[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1122 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1122

  To amend the provisions of titles 17 and 18, United States Code, to 
  provide greater copyright protection by amending criminal copyright 
            infringement provisions, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

               August 4 (legislative day, July 10), 1995

Mr. Leahy (for himself and Mr. Feingold) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the provisions of titles 17 and 18, United States Code, to 
  provide greater copyright protection by amending criminal copyright 
            infringement provisions, and for other purposes.
    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 ``Criminal Copyright Improvement Act 
of 1995''.

SEC. 2. CRIMINAL INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHTS.

    (a) Definition of Financial Gain.--Section 101 of title 17, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after the undesignated paragraph 
relating to the term ``display'', the following new paragraph:
            ``The term `financial gain' includes receipt of anything of 
        value, including the receipt of other copyrighted works.''.
    (b) Criminal Offenses.--Section 506(a) of title 17, United States 
Code, is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) Criminal Infringement.--Any person who infringes a copyright 
willfully either--
            ``(1) for purposes of commercial advantage or private 
        financial gain; or
            ``(2) by the reproduction or distribution, including by 
        transmission, or assisting others in such reproduction or 
        distribution, of 1 or more copies, of 1 or more copyrighted 
        works, which have a total retail value of $5,000 or more,
shall be punished as provided under section 2319 of title 18.''.
    (c) Limitation on Criminal Proceedings.--Section 507(a) of title 
17, United States Code, is amended by striking out ``three'' and 
inserting in lieu thereof ``five''.
    (d) Criminal Infringement of a Copyright.--Section 2319 of title 
18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
                striking out ``subsection (a) of this section'' and 
                inserting in lieu thereof ``section 506(a)(1) of title 
                17'';
                    (B) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by inserting ``including by 
                        transmission, or assisting others in such 
                        reproduction or distribution,'' after ``if the 
                        offense consists of the reproduction or 
                        distribution,'';
                            (ii) by striking out ``with a retail value 
                        of more than $2,500'' and inserting in lieu 
                        thereof ``which have a total retail value of 
                        more than $5,000''; and
                            (iii) by adding ``and'' at the end thereof;
                    (C) by striking out paragraph (2); and
                    (D) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph 
                (2); and
            (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (f) and 
        inserting after subsection (b) the following:
    ``(c) Any person who commits an offense under section 506(a)(2) of 
title 17--
            ``(1) shall be imprisoned not more than 5 years, or fined 
        in the amount set forth in this title, or both, if the offense 
        consists of the reproduction or distribution, including by 
        transmission, or assisting others in such reproduction or 
        distribution, of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a 
        total retail value of more than $10,000; and
            ``(2) shall be imprisoned not more than 1 year, or fined in 
        the amount set forth in this title, or both, in any other case.
    ``(d) Any person who commits an offense under subsection (a) shall 
be imprisoned not more than 10 years, or fined in the amount set forth 
in this title, or both, if the offense is a second or subsequent felony 
offense under that subsection.
    ``(e)(1) During preparation of the presentence report pursuant to 
rule 32(c) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, victims of the 
offense shall be permitted to submit, and the probation officer shall 
receive, a victim impact statement that identifies the victim of the 
offense and the extent and scope of the injury and loss suffered by the 
victim, including the estimated economic impact of the offense on that 
victim.
    ``(2) Persons permitted to submit victim impact statements shall 
include--
            ``(A) producers and sellers of legitimate works affected by 
        conduct involved in the offense;
            ``(B) holders of intellectual property rights in such 
        works; and
            ``(C) the legal representatives of such producers, sellers, 
        and holders.''.
    (e) Unauthorized Fixation and Trafficking of Live Musical 
Performances.--Section 2319A of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections 
        (e) and (f), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
    ``(d) Victim Impact Statement.--(1) During preparation of the 
presentence report pursuant to rule 32(c) of the Federal Rules of 
Criminal Procedure, victims of the offense shall be permitted to 
submit, and the probation officer shall receive, a victim impact 
statement that identifies the victim of the offense and the extent and 
scope of the injury and loss suffered by the victim, including the 
estimated economic impact of the offense on that victim.
    ``(2) Persons permitted to submit victim impact statements shall 
include--
            ``(A) producers and sellers of legitimate works affected by 
        conduct involved in the offense;
            ``(B) holders of intellectual property rights in such 
        works; and
            ``(C) the legal representatives of such producers, sellers, 
        and holders.''.
    (f) Trafficking in Counterfeit Goods or Services.--Section 2320 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
    ``(d)(1) During preparation of the presentence report pursuant to 
rule 32(c) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, victims of the 
offense shall be permitted to submit, and the probation officer shall 
receive, a victim impact statement that identifies the victim of the 
offense and the extent and scope of the injury and loss suffered by the 
victim, including the estimated economic impact of the offense on that 
victim.
    ``(2) Persons permitted to submit victim impact statements shall 
include--
            ``(A) producers and sellers of legitimate goods or services 
        affected by conduct involved in the offense;
            ``(B) holders of intellectual property rights in such goods 
        or services; and
            ``(C) the legal representatives of such producers, sellers, 
        and holders.''.
    (g) Directive to Sentencing Commission.--(1) Under the authority of 
the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-473; 98 Stat. 1987) 
and section 21 of the Sentencing Act of 1987 (Public Law 100-182; 101 
Stat. 1271; 18 U.S.C. 994 note) (including the authority to amend the 
sentencing guidelines and policy statements), the United States 
Sentencing Commission shall ensure that the applicable guideline range 
for a defendant convicted of a crime against intellectual property 
(including offenses set forth at section 506(a) of title 17, United 
States Code, and sections 2319, 2319A and 2320 of title 18, United 
States Code) is sufficiently stringent to deter such a crime, and to 
adequately reflect the additional considerations set forth in paragraph 
(2) of this subsection.
    (2) In implementing paragraph (1), the Sentencing Commission shall 
ensure that the guidelines provide for consideration of the retail 
value of the legitimate items that are infringed upon and the quantity 
of items so infringed.
                                 <all>