[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1248 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1248

  To amend the Lanham Act to require certain disclosures relating to 
                       materially altered films.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 15, 1995

Mr. Frank of Massachusetts (for himself, Mr. Conyers, and Mr. Bryant of 
    Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Lanham Act to require certain disclosures relating to 
                       materially altered films.

    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 ``Film Disclosure Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO THE LANHAM ACT.

    Section 43 of the Act entitled ``An Act to provide for the 
registration and protection of trade-marks used in commerce, to carry 
out the provisions of certain international conventions, and for other 
purposes'', approved July 5, 1946, commonly known as the Lanham Act (15 
U.S.C. 1125), is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c)(1)(A) Any distributor or network that proposes to exploit a 
materially altered motion picture shall--
            ``(i) make a good faith effort to notify each artistic 
        author of the motion picture in writing and by registered mail 
        and in a reasonable amount of time prior to such exploitation;
            ``(ii) determine the objections of any artistic author so 
        notified to any material alteration of the motion picture;
            ``(iii) determine the objection of any artistic author so 
        notified by the questionnaire set forth in paragraph (9) to any 
        type of future material alterations which are in addition to 
        those specifically proposed for the motion picture to be 
        exploited;
            ``(iv) if any objections under clause (ii) or (iii) are 
        determined, include the applicable label under paragraph (6) or 
        (8) in, or affix such label to, all copies of the motion 
        picture before--
                    ``(I) the public performance of the materially 
                altered motion picture if it is already in 
                distribution, or
                    ``(II) the initial distribution of the materially 
                altered motion picture to any exhibitor or retail 
                provider; and
            ``(v) in the event of objections by an artistic author to 
        any future material alterations, include or affix such 
        objections to any copy of the motion picture distributed or 
        transmitted to any exhibitor or retail provider.
    ``(B) Whenever a distributor or network exploits a motion picture 
which has already been materially altered, such distributor or network 
shall not be required to satisfy the requirements of subparagraph (A) 
(i), (ii), and (iii), if--
            ``(i) such distributor or network does not further 
        materially alter such motion picture; and
            ``(ii) such motion picture was materially altered by 
        another distributor or network that complied fully with all of 
        the requirements of subparagraph (A).
    ``(C)(i) The requirement of a good faith effort under subparagraph 
(A)(i) is satisfied if a distributor or network that has not previously 
been notified by each artistic author of a motion picture--
            ``(I) requests in writing the name and address of each 
        artistic author of the motion picture from the appropriate 
        professional guild, indicating a response date of not earlier 
        than 30 days after the date of the request, by which the 
        appropriate professional guild must respond; and
            ``(II) upon receipt of such information from the 
        appropriate professional guild within the time specified in the 
        request, notifies each artistic author of the motion picture in 
        a reasonable amount of time before the exploitation of the 
        motion picture by such network or distributor.
    ``(ii) The notice to each artistic author under this paragraph 
shall contain a specific date, not earlier than 30 days after the date 
of such notice, by which the individual so notified shall respond in 
accordance with subparagraph (A)(ii). Failure of the artistic author or 
the appropriate professional guild to respond within the time period 
specified in the notice shall relieve the distributor or network of all 
liability under subparagraph (A).
    ``(D) The requirements of this paragraph for an exhibitor shall be 
limited to--
            ``(i) broadcasting, cablecasting, exhibiting, or 
        distributing all labels required under this section in their 
        entirety that are included with or distributed by the network 
        or distributor of the motion picture; and
            ``(ii) including or affixing a label described in 
        paragraphs (6) and (8) on a materially altered motion picture 
        for any material alterations performed by the exhibitor to 
        which any artistic author has objected under subparagraph 
        (A)(iii).
    ``(E)(i) The provisions of this paragraph shall apply with respect 
to motion pictures intended for home use through either retail purchase 
or rental, except that no requirement imposed under this paragraph 
shall apply to a motion picture which has been packaged for 
distribution to retail providers before the effective date of this 
subsection.
    ``(ii) The obligations under this paragraph of a retail provider of 
motion pictures intended for home use shall be limited to including or 
distributing all labels required under this paragraph in their entirety 
that are affixed or included by a distributor or network.
    ``(F) There shall be no consideration in excess of one dollar given 
in exchange for an artistic author's waiver of any objection or waiver 
of the right to object under this subsection.
    ``(2)(A) Any artistic author of a motion picture that is exploited 
within the United States who believes he or she is or is likely to be 
damaged by a violation of this subsection may bring a civil action for 
appropriate relief, as provided in this paragraph, on account of such 
violation, without regard to the nationality or domicile of the 
artistic author.
    ``(B)(i) In any action under subparagraph (A), the court shall have 
power to grant injunctions, according to the principles of equity and 
upon such terms as the court deems reasonable, to prevent the violation 
of this subsection. Any such injunction may include a provision 
directing the defendant to file with the court and serve on the 
plaintiff, within 30 days after the service on the defendant of such 
injunction, or such extended period as the court may direct, a report 
in writing under oath setting forth in detail the manner and form in 
which the defendant has complied with the injunction. Any such 
injunction granted upon hearing, after notice to the defendant, by any 
district court of the United States--
            ``(I) may be served on the parties against whom such 
        injunction is granted anywhere in the United States where they 
        may be found; and
            ``(II) shall be operative and may be enforced by 
        proceedings to punish for contempt, or otherwise, by the court 
        by which such injunction was granted, or by any other United 
        States district court in whose jurisdiction the defendant may 
        be found.
    ``(ii) When a violation of any right of an artistic author is 
established in any civil action arising under this subsection, the 
plaintiff shall be entitled to the remedies provided under section 
35(a).
    ``(iii) In any action under subparagraph (A), the court may order 
that all film packaging of a materially altered motion picture 
(including film packages of motion pictures intended for home use 
through either retail purchase or rental) that is the subject of the 
violation shall be delivered up and destroyed.
    ``(C) No action shall be maintained under this paragraph unless--
            ``(i) it is commenced within 1 year after the right of 
        action accrues, and
            ``(ii) if brought by a designee described in paragraph 
        (5)(A)(ii), it is commenced within the term of copyright of the 
        motion picture involved.
    ``(3) Any disclosure requirements imposed under the common law or 
statutes of any State respecting the material alteration of motion 
pictures are preempted by this subsection.
    ``(4) To facilitate the location of a potentially aggrieved party, 
each artistic author of a motion picture may notify the copyright owner 
of the motion picture or any appropriate professional guild. The 
professional guilds may each maintain a Professional Guild Registry 
including the names and addresses of artistic authors so notifying them 
and may make available information contained in a Professional Guild 
Registry in order to facilitate the location of any artistic author for 
purposes of paragraph (1)(A). No cause of action shall accrue against 
any professional guild for failure to create or maintain a Professional 
Guild Registry or for any failure to provide information pursuant to 
paragraph (1)(A)(i).
    ``(5) As used in this subsection--
            ``(A) the term `artistic author' means--
                    ``(i) the principal director and principal 
                screenwriter of a motion picture and, to the extent a 
                motion picture is colorized or its photographic images 
                materially altered, the principal cinematographer of 
                the motion picture; and
                    ``(ii) a person designated by an individual 
                described in clause (i), if the designation is made in 
                writing and signed by such individual;
            ``(B) the term `colorize' means to add color, by whatever 
        means, to a motion picture originally made in black and white, 
        and the term `colorization' means the act of colorizing;
            ``(C) the term `distributor'--
                    ``(i) means any person, vendor, or syndicator who 
                engages in the wholesale distribution of motion 
                pictures to any exhibitor, network, retail provider, or 
                other person who publicly performs motion pictures by 
                means of any technology, and
                    ``(ii) does not include laboratories or other 
                providers of technical services to the motion picture, 
                video, or television industry;
            ``(D) the term `editing' means the purposeful or accidental 
        removal of existing material or insertion of new material;
            ``(E) the term `exhibitor' means any local broadcast 
        station, cable system, airline, motion picture theater, or 
        other person that publicly performs a motion picture by means 
        of any technology;
            ``(F) the term `exploit' means to exhibit publicly or offer 
        to the public through sale or lease, and the term 
        `exploitation' means the act of exploiting;
            ``(G) the term `film' or `motion picture' means--
                    ``(i) a theatrical motion picture, after its 
                publication, of 60 minutes duration or greater, 
                intended for exhibition, public performance, public 
                sale or lease, and
                    ``(ii) does not include episodic television 
                programs of less than 60 minutes duration (exclusive of 
                commercials), motion pictures prepared for private 
                commercial or industrial purposes, or advertisements;
            ``(H) the term `lexiconning' means altering the sound track 
        of a motion picture to conform the speed of the vocal or 
        musical portion of the motion picture to the visual images of 
        the motion picture, in a case in which the motion picture has 
        been the subject of time compression or expansion;
            ``(I) the terms `materially alter' and `material 
        alteration'--
                    ``(i) refer to any change made to a motion picture;
                    ``(ii) include, but are not limited to, the 
                processes of colorization, lexiconning, time 
                compression or expansion, panning and scanning, and 
                editing; and
                    ``(iii) do not include insertions for commercial 
                breaks or public service announcements, editing to 
                comply with the requirements of the Federal 
                Communications Commission (in this subparagraph 
                referred to as the `FCC'), transfer of film to 
                videotape or any other secondary media preparation of a 
motion picture for foreign distribution to the extent that subtitling 
and editing are limited to those alterations made under foreign 
standards which are no more stringent than existing FCC standards, or 
activities the purpose of which is the restoration of the motion 
picture to its original version;
            ``(J) the term `network' means any person who distributes 
        motion pictures to broadcasting stations or cable systems on a 
        regional or national basis for public performance on an 
        interconnected basis;
            ``(K) the term `panning and scanning' means the process by 
        which a motion picture, composed for viewing on theater 
        screens, is adapted for viewing on television screens by 
        modification of the ratio of width to height of the motion 
        picture and the selection, by a person other than the principal 
        director of the motion picture, of some portion of the entire 
        picture for viewing;
            ``(L) the term `professional guild' means--
                    ``(i) in the case of directors, the Directors Guild 
                of America (DGA);
                    ``(ii) in the case of screenwriters, the Writers 
                Guild of America-West (WGA-W) and the Writers Guild of 
                America-East (WGA-E); and
                    ``(iii) in the case of cinematographers, the 
                International Photographers Guild (IPG), and the 
                American Society of Cinematographers (ASC);
            ``(M) the term `Professional Guild Registry' means a list 
        of names and addresses of artistic authors that is readily 
        available from the files of a professional guild;
            ``(N) the term `publication' means, with respect to a 
        motion picture, the first paid public exhibition of the work 
        other than previews, trial runs, and festivals;
            ``(O) the term `retail provider' means the proprietor of a 
        retail outlet that sells or leases motion pictures for home 
        use;
            ``(P) the term `secondary media' means any medium, 
        including, but not limited to, video cassette or video disc, 
        other than television broadcast or theatrical release, for use 
        on which motion pictures are sold, leased, or distributed to 
        the public;
            ``(Q) the term `syndicator' means any person who 
        distributes a motion picture to a broadcast television station, 
        cable television system, or any other means of distribution by 
        which programming is delivered to television viewers;
            ``(R) the terms `time compression' and `time expansion' 
        mean the alteration of the speed of a motion picture or a 
        portion thereof with the result of shortening or lengthening 
        the running time of the motion picture; and
            ``(S) the term `vendor' means the wholesaler or packager of 
        a motion picture which is intended for wholesale distribution 
        to retail providers.
    ``(6)(A) A label for a materially altered version of a motion 
picture intended for public performance or home use shall consist of a 
panel card immediately preceding the commencement of the motion 
picture, which bears one or more of the following statements, as 
appropriate, in legible type and displayed on a conspicuous and 
readable basis:
    ```THIS FILM IS NOT THE VERSION ORIGINALLY RELEASED. ______ mins. 
and ______ secs. have been cut [or, if appropriate, added]. The 
director, __________________ ____________________, and screenwriter, 
__________ __________, object because this alteration changes the 
narrative and/or characterization. It has (also) been panned and 
scanned. The director and cinematographer, __________ __________, 
object because this alteration removes visual information and changes 
the composition of the images. It has (also) been colorized. Colors 
have been added by computer to the original black and white images. The 
director and cinematographer object to this alteration because it 
eliminates the black and white photography and changes the photographic 
images of the actors. It has (also) been electronically speeded up (or 
slowed down). The director objects because this alteration changes the 
pace of the performances.'
    ``(B) A label for a motion picture that has been materially altered 
in a manner not described by any of the label elements set forth in 
subparagraph (A) shall contain a statement similar in form and 
substance to those set forth in subparagraph (A) which accurately 
describes the material alteration and the objection of the artistic 
author.
    ``(7) A label for a motion picture which has been materially 
altered in more than one manner, or of which an individual served as 
more than one artistic author, need only state the name of the artistic 
author once, in the first objection of the artistic author so listed. 
In addition, a label for a motion picture which has been materially 
altered in more than one manner need only state once, at the beginning 
of the label: `THIS FILM IS NOT THE VERSION ORIGINALLY RELEASED.'.
    ``(8) A label for a film package of a materially altered motion 
picture shall consist of--
            ``(A) an area of a rectangle on the front of the package 
        which bears, as appropriate, one or more of the statements 
        listed in paragraph (6) in a conspicuous and legible type in 
        contrast by typography, layout, or color with other printed 
        matter on the package; and
            ``(B) an area of a rectangle on the side of the package 
        which bears, as appropriate, one or more of the statements 
        listed in paragraph (6) in a conspicuous and legible type in 
        contrast by typography, layout, or color with other printed 
        matter on the package.
    ``(9) The questionnaire required under paragraph (1)(A)(iii) shall 
consist of the following statement and related questions:
            ```In order to conform [insert name of motion picture], of 
        which you are an ``artistic author'', to ancillary media such 
        as television, airline exhibition, video cassettes, video 
        discs, or any other media, do you object to:
    ```(a) Editing (purposeful or accidental deletion or addition of 
program material)?
            Yes____________      No______________
    ```(b) Time compression/time expansion/lexiconning?
            Yes____________      No______________
    ```(c) Panning and scanning?
            Yes____________      No______________
    ```(d) Colorization, if the motion picture was originally made in 
black and white?
            Yes____________      No______________'.''

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>