consumed; |
| (11) | for any other special services requiring a substantial amount of time or expense, such fees as the Register of Copyrights may fix on the basis of the cost of providing the service. |
| (b) | The fees prescribed by or under this section are applicable to the United States Government and any of its agencies, employees, or officers, but the Register of Copyrights has discretion to waive the requirement of this subsection in occasional or isolated cases involving relatively small amounts. |
| (c) | The Register of Copyrights shall deposit all fees in the Treasury of the United States in such manner as the Secretary of the Treasury directs. The Register may, in accordance with regulations that he or she shall prescribe, refund any sum paid by mistake or in excess of the fee required by this section; however, before making a refund in any case involving a refusal to register a claim under section 410(b), the Register may deduct all or any part of the prescribed registration fee to cover the reasonable administrative costs of processing the claim. |
§ 709. Delay in delivery caused by disruption of postal or other services
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| In any case in which the Register of Copyrights determines, on the basis of such evidence as the Register may by regulation require, that a deposit, application, fee, or any other material to be delivered to the Copyright Office by a particular date, would have been received in the Copyright Office in due time except for a general disruption or suspension of postal or other transportation or communications services, the actual receipt of such material in the Copyright Office within one month after the date on which the Register determines that the disruption or suspension of such services has terminated, shall be considered timely. |
§ 710. Reproductions for use of the blind and physically handicapped: Voluntary licensing forms and procedures
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| The Register of Copyrights shall, after consultation with the Chief of the Division for the Blind and Physically Handicapped and other appropriate officials of the Library of Congress, establish by regulation standardized forms and procedures by which, at the time applications covering certain specified categories of nondramatic literary works are submitted for registration under section 408 of this title, the copyright owner may voluntarily grant to the Library of Congress a license to reproduce the copyrighted work by means of Braille or similar tactile symbols, or by fixation of a reading of the work in a phonorecord, or both, and to distribute the resulting copies or phonerecords solely for the use of the blind and physically handicapped and under limited conditions to be specified in the standardized forms. |
Chapter 8.—Copyright Royalty Tribunal
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Sec.
- Copyright Royalty Tribunal: Establishment and purpose.
- Membership of the Tribunal.
- Procedures of the Tribunal.
- Institution and conclusion of proceedings.
- Staff of the Tribunal.
- Administrative support of the Tribunal.
- Deduction of costs of proceedings.
- Reports.
- Effective date of final determinations.
- Judicial review.
§ 801. Copyright Royalty Tribunal: Establishment and purpose
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| (a) | There is hereby created an independent Copyright Royalty Tribunal in the legislative branch. |
| (b) | Subject to the provisions of this chapter, the purposes of the Tribunal shall be− |
| (1) | to make determinations concerning the adjustment of reasonable copyright royalty rates as provided in sections 115 and 116, and to make determinations as to reasonable terms and rates of royalty payments as provided in section 118. The rates applicable under sections 115 and 116 shall be calculated to achieve the following objectives: |
| (A) | To maximize the availability of creative works to the public; |
| (B) | To afford the copyright owner a fair return for his creative work and the copyright user a fair income under existing economic conditions; |
| (C) | To reflect the relative roles of the copyright owner and the copyright user in the product made available to the public with respect to relative creative contribution, technological contribution, capital investment, cost, risk, and contribution to the opening of new markets for creative expression and media for their communication; |
| (D) | To minimize any disruptive impact on the structure of the industries involved and on generally prevailing industry practices. |
| (2) | to make determinations concerning the adjustment of the copyright royalty rates in section 111 solely in accordance with the following provisions: |
| (A) | The rates established by section 111(d) (2) (B) may be adjusted to reflect (i) national monetary inflation or deflation or (ii) changes in the average rates charged cable subscribers for the basic service of providing secondary transmissions to maintain the real constant dollar level of the royalty fee per subscriber which existed as of the date of enactment of this Act: Provided, That if the average rates charged cable system subscribers for the basic service of providing secondary transmissions are changed so that the average rates exceed national monetary inflation, no change in the rates established by section 111(d) (2) (B) shall be permitted: And provided further, That no increase in the royalty fee shall be permitted based on any reduction in the average number of distant signal equivalents per subscriber. The Commission may consider all factors relating to the maintenance of such level of payments including, as an extenuating factor, whether the cable industry has been restrained by subscriber rate regulating authorities from increasing the rates for the basic service of providing secondary transmissions. |
| (B) | In the event that the rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission are amended at any time after April 15, 1976, to permit the carriage by cable systems of additional television broadcast signals beyond the local service area of the primary transmitters of such signals, the royalty rates established by section 111(d) (2) (B) may be adjusted to insure that the rates for the additional distant signal equivalents resulting from such carriage are reasonable in the light of the changes effected by the amendment to such rules and regulations. In determining the reasonableness of rates proposed following an amendment of Federal Communications Commission rules and regulations, the Copyright Royalty Tribunal shall consider, among other factors, the economic impact on copyright owners and users: Provided, That no adjustment in royalty rates shall be made under this subclause with respect to any distant signal equivalent or fraction thereof represented by (i) carriage of any signal permitted under the rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission in effect on April 15, 1976, or the carriage of a signal of the same type (that is, independent, network, or noncommercial educational) substituted for such permitted signal, or (ii) a television broadcast signal first carried after April 15, 1976, pursuant to an individual waiver of the rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission, as such rules and regulations were in effect on April 15, 1976. |
| (C) | In the event of any change in the rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission with respect to syndicated and sports program, exclusivity after April 15, 1976, the rates established by section 111(d) (2) (B) may be adjusted to assure that such rates are reasonable in light of the changes to such rules and regulations, but any such adjustment shall apply only to the affected television broadcast signals carried on those systems affected by the change. |
| (D) | The gross receipts limitations established by section 111(d) (2) (C) and (D) shall be adjusted to reflect national monetary inflation or deflation or changes in the average rates charged cable system subscribers for the basic service of providing secondary transmissions to maintain the real constant dollar value of the exemption provided by such section; and the royalty rate specified therein shall not be subject to adjustment; and |
| (3) | to distribute royalty fees deposited with the Register of Copyrights under sections 111 and 116, and to determine, in cases where controversy exists, the distribution of such fees. |
| (c) | As soon as possible after the date of enactment of this Act and no later than six months following such date, the President shall publish a notice announcing the initial appointments provided in section 802, and shall designate an order of seniority among the initially-appointed commissioners for purposes of section 802 (b). |
§ 802. Membership of the Tribunal
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| (a) | The Tribunal shall be composed of five commissioners appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate for a term of seven years each; of the first five members appointed, three shall be designated to serve for seven years from the date of the notice specified in section 801 (c), and two shall be designated to serve for five years from such date, respectively. Commissioners shall be compensated at the highest rate now or hereafter prescribed for grade 18 of the General Schedule pay rates (5 U.S.C. 5332). |
| (b) | Upon convening the commissioners shall elect a chairman from among the commissioners appointed for a full seven-year term. Such chairman shall serve for a term of one year. Thereafter, the most senior commissioner who has not previously served as chairman shall serve as chairman for a period of one year, except that, if all commissioners have served a full term as chairman, the most senior commissioner who has served the least number of terms as chairman shall be designated as chairman. |
| (c) | Any vacancy in the Tribunal shall not affect its powers and shall be filled, for the unexpired term of the appointment, in the same manner as the original appointment was made. |
§ 803. Procedures of the Tribunal
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| (a) | The Tribunal shall adopt regulations, not inconsistent with law, governing its procedure and methods of operation. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the Tribunal shall be subject to the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act of June 11,1946, as amended (c. 324, 60 Stat. 237, title 5, United States Code, chapter 5, subchapter II and chapter 7). |
| (b) | Every final determination of the Tribunal shall be published in the Federal Register. It shall state in detail the criteria that the Tribunal determined to be applicable to the particular proceeding, the various facts that it found relevant to its determination in that proceeding, and the specific reasons for its determination. |
§ 804. Institution and conclusion of proceedings
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| (a) | With respect to proceedings under section 801(b) (1) concerning the adjustment of royalty rates as provided in sections 115 and 116, and with respect. to proceedings under section 801(b) (2) (A) and (D)− |
| (1) | on January 1, 1980, the Chairman of the Tribunal shall cause to be published in the Federal Register notice of commencement of proceedings under this chapter; and |
| (2) | during the calendar years specified in the following schedule, any owner or user of a copyrighted work whose royalty rates are specified by this title, or by a rate established by the Tribunal, may file a petition with the Tribunal declaring that the petitioner requests an adjustment of the rate. The Tribunal shall make a determination as to whether the applicant has a significant interest in the royalty rate in which an adjustment is requested. If the Tribunal determines that the petitioner has a significant interest, the Chairman shall cause notice of this determination, with the reasons therefor, to be published in the Federal Register, together with notice of commencement of proceedings under this chapter. |
| (A) | In proceedings under section 801(b) (2) (A) and (D), such petition may be filed during 1985 and in each subsequent fifth calendar year. |
| (B) | In proceedings under section 801(b) (1) concerning the adjustment of royalty rates as provided in section 115, such petition may be filed in 1987 and in each subsequent tenth calendar year. |
| (C) | In proceedings under section 801(b) (1) concerning the adjustment of royalty rates under section 116, such petition may be filed in 1990 and in each subsequent tenth calendar year. |
| (b) | With respect to proceedings under subclause (B) or (C) of section 801(b) (2), following an event described in either of those subsections, any owner or user of a copyrighted work whose royalty rates are specified by section 111, or by a rate established by the Tribunal, may, within twelve months, file a petition with the Tribunal declaring that the petitioner requests an adjustment of the rate. In this event the Tribunal shall proceed as in subsection (a) (2), above. Any change in royalty rates made by the Tribunal pursuant to this subsection may be reconsidered in 1980, 1985, and each fifth calendar year thereafter, in accordance with the provisions in section 801(b) (2) (B) or (C), as the case may be. |
| (c) | With respect to proceedings under section 801(b) (1), concerning the determination of reasonable terms and rates of royalty payments as provided in section 118, the Tribunal shall proceed when and as provided by that section. |
| (d) | With respect to proceedings under section 801(b) (3), concerning the distribution of royalty fees in certain circumstances under sections 111 or 116, the Chairman of the Tribunal shall, upon determination by the Tribunal that a controversy exists concerning such distribution, cause to be published in the Federal Register notice of commencement of proceedings under this chapter. |
| (e) | All proceedings under this chapter shall be initiated without delay following publication of the notice specified in this section, and the Tribunal shall render its final decision in any such proceeding within one year from the date of such publication. |
§ 805. Staff of the Tribunal
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| (a) | The Tribunal is authorized to appoint and fix the compensation of such employees as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter, and to prescribe their functions and duties. |
| (b) | The Tribunal may procure temporary and intermittent services to the same extent as is authorized by section 3109 of title 5. |
§ 806. Administrative support of the Tribunal
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| (a) | The Library of Congress shall provide the Tribunal with necessary administrative services, including those related to budgeting accounting, financial reporting, travel, personnel, and procurement. The Tribunal shall pay the Library for such services, either in advance or by reimbursement from the funds of the Tribunal, at amounts to be agreed upon between the Librarian and the Tribunal. |
| (b) | The Library of Congress is authorized to disburse funds for the Tribunal, under regulations prescribed jointly by the Librarian of Congress and the Tribunal and approved by the Comptroller General. Such regulations shall establish requirements and procedures under which every voucher certified for payment by the Library of Congress under this chapter shall be supported with a certification by a duly authorized officer or employee of the Tribunal, and shall prescribe the responsibilities and accountability of said officers and employees of the Tribunal with respect to such certifications. |
§ 807. Deduction of costs of proceedings
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| Before any funds are distributed pursuant to a final decision in a proceeding involving distribution of royalty fees, the Tribunal shall assess the reasonable costs of such proceeding. |
§ 808. Reports
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| In addition to its publication of the reports of all final determinations as provided in section 803(b), the Tribunal shall make an annual report to the President and the Congress concerning the Tribunal's work during the preceding fiscal year, including a detailed fiscal statement of account. |
§ 809. Effective date of final determinations
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| Any final determination by the Tribunal under this chapter shall become effective thirty days following its publication in the Federal Register as provided in section 803(b), unless prior to that time an appeal has been filed pursuant to section 810, to vacate, modify, or correct such determination, and notice of such appeal has been served on all parties who appeared before the Tribunal in the proceeding in question. Where the proceeding involves the distribution of royalty fees under sections 111 or 116, the Tribunal shall, upon the expiration of such thirty-day period, distribute any royalty fees not subject to an appeal filed pursuant to section 810. |
§ 810. Judicial review
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| Any final decision of the Tribunal in a proceeding under section 801(b) may be appealed to the United States Court of Appeals, within thirty days after its publication in the Federal Register, by an aggrieved party. The judicial review of the decision shall be had, in accordance with chapter 7 of title 5, on the basis of the record before the Tribunal. No court shall have jurisdiction to review a final decision of the Tribunal except as provided in this section. |
transitional and supplementary provisions
| Sec. 102. | This Act becomes effective on January 1, 1978, except as otherwise expressly provided by this Act, including provisions of the first section of this Act. The provisions of sections 118, 304(b), and chapter 8 of title 17, as amended by the first section of this Act, take effect upon enactment of this Act. |
| Sec. 103. | This Act does not provide copyright protection for any work that goes into the public domain before January 1, 1978. The exclusive rights, as provided by section 106 of title 17 as amended by the first section of this Act, to reproduce a work in phonorecords and to distribute phonorecords of the work, do not extend to any nondramatic musical work copyrighted before July 1, 1909. |
| Sec. 104. | All proclamations issued by the President under section 1 (e) or 9 (b) of title 17 as it existed on December 31, 1977, or under previous copyright statutes of the United States, shall continue in force until terminated, suspended, or revised by the President. |
| Sec. 105. |
| (a) |
| (1) | section 505 of title 44 is amended to read as follows: |
‘‘§ 505. Sale of duplicate plates
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| (2) | The item relating to section 505 in the sectional analysis at the beginning of chapter 5 of title 44, is amended to read as follows: |
| ‘‘505. Sale of duplicate plates.’’. |
| (b) | Section 2113 of title 44 is amended to read as follows: |
‘‘§ 2113. Limitation on liability
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| (c) | In section 1498(b) of title 28, the phrase ‘‘section 101(b) of title 17’’ is amended to read ‘‘section 504(c) of title 17’’. |
| (d) | Section 543(a) (4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, is amended by striking out "(other than by reason of section 2 or 6 thereof)’’. |
| (e) | Section 3202(a) of title 39 is amended by striking out clause (5). Section 3206 of title 39 is amended by deleting the words ‘‘subsections (b) and (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)’’ in subsection (a), and deleting subsection (c). Section 3206(d) is renumbered (c). |
| (f) | Subsection (a) of section 290(e) of title 15 is amended by deleting the phrase ‘‘section 8’’ and inserting in lieu thereof the phrase ‘‘section 105’’. |
| (g) | Section 131 of title 2 is amended by deleting the phrase ‘‘deposit to secure copyright,’’ and inserting in lieu thereof the phrase ‘‘acquisition of material under the copyright law,’’. |
| Sec. 106. | In any case where, before January 1, 1978, a person has lawfully made parts of instruments serving to reproduce mechanically a copyrighted work under the compulsory license provisions of section 1 (e) of title 17 as it existed on December 31, 1977, such person may continue to make and distribute such parts embodying the same mechanical reproduction without obtaining a new compulsory license under the terms of section 115 of title 17 as amended by the first section of this Act, However, such parts made on or after January 1, 1978, constitute phonorecords and are otherwise subject to the provisions of said section 115. |
| Sec. 107. | In the case of any work in which an ad interim copyright is subsisting or is capable of being secured on December 31, 1977, under section 22 of title 17 as it existed on that date, copyright protection is hereby extended to endure for the term or terms provided by section 304 of title 17 as amended by the first section of this Act. |
| Sec. 108. | The notice provisions of sections 401 through 403 of title 17 as amended by the first section of this Act apply to all copies or phonorecords publicly distributed on or after January 1,1978. However, in the case of a work published before January 1, 1978, compliance with the notice provisions of title 17 either as it existed on December 31, 1977, or as amended by the first section of this Act, is adequate with respect to copies publicly distributed after December 31, 1977. |
| Sec. 109. | The registration of claims to copyright for which the required deposit, application, and fee were received in the Copyright Office before January 1, 1978, and the recordation of assignments of copyright or other instruments received in the Copyright Office before January 1, 1978, shall be made in accordance with title 17 as it existed on December 31, 1977. |
| Sec. 110. | The demand and penalty provisions of section 14 of title 17 as it existed on December 31, 1977, apply to any work in which copyright has been secured by publication with notice of copyright on or before that date, but any deposit and registration made after that date in response to a demand under that section shall be made in accordance with the provisions of title 17 as amended by the first section of this Act. |
| Sec. 111. | Section 2318 of title 18 of the United States Code is amended to read as follows:
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| Sec. 112. | All causes of action that arose under title 17 before January 1, 1978, shall be governed by title 17 as it existed when the cause of action arose. |
| Sec. 113. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sec. 114. | There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such funds as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. |
| Sec. 115. | If any provision of title 17, as amended by the first section of this Act, is declared unconstitutional, the validity of the remainder of this title is not affected. |
| And the House agree to the same. |
| Robert W. Kastenmeier, | |
| George E. Danielson, | |
| Robert F. Drinan, | |
| Herman Badillo, | |
| Edward W. Pattison, | |
| Tom Railsbaok, | |
| Charles E. Wiggins, | |
Managers on the Part of the House.
| |
| John L. McClellan, | |
| Philip A. Hart, | |
| Quentin N. Burdick, | |
| Hugh Scott, | |
| Hiram L. Fong, | |
Managers on the Part of the Senate.
| |
Joint Explanatory Statement of the Committee of Conference
The managers on the part of the Senate and the House at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendment of the House to the bill (S.22) for the general revision of the Copyright Law, title 17 of the United States Code, and for other purposes, submit the following joint statement to the House and Senate in explanation of the effect of the action agreed upon by the managers, and recommend in the accompanying conference report:
The House amendment struck out all of the Senate bill after the enacting clause and inserted a substitute text.
The Senate recedes from its disagreement to the amendment of the House with an amendment which is a substitute for the Senate bill and the House amendment. The differences between the Senate bill, the House amendment, and the substitute agreed to in conference are noted below, except for clerical corrections, conforming changes made necessary by agreements reached by the conferees, and minor drafting and clarifying changes.
Copyrightable Subject Matter: Publications of the U.S. Government
Senate bill
Under section 105 of the Senate bill, both published and unpublished works of the United States Government were excluded from copyright protection.
House bill
The House bill retained the general prohibition against copyright in U.S. Government works, but made one specific exception in favor of any publication of the National Technical Information Service. The Secretary of Commerce was authorized to secure copyright in such works, on behalf of the United States as author or copyright owner, for a limited term not to exceed five years.
Conference substitute
The conference substitute conforms to the Senate bill. Because of the lack of Senate hearings on the issue, the conferees recommended that the NTIS request for limited copyright in order to control foreign copying be considered at hearings early in the next session. In the interim, consideration should also bc given to compensatory appropriations to NTIS in lieu of revenues lost as a result of unauthorized foreign copying.
The Department of Commerce testified on May 8, 1975, before the House Subcommittee on Courts, Civil Liberties, and the Administration of Justice that the lack of copyright protection in publications of its National Technical Information Service (NTIS) posed special problems, since NTIS is required (15 USC 1151-7) to be selfsustaining to the fullest extent feasible. Widespread copying of NTIS publication's is especially prevalent in foreign nations. In Japan it is reported that NTIS reproductions are sold having a value of $3,000,000 annually. A United Kingdom copier sells nearly twice as many copies of NTIS publications as NTIS does directly to the U.K. The USSR buys substantial volume of NITS publications from European copiers for further copying in the USSR. The lack of copyright protection in NTIS publications also results in widespread foreign use of U.S. tax-funded research and development without any return to the U.S. U.S. organizations also sell NTIS publications to foreign buyers without recouping for the taxpayer, as represented by NTIS, monies adequately reflecting the value of the scientific, engineering, and technical information contained therein.
Fair Use
Senate bill
The Senate bill, in section 107, embodied express statutory recognition of the judicial doctrine that the fair use of a copyrighted work is not an infringement of copyright. It set forth the fair use doctrine, including four criteria for determining its applicability in particular cases, in general terms.
House bill
The House bill amended section 107 in two respects: in the general statement of the fair use doctrine it added a specific reference to multiple copies for classroom use, and it amplified the statement of the first of the criteria to be used in judging fair use (the purpose and character of the use) by referring to the commercial nature or nonprofit educational purpose of the use.
Conference substitute
The conference substitute adopts the House amendments. The conferees accept as part of their understanding of fair use the Guidelines for Classroom Copying in Not-for-Profit Educational Institutions with respect to books and periodicals appearing at pp. 68-70 of the House Report (H. Rept. No. 94-1476, as corrected at p. H 10727 of the Congressional Record for September 21, 1976), and for educational uses of music appearing at pp. 70-71 of the House report, as amended in the statement appearing at p. H 10875 of the Congressional Record of September 22, 1976. The conferees also endorse the statement concerning the meaning of the word "teacher" in the guidelines for books and periodicals, and the application of fair use in the case of use of television programs within the confines of a nonprofit educational institution for the deaf and hearing impaired, both of which appear on p. H 10875 of the Congressional Record of September 22, 1976.
Reproduction by Libraries and Archives
Senate bill
Section 108 of the Senate bill dealt with a variety of situations involving photocopying and other forms of reproduction by libraries and archives. It specified the conditions under which single copies of copyrighted material can be noncommercially reproduced and distributed, but made clear that the privileges of a library or archives under the section do not apply where the reproduction or distribution is of multiple copies or is "systematic." Under subsection (f), the section was not to be construed as limiting the reproduction and distribution, by a library or archive meeting the basic criteria of the section, of a limited number of copies and excerpts of an audiovisual news program.
House bill
The House bill amended section 108 to make clear that, in cases involving interlibrary arrangements for the exchange of photocopies, the activity would not be considered "systematic" as long as the library or archives receiving the reproductions for distribution does not do so in such aggregate quantities as to substitute for a subscription to or purchase of the work. A new subsection (i) directed the Register of Copyrights, by the end of 1982 and at five-year intervals thereafter, to report on the practical success of the section in balancing the various interests, and to make recommendations for any needed changes. With respect to audiovisual news programs, the House bill limited the scope of the distribution privilege confirmed by section 108(f) (3) to cases where the distribution takes the form of a loan.
Conference substitute
The conference substitute adopts the provisions of section 108 as amended by the House bill. In doing so, the conferees have noted two letters dated September 22, 1976, sent respectively to John L. McClellan, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights, and to Robert W. Kastenmeier, Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Civil Liberties, and the Administration of Justice. The letters, from the Chairman of the National Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works (CONTU), Stanley H. Fuld, transmitted a document consisting of "guidelines interpreting the provision in subsection 108(g) (2) of S. 22, as approved by the House Committee on the Judiciary." Chairman Fuld's letters explain that, following lengthy consultations with the parties concerned, the Commission adopted these guidelines as fair and workable and with the hope that the conferees on S. 22 may find that they merit inclusion in the conference report. The letters add that, although time did not permit securing signatures of the representatives of the principal library organizations or of the organizations representing publishers and authors on these guidelines, the Commission had received oral assurances from these representatives that the guidelines are acceptable to their organizations.
The conference committee understands that the guidelines are not intended as, and cannot be considered, explicit rules or directions governing any and all cases, now or in the future. It is recognized that their purpose is to provide guidance in the most commonly encountered interlibrary photocopying situations, that they are not intended to be limiting or determinative in themselves or with respect to other situations, and that they deal with an evolving situation that will undoubtedly require their continuous reevaluation and adjustment. With these qualifications, the conference committee agrees that the guidelines are a reasonable interpretation of the proviso of section 108(g) (2) in the most common situations to which they apply today.
The text of the guidelines follows:
Photocopying—Interlibrary Arrangements
Introduction
Subsection 108(g) (2) of the bill deals, among other things, with limits on interlibrary arrangements for photocopying. It prohibits systematic photocopying of copyrighted materials but permits interlibrary arrangements ‘‘that do not have, as their purpose or effect, that the library or archives receiving such copies or phonorecords for distribution does so in such aggregate quantities as to substitute for a subscription to or purchase of such work.’’
The National Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works offered its good offices to the House and Senate subcommittees in bringing the interested parties together to see if agreement could be reached on what a realistic definition would be of ‘‘such aggregate quantities.’’ The Commission consulted with the parties and suggested the interpretation which follows, on which there has been substantial agreement by the principal library, publisher, and author organizations. The Commission considers the guidelines which follow to be a workable and fair interpretation of the intent of the proviso portion of subsection 108 (g) (2).
These guidelines are intended to provide guidance in the application nof section 108 to the most frequently encountered interlibrary case: a library's obtaining from another library, in lieu of interlibrary loan, copies of articles from relatively recent issues of periodicals-those published within five years prior to the date of the request. The guidelines do not specify what aggregate quantity of copies of an article or articles published in a periodical, the issue date of which is more than five years prior to the date when the request for the copy thereof is made, constitutes a substitute for a subscription to such periodical. The meaning of the proviso to subsection 108(g) (2) in such case is left to future interpretation.
The point has been made that the present practice on interlibrary loans and use of photocopies in lieu of loans may be supplemented or even largely replaced by a system in which one or more agences or institutions, public or private, exist for the specific purpose of providing a central source for photocopies. Of course, these guidelines would not apply to such a situation.
Guidelines for the Proviso of Subsection 108 (g) (2)
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As used in the proviso of subsection 108(g) (2), the words ‘‘…such aggregate quantities as to substitute for a subscription to or purchase of such work’’ shall mean:
(a) with respect to any given periodical (as opposed to any given issue of a periodical), filled requests of a library or archives (a ‘‘requesting entity’’) within any calendar year for a total of six or more copies of an article or articles published in such periodical within five years prior to the date of the request. These guidelines specifically shall not apply, directly or indirectly, to any request of a requesting entity for a copy or copies of an article or articles published in any issue of a periodical, the publication date of which is more than five years prior to the date when the request is made. These guidelines do not define the meaning, with respect to such a request, of ‘‘…such aggregate quantities as to substitute for a subscription to [such periodical]’’. (b) With respect to any other material described in subsection 108 (d), (including fiction and poetry), filled requests of a requesting entity within any calendar year for a total of six or more copies or phonorecords of or from any given work (including a collective work) during the entire period when such material shall be protected by copyright. -
In the event that a requesting entity−
(a) shall have in force or shall have entered an order for a subscription to a periodical, or (b) has within its collection, or shall have entered an order for, a copy or phonorecord of any other copyrighted work, material from either category of which it desires to obtain by copy from another library or archives (the ‘‘supplying entity’’), because the material to be copied is not reasonably available for use by the requesting entity itself, then the fulfillment of such request shall be treated as though the requesting entity made such copy from its own collection. A library or archives may request a copy or phonorecord from a supplying entity only under those circumstances where the requesting entity would have been able, under the other provisions of section 108i to supply such copy from materials in its own collection. -
No request for a copy or phonorecord of any material to which these guidelines apply may be fulfilled by the supplying entity unless such request is accompanied by a representation by the requesting entity that the request was made in conformity with these guidelines.
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The requesting entity shall maintain records of all requests made by it for copies or phonorecords of any materials to which these guidelines apply and shall maintain records of the fulfillment of such requests, which records shall be retained until the end of the third complete calendar year after the end of the calendar year in which the respective request shall have been made.
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As part of the review provided for in subsection 108(i), these guidelines shall be reviewed not later than five years from the effective date of this bill.
The conference committee is aware that an issue has arisen as to the meaning of the phrase ‘‘audiovisual news program’’ in section 108 (f) (3). The conferees believe that, under the provision as adopted in the conference substitute, a library or archives qualifying under section 108(a) would be free, without regard to the archival activities of the Library of Congress or any other organization, to reproduce, on videotape or any other medium of fixation or reproduction, local, regional, or network newscasts, interviews concerning current news events, and on-the-spot coverage of news events, and to distribute a limited number of reproductions of such a program on a loan basis.
Another point of interpretation involves the meaning of ‘‘indirect commercial advantage,’’ as used in section 108(a) (1), in the case of libraries or archival collections within industrial, profit-making, or proprietary institutions. As long as the library or archives meets the criteria in section 108(a) and the other requirements of the section, including the prohibitions against multiple and systematic copying in subsection (g), the conferees consider that the isolated, spontaneous making of single photocopies by a library or archives in a for-profit organization without any commercial motivation, or participation by such a library or archives in interlibrary arrangements, would come within the scope of section 108.
limitations on rights of performance and display
Senate bill
Section 110 of the Senate bill set forth eight specific exceptions to the exclusive rights to perform and display copyrighted works. The first four exceptions were roughly the equivalent of the ‘‘for profit’’ limitations on performing rights under the present law. Section 110(5) provided an exemption for public communication of a transmission received on an ordinary receiving set unless a direct charge is made or the transmission ‘‘is further transmitted to the public.’’ Section 110(6) exempted performances of nondramatic music at nonprofit annual agricultural or horticultural fairs, and section 110(7) dealt with performances in connection with the retail sale of copies or records of musical works. Clause (8) of section 110 provided an exemption for performances of literary works ‘‘in the course of a broadcast service specifically designed for broadcast on noncommercial educational radio and television stations to a print or aural handicapped audience,’’ but did not contain, in section 112 or elsewhere, a provision allowing the making of copies or phonorecords for the purpose of such broadcasts to the blind or deaf.
House bill
The House bill amended the last four clauses of section 110. With respect to clause (5), it made the exemption inapplicable to cases where there is a further transmission ‘‘beyond the place where the receiving apparatus is located.’’ Clause (6) was amended to make the exemption applicable only to the governmental body or nonprofit organization sponsoring the fair, and the amendment of clause (7) was merely for purposes of clarification. The House bill amended clause (8) by limiting its application to nondramatic literary works, by clarifying the audiences to which the transmissions are directed, and by more narrowly defining the types of nonprofit transmissions within the exemptions. The House bill also added a new subsection (d) to section 112 to permit the making of ten recordings of performances exempted under section 110(8), their retention for an unlimited period, and their exchange with other nonprofit organizations.
Conference substitute
The conference substitute adopts the House amendments of clauses (6), (7), and (8) of section 110, and of section 112. It adds a new clause (9) to section 110 exempting nonprofit performances of dramatic works transmitted to audiences of the blind by radio subcarrier authorization, but only for a single performance of a dramatic work published at least ten years earlier.
With respect to section 110(5), the conference substitute conforms to the language in the Senate bill. It is the intent of the conferees that a small commercial establishment of the type involved in Twentieth Century Music Corp. v. Aiken, 422 U.S. 151 (1975), which merely augmented a home-type receiver and which was not of sufficient size to justify, as a practical matter, a subscription to a commercial background music service, would be exempt. However, where the public communication was by means of something other than a home-type receiving apparatus, or where the establishment actually makes a further transmission to the public, the exemption would not apply.
secondary transmissions, including cable television
Senate bill
Section 111 of the Senate bill dealt, among other secondary transmissions, with retransmissions of broadcasts by cable systems to subscribers. In general effect, it created a compulsory license for any cable retransmission authorized by the Federal Communications Commission; where the cable system repeatedly or willfully carried signals not permitted by the FCC, or where it failed to follow the compulsory licensing procedure set forth in section 111, the cable system was to be fully liable. Full liability would have been imposed on the carriage of any foreign, including Mexican or Canadian, signals. The Senate bill required cable systems to file quarterly statements of account, accompanied by payment of a royalty fee based on a sliding scale of percentages of gross receipts from subscribers (running from ½ of one percent of quarterly receipts up to $40,000 to 2½ percent of quarterly receipts up to $160,000). A special reduced fee was provided for systems with quarterly gross receipts of less than $40,000. For purposes of computing royalty fees, no distinctions were made between retransmissions of local and distant signals or between network and other signals.
Taping for nonsimultaneous transmission of broadcasts was permitted under a compulsory license for cable systems operating in certain areas outside the continental boundaries of the United States. The Senate bill contained no provisions dealing with alteration of program content or substitution of commercials by a cable operator. Section 501(c) gave a local broadcaster holding an exclusive license standing to sue for copyright infringement for cable retransmissions within its local service area. Under chapter 8 of the Senate bill, the Copyright Royalty Tribunal was mandated to review the royalty schedule, established in section 111, and its basis, in 1980 and at ten-year intervals thereafter.
House bill
In addition to certain amendments aimed at clarification and procedural simplification, the House bill retained the basic compulsory licensing scheme envisioned in section 111 but changed it in a number of important respects. The compulsory license was extended to some, but not all, cable systems carrying Mexican or Canadian signals. Payments of royalty fees, which were to be semiannual, were determined by a formula based on a computation of the number of ‘‘distant signal equivalents’’ carried by the system. No payments were to be made for local signals, and different values were assigned to signals from distant independent, network, and educational stations, with special provisions dealing with substitution or addition of signals under the mandatory and discretionary program deletion and substitution rules of the FCC. The special reduced royalty fee based on a percentage of gross receipts for systems with semiannual gross receipts of less than $80,000 was retained, but a similar reduction was added for systems with semiannual gross receipts of between $80,000 and $160,000.
Section 111(e) of the House bill established the conditions and limitations under which certain cable systems outside the continental United States can tape programs for nonsimultaneous retransmission under the compulsory license. The House bill also contained, in sections 111(c) (3), 501(d), and 509, provisions denying (with one exception) the compulsory license in any case where a cable system alters program content or commercials, extending standing to sue to additional classes of broadcasters, and providing the possibility of a special penalty in such cases. Under the substantially revised provisions of chapter 8 of the House bill, the Copyright Royalty Commission would review the rates established in the bill in 1980 and at five-year intervals thereafter; explicit limitations were placed on the factors the Commission could consider in making its periodic rate revisions, but rate adjustments could be made at any time if the FCC amends its rules and regulations governing the carriage of distant signals or its rules and regulations dealing with syndicated and sports program exclusivity.
Conference substitute
With one exception the conference substitute adopts the provisions of the House bill. Section 111(d) (3) is amended to require that the royalty fees held in a fund by the Secretary of the Treasury be invested in interest-bearing U.S. securities for later distribution with interest by the Tribunal. A corresponding amendment is made in subsection (c) (1) of section 116, the jukebox provision.
exclusive rights in sound recordings
Senate bill
The Senate bill, in section 114, limited the exclusive rights of the owner of copyright in a sound recording to those specified by clauses (1), (2), and (3) of section 106−that is, the rights to reproduce the work in phonorecords, to make derivative works, and to distribute phonorecords. It expressly denied the exclusive right of public performance under section 106(4) to sound recordings.
House bill
The House amendments to section 114 clarified the scope of the exclusive right to make derivative works in relation to sound recordings, and permitted the use of copyrighted sound recordings in the audio portions of educational radio and television programs under certain conditions. The House bill also required the Register of Copyrights to submit to Congress, on January 3, 1978, a report with recommendations as to whether copyright protection for sound recordings should be expanded to include performing rights.
Conference substitute
The conference substitute adopts the House amendments of section 114.
compulsory license for phonorecords
Senate bill
The Senate bill provided in section 115 for a compulsory licensing system governing the making and distributing of phonorecords of copyrighted musical compositions. In general, subject to certain conditions and limitations, as soon as authorized phonorecords of a work have been publicly distributed, anyone could make phonorecords and distribute them to the public by following a compulsory licensing procedure and paying to the copyright owner a specified royalty. Under the Senate bill, the royalty would be payable on each record ‘‘manufactured and distributed,’’ and would amount to two and one-half cents per composition, or one-half cent per minute of playing time, whichever is larger.
House bill
In addition to certain technical clarifications and procedural amendments, the House bill set the royalty at two and three-fourths cents per composition or six-tenths of a cent per minute; the royalty was made payable on each phonorecord ‘‘made and distributed,’’ and a phonorecord would be considered ‘‘distributed’’ if the compulsory licensee has ‘‘voluntarily and permanently parted with its possession.’’
Conference substitute
The conference substitute adopts the House amendments except for the royalty rate to be applied in cases where the playing time of a composition governs; the rate in such cases is set at one-half cent per minute, the rate in the Senate bill.
noncommercial broadcasting
Senate bill
Section 118 of the Senate bill granted to public broadcasting a compulsory license for the performance or display of nondramatic musical works, pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works, and nondramatic literary works, subject to the payment of reasonable royalty fees to be set by the Copyright Royalty Tribunal. The Senate bill required that public broadcasters, at periodic intervals, file a notice with the Copyright Office containing information required by the Register of Copyrights, and deposit a statement of account and the total royalty fees for the period covered by the statement. The Register was to receive claims to payment of royalty fees, and to distribute any amounts not in dispute; controversies were to be settled by the Tribunal, which was also charged with reviewing and, if appropriate, adjusting the royalty rates in 1980 and at ten year intervals thereafter. Sec. 113 of the Transitional and Supplementary provisions would start the machinery for establishment of the initial rates immediately upon enactment of the new law. Section 118 (f) also contained a provision permitting nonprofit educational institutions to record educational television and radio programs off the air, for limited use in instructional activities during a week following the broadcast.
House bill
The House bill substantially changed the provisions of section 118, retaining a different form of compulsory licensing for the use in public broadcasting of nondramatic musical works and for pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works, but not subjecting the exclusive rights in nondramatic literary works to compulsory licensing. Under the House bill, within thirty days after appointment of the Royalty Commission, the chairman was to initiate proceedings to determine ‘‘reasonable terms and rates’’ under the section for a period running through 1982. Copyright owners and public broadcasting entities that did not reach voluntary agreement were to be by the terms and rates established by the Commission.
In establishing those rates and terms, the Commission was to consider, among other relevant information, proposals put forward to it within specified time limits. The House bill deleted Sec. 113 of the Transitional and Supplementary Provisions of the Act, but provided in section 118(b) (4) that, during the period between the effective date of the Act and publication of the initial rates and terms, the status quo as to liability under the present law would be preserved. Payment of royalties under section 118 were to be handled among the parties without government intervention. The royalty review cycle would begin in 1982 and continue at five-year intervals thereafter. Section 118(d) (3) retained the provision permitting off-the-air taping of public broadcasts by educational institutions, but with amendments clarifying and tightening the provision.
Although nondramatic literary works were not included in the compulsory licensing scheme of section 118, subsection (e) provided an exemption from the antitrust laws with respect to voluntary negotiations aimed at licensing agreements for the public broadcasting of such works. The subsection also required the Register of Copyrights, on January 3, 1980, to report upon the extent to which such voluntary agreements had been achieved, the problems that had arisen, and any recommendations for legislation that might be appropriate.
Conference substitute
The conference substitute adopts the House amendments.
scope of federal preemption
Senate bill
In establishing a single Federal system of copyright, section 301 of the Senate bill preempts all equivalent rights under State law in copyrightable works that have been fixed in tangible form. In stating the obverse of this proposition, section 301(b) (3) preserved rights under State law with respect to activities violating rights that are not equivalent to any of the exclusive rights within the general scope of copyright, ‘‘including rights against misappropriation not equivalent to any of such exclusive rights, breaches of contract, breaches of trust, … [etc.].’’ The Senate bill specifically excepted from the preemption ‘‘sound recordings fixed prior to February 15, 1972.’’
House bill
The House bill deleted the clause of section 301(b) (3) enumerating illustrative examples of causes of action, such as certain types of misappropriation, not preempted under section 301. It revised the provision dealing with sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972 to make the Federal preemption of rights in such works effective on February 15, 2047.
Conference substitute
The conference substitute adopts the House amendment of section 301.
deposit of radio and television programs
Senate bill
The Senate bill contained no provisions for the deposit of unpublished transmission programs, or for the preservation of published and unpublished programs in a Federal archive.
House bill
The House bill amended section 407 to provide a basis for the Library of Congress to acquire, as a part of the copyright deposit system, copies or recordings of nonsyndicated radio and television programs. Under section 407(e) the Library would be authorized to tape programs off the air in all cases, and could under certain conditions obtain a copy or phonorecord from the copyright owner by gift, by loan for purposes of reproduction, or by purchase at cost. A correlative provision in Sec. 113 of the bill's Transitional and Supplementary Provisions established an American Television and Radio Archive in the Library of Congress to provide a repository for the preservation of radio and television programs.
Conference substitute
The conference substitute adopts the House amendments.
remedies for copyright infringement
Senate bill
Chapter 5 of the Senate bill dealt with civil and criminal infringement of copyright and the remedies for both. Subsection (c) of section 504 allowed statutory damages within a stated dollar range, and clause (2) of that subsection provided for situations in which the maximum could be exceeded and the minimum lowered; the court was given discretion to reduce or remit statutory damages entirely where a teacher, librarian, or archivist believed that the infringing activity constituted fair use. Section 506 provided penalties for criminal infringement of a fine of up to $2,500 and imprisonment of up to one year for a first offense, with higher penalties for recidivism, special penalties for record and film piracy, and provision for forfeiture and destruction upon conviction. Section 509 of the Senate bill contained expanded provisions dealing with seizure and forfeiture in cases of criminal copyright infringement. Sec. 111 of the Transitional and Supplementary Provisions amended the provisions of the Criminal Code dealing with counterfeit phonograph record labels (18 U.S.C. § 2318) to provide higher criminal penalties and to make the seizure and forfeiture provisions of section 509 of the new copyright law applicable in such cases.
House bill
Section 504(c) (2) of the House bill required the court to remit statutory damages entirely in cases where a teacher, librarian, archivist, or public broadcaster, or the institution to which they belong, infringed in the honest belief that what they were doing constituted fair use. The general and special penalties provided by section 506 (a) were changed, with the maximum terms of imprisonment being decreased. Section 509 of the Senate bill was deleted, and section 506 (b) was expanded to incorporate some, but not all, of the provisions on seizure and forfeiture previously in section 509. Conforming changes were made in the amendments to the Criminal Code provided by Sec. 111.
Conference substitute
The conference substitute adopts the House amendments with respect to statutory damages in section 504(c) (2) and the fines and terms of imprisonment provided by section 506(a) and Sec. 111. With respect to the provisions on seizure and forfeiture, the conference substitute adopts the Senate bill with certain modifications.
manufacturing requirements
Senate bill
The Senate bill retained the manufacturing clause of the present law, but substantially narrowed its scope and ameliorated its effect. Nondramatic literary material by American authors would, as a general rule, be required to be manufactured in the United States or Canada to be entitled to full and unqualified copyright protection in the United States, but the requirement would be subject to a number of exceptions and limitations, and the sanctions for enforcement involved import restrictions and loss of remedies rather than loss of copyright.
House bill
The House bill adopted section 601 of the Senate bill, with an amendment further ameliorating its effect on individual American authors whose works are first published abroad. However, the requirement would be retained only through the end of 1980, and would cease to apply on January 1, 1981.
Conference substitute
The conference substitute adopts the House amendments of section 601, but moves the effective date of the phase-out of the manufacturing clause back to July 1, 1982.
Canada is specifically exempted from the provisions of Section 601, the so-called ‘manufacturing clause’ of the Bill, at least until 1982. This exemption is included as a result of an agreement reached in Toronto in 1968 among representatives of American and Canadian publishers, printing trade unions, and book manufacturers. Upon addition of the Canadian exemption in American legislation, that agreement contemplates Canadian adoption of the Florence Agreement and prompt joint action to remove high Canadian tariffs on printed matter and the removal of other Canadian restraints on printing and publishing trade between the two countries, as well as reciprocal prompt action by U.S. groups to remove any remaining U.S. barriers to Canadian printed matter. The Canadian exemption is included in Section 601 with the expectation that these changes will be made. If for any reason Canadian trade groups and the Canadian Government do not move promptly in reciprocation with U.S. trade groups and the United States Government to remove such tariff and other trade barriers, we would expect Congress to remove the Canadian exemption.
copyright office
Senate bill
Chapter 7 of the Senate bill dealt with the administrative responsibilities of the Copyright Office. It contained no provision dealing with the applicability of the Administrative Procedure Act to the Copyright Office.
House bill
The House bill made the Administrative Procedure Act applicable to the Copyright Office with one exception, and adopted several technical amendments dealing with administrative matters in chapter 7.
Conference substitute
The conference substitute adopts the House amendments.
copyright royalty tribunal
Senate bill
Chapter 8 of the Senate bill established a Copyright Royalty Tribunal in the Library of Congress, for the purpose of periodically reviewing and adjusting statutory royalty rates with respect to the four compulsory licenses provided by the bill, and of resolving disputes over the distribution of royalties from cable transmissions and jukebox performances. Upon certifying the existence of a controversy concerning distribution of statutory royalty fees, or upon periodic petition for review of statutory royalty rates by an interested party, the Register of Copyrights was to convene a three-member panel to constitute a Copyright Royalty Tribunal to resolve the controversy or review the rates. Determinations by the Tribunal were to be submitted to the two Houses of Congress, and were to be final unless voted upon and rejected by one of the two Houses within a specified period, Rate adjustments were not subject to judicial review, and the grounds for judicial review of royalty distributions were limited to misconduct or corruption of a Tribunal member.
House bill
The House bill amended chapter 8 to provide for a permanent three-member Copyright Royalty Commission, which was to be an independent body but would receive administrative support from the Library of Congress. The commissioners were to be appointed by the President for staggered five-year terms, and the Commission's proceedings were made generally subject to the Administrative Procedure Act. Any final determinations of the Commission would be reviewable by the U.S. Court of Appeals on the basis of the record before the Commission. Under sections 111, 116, and chapter 8 of the House bill, the Register of Copyrights was to perform the recording functions and do the paperwork and initial accounting connected with the compulsory licensing procedures established for cable transmissions and jukebox performances. However, after the Register had deducted the costs involved in these procedures and deposited the royalties in the U.S. Treasury, the Commission would assume all duties involved in distributing the royalties, regardless of whether or not there were a dispute.
Conference substitute
The conference substitute conforms in general to the House bill, but with several changes. The body established by chapter 8 is to be named the Copyright Royalty Tribunal, and is to consist of five commissioners appointed for staggered seven-year terms by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Tribunal is to be an independent agency in the legislative branch; a new section defines the responsibilities of the Library of Congress to provide administrative support to the Tribunal, and establishes specific regulatory authority governing the procedures and responsibilities for disbursement of funds. The House receded on its language appearing in the last sentence of section 801(b) (1), and the conference agreed to a substitute for that language.
ornamental designs of useful articles and works of applied art
Senate bill
Title II of the Senate bill proposed to establish a new form of protection for ‘‘original ornamental designs of useful articles.’’ The title, which consisted of 35 sections, offered a limited short-term form of protection for designs. This protection was based on copyright principles but was provided separately from the copyright law itself.
House amendment
The House amendment deleted title II of the bill entirely, together with two subsections of section 113 dealing with the interrelationship between titles I and II. It revised the definition of ‘‘pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works’’ in section 101 to clarify the distinction between works of applied art subject to protection under the bill and industrial designs not subject to copyright protection.
Conference substitute
The conference substitute adopts the House amendments.
| Robert W. Kastenmeier, | |
| George E. Danielson, | |
| Robert F. Drinan, | |
| Herman Badillo, | |
| Edward W. Pattison, | |
| Tom Railsbaok, | |
| Charles E. Wiggins, | |
Managers on the Part of the House.
| |
| John L. McClellan, | |
| Philip A. Hart, | |
| Quentin N. Burdick, | |
| Hugh Scott, | |
| Hiram L. Fong, | |
Managers on the Part of the Senate.
| |
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105).
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