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or recordation as a prerequisite for certain purposes. Where the work involved is covered by a subsisting copyright when the new law becomes effective, it is intended that any registration or recordation made under the present law would satisfy these provisions.
Phonograph records bearing counterfeit labels
Sec. 111 amends section 2318 of title 18 of the United States Code, the counterfeit record label statute, to increase the criminal penalty from the current misdemeanor status. A person shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both, for the first offense of knowingly and with fraudulent intent causing the transportation of phonorecords bearing forged or counterfeit labels. For any subsequent offense a person shall be fined not more than $25,000 or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both. The section further amends Section 2318 to provide for the forfeiture and destruction of counterfeit labels.
Applicable law
Sec. 112 makes clear that a cause of action existing on January 1, 1977, is to be governed by the law under which it arose.
American Television and Radio Archives
The American Television and Radio Archive established by this bill will provide a repository for the preservation of our nation’s television and radio heritage. The need for such a repository has become more pressing as the importance of television’s role in American society has increased, and particularly as television news has become more heavily relied upon by Americans as an important source of news. The provisions of the bill establishing an American Television and Radio Archive attempt to ensure preservation and limited distribution (for research purposes) of this material while at the same time not causing or encouraging copyright infringement.
Under this section, the Librarian of Congress shall estblish the Archive in the Library of Congress. After consulting with interested organizations and individuals, the Librarian shall place in the Archives fixations of those television and radio programs which are of present or potential public or cultural interest, historical significance, cognitive value, or otherwise worthy of preservation. These may include copies and phonorecords of transmission programs, both published and unpublished, acquired in accordance with the provisions of sections 407 and 408 of Title 17, transferred from the existing collections of the Library of Congress; given to or exchanged with the Archive by other libraries, archives, organizations or individuals; or purchased from the owner.
The Librarian shall also maintain and publish appropriate catalogs and indexes of the collections or the Archives, and make the collections available for study and research under the conditions prescribed in this section. It is expected that in compiling its index of collected materials, and particularly in establishing an indexing system for retrieval of those news broadcasts eligible for distribution under this section, the Librarian will make use of existing indexes which may have been prepared by the owners of copyrighted news product and shall attempt to make this indexing process as complete and accurate as possible. In any event, however, it is expected that any such index compiled by the Librarian shall be a list of items in the collections of the Library
