| Section 1. Short Title.
This Act may be cited as the “Digital Millennium Copyright
Act”.
Title I - WIPO Treaties Implementation
Sec. 101. Short Title.
This title may be cited as the "WIPO Copyright and Performances
and Phonograms Treaties Implementation Act of 1998".
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Sec. 104. Evaluation of Impact of Copyright Law and Amendments
on Electronic Commerce and Technological Development.
(a) Evaluation by the Register of Copyrights and the Assistant
Secretary for Communications and Information. - The Register
of Copyrights and the Assistant Secretary for Communications
and Information of the Department of Commerce shall jointly
evaluate -
(1) the effects of the amendments made by this title and
the development of electronic commerce and associated technology
on the operation of sections 109
and 117 of title 17, United
States Code; and
(2) the relationship between existing and emergent technology
and the operation of sections 109
and 117 of title 17, United
States Code.
(b) Report to Congress. - The Register of Copyrights and
the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information
of the Department of Commerce shall, not later than 24 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act, submit to the
Congress a joint report on the evaluation conducted under
subsection (a), including any legislative recommendations
the Register and the Assistant Secretary may have.
Sec. 105. Effective Date.
(a) In General. - Except as otherwise provided in this title,
this title and the amendments made by this title shall take
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Amendments Relating to Certain International Agreements.
- (1) The following shall take effect upon the entry into
force of the WIPO Copyright Treaty with respect to the United
States:
(A) Paragraph (5) of the definition of "international agreement"
contained in section 101 of
title 17, United States Code, as amended by section
102(a)(4) of this Act.
(B) The amendment made by section
102(a)(6) of this Act.
(C) Subparagraph (C) of section
104A(h)(1) of title 17, United States Code, as amended
by section 102(c)(1) of this
Act.
(D) Subparagraph (C) of section
104A(h)(3) of title 17, United States Code, as amended
by section 102(c)(2) of this
Act.
(2) The following shall take effect upon the entry into force
of the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty with respect
to the United States:
(A) Paragraph (6) of the definition of "international agreement"
contained in section 101 of
title 17, United States Code, as amended by section
102(a)(4) of this Act.
(B) The amendment made by section
102(a)(7) of this Act.
(C) The amendment made by section
102(b)(2) of this Act.
(D) Subparagraph (D) of section
104A(h)(1) of title 17, United States Code, as amended
by section 102(c)(1) of this
Act.
(E) Subparagraph (D) of section
104A(h)(3) of title 17, United States Code, as amended
by section 102(c)(2) of this
Act.
(F) The amendments made by section
102(c)(3) of this Act.
* * * * * * *
Title II - Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation
Sec. 201. Short Title.
This title may be cited as the "Online Copyright Infringement
Liability Limitation Act".
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Sec. 203. Effective Date.
This title and the amendments made by this title shall take
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
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Title IV - Miscellaneous Provisions
Sec. 401. Provisions Relating to the Commissioner of
Patents and Trademarks and the Register of Copyrights
(a) Compensation. - (1) Section 3(d) of title 35, United
States Code, is amended by striking "prescribed by law for
Assistant Secretaries of Commerce" and inserting "in effect
for level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314
of title 5, United States Code".
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(3) Section 5314 of title 5, United States Code, is amended
by adding at the end the following:
"Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Patents
and Trademarks.
"Register of Copyrights.".
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Sec. 403. Limitations on Exclusive Rights; Distance Education.
(a) Recommendations by Register of Copyrights. - Not later
than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Register of Copyrights, after consultation with representatives
of copyright owners, nonprofit educational institutions, and
nonprofit libraries and archives, shall submit to the Congress
recommendations on how to promote distance education through
digital technologies, including interactive digital networks,
while maintaining an appropriate balance between the rights
of copyright owners and the needs of users of copyrighted
works. Such recommendations shall include any legislation
the Register of Copyrights considers appropriate to achieve
the objective described in the preceding sentence.
(b) Factors. - In formulating recommendations under subsection
(a), the Register of Copyrights shall consider -
(1) the need for an exemption from exclusive rights of copyright
owners for distance education through digital networks;
(2) the categories of works to be included under any distance
education exemption;
(3) the extent of appropriate quantitative limitations on
the portions of works that may be used under any distance
education exemption;
(4) the parties who should be entitled to the benefits of
any distance education exemption;
(5) the parties who should be designated as eligible recipients
of distance education materials under any distance education
exemption;
(6) whether and what types of technological measures can
or should be employed to safeguard against unauthorized access
to, and use or retention of, copyrighted materials as a condition
of eligibility for any distance education exemption, including,
in light of developing technological capabilities, the exemption
set out in section 110(2) of
title 17, United States Code;
(7) the extent to which the availability of licenses for
the use of copyrighted works in distance education through
interactive digital networks should be considered in assessing
eligibility for any distance education exemption; and
(8) such other issues relating to distance education through
interactive digital networks that the Register considers appropriate.
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Sec. 405. Scope of Exclusive Rights in Sound Recordings;
Ephemeral Recordings.
(a) Scope of Exclusive Rights in Sound Recordings.
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(5) The amendment made by paragraph (2)(B)(i)(III) of this
subsection shall be deemed to have been enacted as part of
the Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act of 1995,
and the publication of notice of proceedings under section
114(f)(1) of title 17, United States Code, as in effect
upon the effective date of that Act, for the determination
of royalty payments shall be deemed to have been made for
the period beginning on the effective date of that Act and
ending on December 1, 2001.
(6) The amendments made by this subsection do not annul,
limit, or otherwise impair the rights that are preserved by
section 114 of title 17, United
States Code, including the rights preserved by subsections
(c), (d)(4), and (i) of such section.
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(c) Scope of Section 112(a)
of Title 17 Not Affected. -
Nothing in this section or the amendments made by this section
shall affect the scope of section
112(a) of title 17, United States Code, or the entitlement
of any person to an exemption thereunder.
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Sec. 406. Assumption of Contractual Obligations Related to
Transfers of Rights in Motion Pictures.
(a) In General. - Part VI of title 28, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following new chapter:
"Chapter 180 - Assumption of Certain Contractual
Obligations
"Sec. 4001. Assumption of contractual obligations related
to transfers of rights in motion pictures.
"§4001. Assumption of contractual obligations
related to transfers of rights in motion pictures
"(a) Assumption of Obligations. - (1) In the case of a transfer
of copyright ownership under United States law in a motion
picture (as the terms 'transfer of copyright ownership' and
'motion picture' are defined in section
101 of title 17) that is produced subject to 1 or more
collective bargaining agreements negotiated under the laws
of the United States, if the transfer is executed on or after
the effective date of this chapter and is not limited to public
performance rights, the transfer instrument shall be deemed
to incorporate the assumption agreements applicable to the
copyright ownership being transferred that are required by
the applicable collective bargaining agreement, and the transferee
shall be subject to the obligations under each such assumption
agreement to make residual payments and provide related notices,
accruing after the effective date of the transfer and applicable
to the exploitation of the rights transferred, and any remedies
under each such assumption agreement for breach of those obligations,
as those obligations and remedies are set forth in the applicable
collective bargaining agreement, if -
"(A) the transferee knows or has reason to know at the time
of the transfer that such collective bargaining agreement
was or will be applicable to the motion picture; or
"(B) in the event of a court order confirming an arbitration
award against the transferor under the collective bargaining
agreement, the transferor does not have the financial ability
to satisfy the award within 90 days after the order is issued.
"(2) For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), 'knows or has reason
to know' means any of the following:
"(A) Actual knowledge that the collective bargaining agreement
was or will be applicable to the motion picture.
"(B)(i) Constructive knowledge that the collective bargaining
agreement was or will be applicable to the motion picture,
arising from recordation of a document pertaining to copyright
in the motion picture under section
205 of title 17 or from publication, at a site available
to the public on-line that is operated by the relevant union,
of information that identifies the motion picture as subject
to a collective bargaining agreement with that union, if the
site permits commercially reasonable verification of the date
on which the information was available for access.
"(ii) Clause (i) applies only if the transfer referred to
in subsection (a)(1) occurs -
"(I) after the motion picture is completed, or
"(II) before the motion picture is completed and -
"(aa) within 18 months before the filing of an application
for copyright registration for the motion picture under section
408 of title 17, or
"(bb) if no such application is filed, within 18 months before
the first publication of the motion picture in the United
States.
"(C) Awareness of other facts and circumstances pertaining
to a particular transfer from which it is apparent that the
collective bargaining agreement was or will be applicable
to the motion picture.
"(b) Scope of Exclusion of Transfers of Public Performance
Rights. - For purposes of this section, the exclusion under
subsection (a) of transfers of copyright ownership in a motion
picture that are limited to public performance rights includes
transfers to a terrestrial broadcast station, cable system,
or programmer to the extent that the station, system, or programmer
is functioning as an exhibitor of the motion picture, either
by exhibiting the motion picture on its own network, system,
service, or station, or by initiating the transmission of
an exhibition that is carried on another network, system,
service, or station. When a terrestrial broadcast station,
cable system, or programmer, or other transferee, is also
functioning otherwise as a distributor or as a producer of
the motion picture, the public performance exclusion does
not affect any obligations imposed on the transferee to the
extent that it is engaging in such functions.
"(c) Exclusion for Grants of Security Interests. - Subsection
(a) shall not apply to -
"(1) a transfer of copyright ownership consisting solely
of a mortgage, hypothecation, or other security interest;
or
"(2) a subsequent transfer of the copyright ownership secured
by the security interest described in paragraph (1) by or
under the authority of the secured party, including a transfer
through the exercise of the secured party's rights or remedies
as a secured party, or by a subsequent transferee.
The exclusion under this subsection shall not affect any
rights or remedies under law or contract.
"(d) Deferral Pending Resolution of Bona Fide Dispute. -
A transferee on which obligations are imposed under subsection
(a) by virtue of paragraph (1) of that subsection may elect
to defer performance of such obligations that are subject
to a bona fide dispute between a union and a prior transferor
until that dispute is resolved, except that such deferral
shall not stay accrual of any union claims due under an applicable
collective bargaining agreement.
"(e) Scope of Obligations Determined by Private Agreement.
- Nothing in this section shall expand or diminish the rights,
obligations, or remedies of any person under the collective
bargaining agreements or assumption agreements referred to
in this section.
"(f) Failure to Notify. - If the transferor under subsection
(a) fails to notify the transferee under subsection (a) of
applicable collective bargaining obligations before the execution
of the transfer instrument, and subsection (a) is made applicable
to the transferee solely by virtue of subsection (a)(1)(B),
the transferor shall be liable to the transferee for any damages
suffered by the transferee as a result of the failure to notify.
"(g) Determination of Disputes and Claims. - Any dispute
concerning the application of subsections (a) through (f)
shall be determined by an action in United States district
court, and the court in its discretion may allow the recovery
of full costs by or against any party and may also award a
reasonable attorney's fee to the prevailing party as part
of the costs.
"(h) Study. - The Comptroller General, in consultation with
the Register of Copyrights, shall conduct a study of the conditions
in the motion picture industry that gave rise to this section,
and the impact of this section on the motion picture industry.
The Comptroller General shall report the findings of the study
to the Congress within 2 years after the effective date of
this chapter.".
* * * * * * *
SEC. 407. EFFECTIVE Date.
Except as otherwise provided in this title, this title and
the amendments made by this title shall take effect on the
date of the enactment of this Act.
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Title V - Protection of Certain Original Designs
Sec. 501. Short Title.
This Act may be referred to as the "Vessel Hull Design Protection
Act".
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Sec. 504. Joint Study of the Effect of This Title2
(a) In General. - Not later than November 1, 2003, the Register
of Copyrights and the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks
shall submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate
and the House of Representatives a joint report evaluating
the effect of the amendments made by this title.
(b) Elements for Consideration. - In carrying out subsection
(a), the Register of Copyrights and the Commissioner of Patents
and Trademarks shall consider -
(1) the extent to which the amendments made by this title
has been effective in suppressing infringement of the design
of vessel hulls;
(2) the extent to which the registration provided for in
chapter 13 of title 17, United
States Code, as added by this title, has been utilized;
(3) the extent to which the creation of new designs of vessel
hulls have been encouraged by the amendments made by this
title;
(4) the effect, if any, of the amendments made by this title
on the price of vessels with hulls protected under such amendments;
and
(5) such other considerations as the Register and the Commissioner
may deem relevant to accomplish the purposes of the evaluation
conducted under subsection (a).
Sec. 505. Effective Date.3
The amendments made by sections
502 and 503 shall take
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.4
Appendix V Endnotes
1Part V of the Appendix contains
provisions from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Pub.
L. No. 105-304, 112 Stat. 2860, that do not amend title 17
of the United States Code.
2The Satellite Home Viewer Improvement
Act of 1999 amended section 504(a) in its entirety. Pub. L.
No. 106-113, 113 Stat. 1501, app. I at 1501A-593.
3The Intellectual Property and
Communications Omnibus Reform Act of 1999 amended section
505 by deleting everything at the end of the sentence, after
"Act." Pub. L. No. 106-113, 113 Stat. 1501, app. I at 1501A-593.
4Section 502 added
chapter 13 to title 17 of the United States Code.
Section 503 made conforming amendments. The date of enactment
of this Act is October 28, 1998.
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