Copyright Fees and Technical Amendments Act of 1989

by the 101st Congress of the United States

101^ST UNITED STATES CONGRESS
2^ND SESSION

An Act
To amend title 17, United States Code, to change the fee schedule of the Copyright Office, and to make certain technical amendments.

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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

Section 1. Short Title.

This Act may be cited as the ``Copyright Fees and Technical Amendments Act of 1989´´.

Sec. 2. Fees of Copyright Office.

(a) Fee Schedule.—

Section 708(a) of title 17, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

``(a) The following fees shall be paid to the Register of Copyrights:

``(1) on filing each application under section 408 for registration of a copyright claim or for a supplementary registration, including the issuance of a certificate of registration if registration is made, $20;

``(2) on filing each application for registration of a claim for renewal of a subsisting copyright in its first term under section 304(a), including the issuance of a certificate of registration if registration is made, $12;

``(3) for the issuance of a receipt for a deposit under section 407, $4;

``(4) for the recordation, as provided by section 205, of a transfer of copyright ownership or other document covering not more than one title, $20; for additional titles, $10 for each group of not more than 10 titles;

``(5) for the filing, under section 115(b), of a notice of intention to obtain a compulsory license, $12;

``(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, $20 for a document covering not more than one title; for each additional title, $2;

``(7) for the issuance, under section 706, of an additional certificate of registration, $8;

``(8) for the issuance of any other certification, $20 for each hour or fraction of an hour consumed with respect thereto;

``(9) for the making and reporting of a search as provided by section 705, and for any related services, $20 for each hour or fraction of an hour consumed with respect thereto; and

``(10) 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.

``The Register of Copyrights is authorized to fix the fees for preparing copies of Copyright Office records, whether or not such copies are certified, on the basis of the cost of such preparation.´´.

(b) Adjustment of Fees.—

Section 708 of title 17, United States Code, is amended—

(1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as subsections (c) and (d), respectively; and

(2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:

``(b) In calendar year 1995 and in each subsequent fifth calendar year, the Register of Copyrights, by regulation, may increase the fees specified in subsection (a) by the percent change in the annual average, for the preceding calendar year, of the Consumer Price Index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over the annual average of the Consumer Price Index for the fifth calendar year preceding the calendar year in which such increase is authorized.´´.

(c) Conforming Amendment.—

Section 704(e) of title 17, United States Code, is amended by striking out “708(a)(11)” and inserting in lieu thereof “708(a)(10)”.

(d) Effective Date.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—

The amendments made by this section shall take effect 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply to—

(A) claims to original, supplementary, and renewal copyright received for registration, and to items received for recordation in the Copyright Office, on or after such effective date, and

(B) other requests for services received on or after such effective date, or received before such effective date for services not yet rendered as of such date.

(2) PRIOR CLAIMS.—

Claims to original, supplementary, and renewal copyright received for registration and items received for recordation in acceptable form in the Copyright Office before the effective date set forth in paragraph (1), and requests for services which are rendered before such effective date shall be governed by section 708 of title 17, United States Code, as in effect before such effective date.

Sec. 3. Technical Amendments.

(a) Section 111.—

Section 111 of title 17, United States Code, is amended—

(1) in subsection (c)(2)(B) by striking out “recorded the notice specified by subsection (d) and”; and

(2) in subsection (d)—

(A) in paragraph (2) by striking out “paragraph (1)” and inserting in lieu thereof “clause (1)”;

(B) in paragraph (3) by striking out “clause (5)” and inserting in lieu thereof “clause (4)”; and

(C) in paragraph (3)(B) by striking out “clause (2)(A)” and inserting in lieu thereof “clause (1)(A)”.

(b) Section 801.—

Section 801(b)(2)(D) of title 17, United States Code, is amended by striking out “111(d)(2) (C) and (D)” and inserting in lieu thereof “111(d)(1) (C) and (D)”.

(c) Section 804.—

Section 804(a)(2)(C)(i) of title 17, United States Code, is amended by striking out “115” and inserting in lieu thereof “116”.

(d) Section 106.—

Section 106 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by striking out “118” and inserting in lieu thereof “119”.

(e) Effective Date.—

(1) The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) shall be effective as of August 27, 1986.

(2) The amendment made by subsection (c) shall be effective as of October 31, 1988.

(3) The amendment made by subsection (d) shall be effective as of November 16, 1988.

Approved July 3, 1990..

Legislative History

• H.R. 1622, (S. 1271)

• HOUSE REPORTS:
  • No. 101-279 (Comm. on Judiciary)
• SENATE REPORTS:
  • No. 101-267 (Comm. on Judiciary)
• CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 135 (1989):
  • Oct. 16, considered and passed House.
• CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 136 (1990):
  • June 13, S. 1271 and H.R. 1622 considered and passed Senate.