[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2589 Engrossed in House (EH)]


  2d Session

                               H. R. 2589

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 To amend the provisions of title 17, United States Code, with respect 
         to the duration of copyright, and for other purposes.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 2589

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
 To amend the provisions of title 17, United States Code, with respect 
         to the duration of copyright, and for other purposes.

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

                   TITLE I--COPYRIGHT TERM EXTENSION

SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be referred to as the ``Sonny Bono Copyright Term 
Extension Act''.

SEC. 102. DURATION OF COPYRIGHT PROVISIONS.

    (a) Preemption With Respect to Other Laws.--Section 301(c) of title 
17, United States Code, is amended by striking ``February 15, 2047'' 
each place it appears and inserting ``February 15, 2067''.
    (b) Duration of Copyright: Works Created on or After January 1, 
1978.--Section 302 of title 17, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a) by striking ``fifty'' and inserting 
        ``70'';
            (2) in subsection (b) by striking ``fifty'' and inserting 
        ``70'';
            (3) in subsection (c) in the first sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``seventy-five'' and inserting 
                ``95''; and
                    (B) by striking ``one hundred'' and inserting 
                ``120''; and
            (4) in subsection (e) in the first sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``seventy-five'' and inserting 
                ``95'';
                    (B) by striking ``one hundred'' and inserting 
                ``120''; and
                    (C) by striking ``fifty'' each place it appears and 
                inserting ``70''.
    (c) Duration of Copyright: Works Created but Not Published or 
Copyrighted Before January 1, 1978.--Section 303 of title 17, United 
States Code, is amended in the second sentence by striking ``December 
31, 2027'' and inserting ``December 31, 2047''.
    (d) Duration of Copyright: Subsisting Copyrights.--
            (1) In general.--Section 304 of title 17, United States 
        Code, is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1)--
                                    (I) in subparagraph (B) by striking 
                                ``47'' and inserting ``67''; and
                                    (II) in subparagraph (C) by 
                                striking ``47'' and inserting ``67'';
                            (ii) in paragraph (2)--
                                    (I) in subparagraph (A) by striking 
                                ``47'' and inserting ``67''; and
                                    (II) in subparagraph (B) by 
                                striking ``47'' and inserting ``67''; 
                                and
                            (iii) in paragraph (3)--
                                    (I) in subparagraph (A)(i) by 
                                striking ``47'' and inserting ``67''; 
                                and
                                    (II) in subparagraph (B) by 
                                striking ``47'' and inserting ``67'';
                    (B) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
    ``(b) Copyrights in Their Renewal Term at the Time of the Effective 
Date of the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act.--Any copyright 
still in its renewal term at the time that the Sonny Bono Copyright 
Term Extension Act becomes effective shall have a copyright term of 95 
years from the date copyright was originally secured.'';
                    (C) in subsection (c)(4)(A) in the first sentence 
                by inserting ``or, in the case of a termination under 
                subsection (d), within the five-year period specified 
                by subsection (d)(2),'' after ``specified by clause (3) 
                of this subsection,''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following new 
                subsection:
    ``(d) Termination Rights Provided in Subsection (c) Which Have 
Expired on or Before the Effective Date of the Sonny Bono Copyright 
Term Extension Act.--In the case of any copyright other than a work 
made for hire, subsisting in its renewal term on the effective date of 
the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act for which the termination 
right provided in subsection (c) has expired by such date, where the 
author or owner of the termination right has not previously exercised 
such termination right, the exclusive or nonexclusive grant of a 
transfer or license of the renewal copyright or any right under it, 
executed before January 1, 1978, by any of the persons designated in 
subsection (a)(1)(C) of this section, other than by will, is subject to 
termination under the following conditions:
            ``(1) The conditions specified in subsection (c)(1), (2), 
        (4), (5), and (6) of this section apply to terminations of the 
        last 20 years of copyright term as provided by the amendments 
        made by the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act.
            ``(2) Termination of the grant may be effected at any time 
        during a period of 5 years beginning at the end of 75 years 
        from the date copyright was originally secured.''.
            (2) Copyright renewal act of 1992.--Section 102 of the 
        Copyright Renewal Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-307; 106 Stat. 
        266; 17 U.S.C. 304 note) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (c)--
                            (i) by striking ``47'' and inserting 
                        ``67'';
                            (ii) by striking ``(as amended by 
                        subsection (a) of this section)''; and
                            (iii) by striking ``effective date of this 
                        section'' each place it appears and inserting 
                        ``effective date of the Sonny Bono Copyright 
                        Term Extension Act''; and
                    (B) in subsection (g)(2) in the second sentence by 
                inserting before the period the following: ``, except 
                each reference to forty-seven years in such provisions 
                shall be deemed to be 67 years''.

SEC. 103. TERMINATION OF TRANSFERS AND LICENSES COVERING EXTENDED 
              RENEWAL TERM.

    Sections 203(a)(2) and 304(c)(2) of title 17, United States Code, 
are each amended--
            (1) by striking ``by his widow or her widower and his or 
        her children or grandchildren''; and
            (2) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:
                    ``(D) In the event that the author's widow or 
                widower, children, and grandchildren are not living, 
                the author's executor, administrator, personal 
                representative, or trustee shall own the author's 
                entire termination interest.''.

SEC. 104. REPRODUCTION BY LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES.

    Section 108 of title 17, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (i); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (g) the following:
    ``(h)(1) For purposes of this section, during the last 20 years of 
any term of copyright of a published work, a library or archives, 
including a nonprofit educational institution that functions as such, 
may reproduce, distribute, display, or perform in facsimile or digital 
form a copy or phonorecord of such work, or portions thereof, for 
purposes of preservation, scholarship, or research, if such library or 
archives has first determined, on the basis of a reasonable 
investigation, that none of the conditions set forth in subparagraphs 
(A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (2) apply.
    ``(2) No reproduction, distribution, display, or performance is 
authorized under this subsection if--
            ``(A) the work is subject to normal commercial 
        exploitation;
            ``(B) a copy or phonorecord of the work can be obtained at 
        a reasonable price; or
            ``(C) the copyright owner or its agent provides notice 
        pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Register of 
        Copyrights that either of the conditions set forth in 
        subparagraphs (A) and (B) applies.
    ``(3) The exemption provided in this subsection does not apply to 
any subsequent uses by users other than such library or archives.''.

SEC. 105. VOLUNTARY NEGOTIATION REGARDING DIVISION OF ROYALTIES.

    It is the sense of the Congress that copyright owners of 
audiovisual works for which the term of copyright protection is 
extended by the amendments made by this title, and the screenwriters, 
directors, and performers of those audiovisual works, should negotiate 
in good faith in an effort to reach a voluntary agreement or voluntary 
agreements with respect to the establishment of a fund or other 
mechanism for the amount of remuneration to be divided among the 
parties for the exploitation of those audiovisual works.

SEC. 106. 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.
``Sec. 4001. Assumption of contractual obligations related to transfers 
              of rights in motion pictures
    ``(a) Assumption of Obligations.--In the case of a transfer of 
copyright ownership in a motion picture (as defined in section 101 of 
title 17, United States Code) 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 Act 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--
            ``(1) 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
            ``(2) 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.
    ``(b) 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)(2), the transferor shall be liable 
to the transferee for any damages suffered by the transferee as a 
result of the failure to notify.
    ``(c) Determination of Disputes and Claims.--Any dispute concerning 
the application of subsection (a) and any claim made under subsection 
(b) 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.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of chapters for part VI of 
title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``180. Assumption of Certain Contractual Obligations........    4001''.

SEC. 107. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This title and the amendments made by this title shall take effect 
on the date of the enactment of this Act.

                       TITLE II--MUSIC LICENSING

SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be cited as the ``Fairness in Musical Licensing Act 
of 1998''.

SEC. 202. EXEMPTION OF CERTAIN MUSIC USES FROM COPYRIGHT PROTECTION.

    (a) Business Exemption.--Section 110(5) of title 17, United States 
Code, is amended to read as follows:
            ``(5) communication by electronic device of a transmission 
        embodying a performance or display of a nondramatic musical 
        work by the public reception of a broadcast, cable, satellite, 
        or other transmission, if--
                    ``(A)(i) the rooms or areas within the 
                establishment where the transmission is intended to be 
                received by the general public contains less than 3,500 
                square feet, excluding any space used for customer 
                parking; or
                    ``(ii) the rooms or areas within the establishment 
                where the transmission is intended to be received by 
                the general public contains 3,500 square feet or more, 
                excluding any space used for customer parking, if--
                            ``(I) in the case of performance by audio 
                        means only, the performance is transmitted by 
                        means of a total of not more than 6 speakers 
                        (excluding any speakers in the device receiving 
                        the communication), of which not more than 4 
                        speakers are located in any 1 room or area; or
                            ``(II) in the case of a performance or 
                        display by visual or audiovisual means, any 
                        visual portion of the performance or display is 
                        communicated by means of not more than 2 audio 
                        visual devices, if no such audio visual device 
                        has a diagonal screen size greater than 55 
                        inches, and any audio portion of the 
                        performance or display is transmitted by means 
                        of a total of not more than 6 speakers 
                        (excluding any speakers in the device receiving 
                        the communication), of which not more than 4 
                        speakers are located in any 1 room or area;
                    ``(B) no direct charge is made to see or hear the 
                transmission;
                    ``(C) the transmission is not further transmitted 
                to the public beyond the establishment where it is 
                received; and
                    ``(D) the transmission is licensed.''.
    (b) Exemption Relating to Promotion.--Section 110(7) of title 17, 
United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``a vending'' and inserting ``an'';
            (2) by striking ``sole'';
            (3) by inserting ``or of the audio, video, or other devices 
        utilized in the performance,'' after ``phonorecords of the 
        work,''; and
            (4) by striking ``and is within the immediate area where 
        the sale is occurring''.

SEC. 203. BINDING ARBITRATION OF RATE DISPUTES INVOLVING PERFORMING 
              RIGHTS SOCIETIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 504 of title 17, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Performing Rights Societies; Binding Arbitration.--
            ``(1) Arbitration of disputes prior to court action.--
                    ``(A) Arbitration.--(i) If a general music user and 
                a performing rights society are unable to agree on the 
                appropriate rate or fee to be paid for the user's past 
                or future performance of musical works in the 
                repertoire of the performing rights society, the 
                general music user shall, in lieu of any other dispute-
                resolution mechanism established by any judgment or 
                decree governing the operation of the performing rights 
                society, be entitled to binding arbitration of such 
                disagreement pursuant to the rules of the American 
                Arbitration Association. The music user may initiate 
                such arbitration.
                    ``(ii) The arbitrator in such binding arbitration 
                shall determine a fair and reasonable rate or fee for 
                the general music user's past and future performance of 
                musical works in such society's repertoire and shall 
                determine whether the user's past performances of such 
                musical works, if any, infringed the copyrights of 
                works in the society's repertoire. If the arbitrator 
                determines that the general music user's past 
                performances of such musical works infringed the 
                copyrights of works in the society's repertoire, the 
                arbitrator shall impose a penalty for such 
                infringement. Such penalty shall not exceed the 
                arbitrator's determination of the fair and reasonable 
                license fee for the performances at issue.
                    ``(B) Definitions.--(i) For purposes of this 
                paragraph, a `general music user' is any person who 
                performs musical works publicly but is not engaged in 
                the transmission of musical works to the general public 
                or to subscribers through broadcast, cable, satellite, 
                or other transmission.
                    ``(ii) For purposes of this paragraph, 
                transmissions within a single commercial establishment 
                or within establishments under common ownership or 
                control are not transmissions to the general public.
                    ``(iii) For purposes of clause (ii), an 
                `establishment' is a retail business, restaurant, bar, 
                inn, tavern, or any other place of business in which 
                the public may assemble.
                    ``(C) Enforcement of arbitrator's determinations.--
                An arbitrator's determination under this paragraph is 
                binding on the parties and may be enforced pursuant to 
                sections 9 through 13 of title 9, United States Code.
            ``(2) Court-annexed arbitration.--(A) In any civil action 
        brought against a general music user, as defined in paragraph 
        (1) for infringement of the right granted in section 106(4) 
        involving a musical work that is in the repertoire of a 
        performing rights society, if the general music user admits the 
        prior public performance of one or more works in the repertoire 
        of the performing rights society but contests the rate or the 
        amount of the license fee demanded by such society for such 
        performance, the dispute shall, if requested by the general 
        music user, be submitted to arbitration under section 652(e) of 
        title 28. In such arbitration proceeding, the arbitrator shall 
        determine the appropriate rate and amount owed by the music 
        user to the performing rights society for all past public 
        performances of musical works in the society's repertoire. The 
        amount of the license fee shall not exceed two times the amount 
        of the blanket license fee that would be applied by the society 
        to the music user for the year or years in which the 
        performances occurred. In addition, the arbitrator shall, if 
        requested by the music user, determine a fair and reasonable 
        rate or license fee for the music user's future public 
        performances of the musical works in such society's repertoire.
            ``(B) As used in this paragraph, the term `blanket license' 
        means a license provided by a performing rights society that 
        authorizes the unlimited performance of musical works in the 
        society's repertoire, for a fee that does not vary with the 
        quantity or type of performances of musical works in the 
        society's repertoire.
            ``(3) Term of license fee determination.--In any 
        arbitration proceeding initiated under this subsection, the 
        arbitrator's determination of a fair and reasonable rate or 
        license fee for the performance of the music in the repertoire 
        of the performing rights society concerned shall apply for a 
        period of not less than 3 years nor more than 5 years after the 
        date of the arbitrator's determination.''.
    (b) Actions That Shall Be Referred to Arbitration.--Section 652 of 
title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(e) Actions That Shall Be Referred to Arbitration.--In any civil 
action against a general music user for infringement of the right 
granted in section 106(4) of title 17 involving a musical work that is 
in the repertoire of a performing rights society, if the general music 
user admits the public performance of any musical work in the 
repertoire of the performing rights society but contests the rate or 
the amount of the license fee demanded by the society for such 
performance, the district court shall, if requested by the general 
music user, refer the dispute to arbitration, which shall be conducted 
in accordance with section 504(d)(2) of title 17. Each district court 
shall establish procedures by local rule authorizing the use of 
arbitration under this subsection. The definitions set forth in title 
17 apply to the terms used in this subsection.''.

SEC. 204. VICARIOUS LIABILITY PROHIBITED.

    Section 501 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(f) A landlord, an organizer or sponsor of a convention, 
exposition, or meeting, a facility owner, or any other person making 
space available to another party by contract, shall not be liable under 
any theory of vicarious or contributory infringement with respect to an 
infringing public performance of a copyrighted work by a tenant, 
lessee, subtenant, sublessee, licensee, exhibitor, or other user of 
such space on the ground that--
            ``(1) a contract for such space provides the landlord, 
        organizer or sponsor, facility owner, or other person a right 
        or ability to control such space and compensation for the use 
        of such space; or
            ``(2) the landlord, organizer or sponsor, facility owner, 
        or other person has or had at the time of the infringing 
        performance actual control over some aspects of the use of such 
        space,
if the contract for the use of such space prohibits infringing public 
performances and the landlord, organizer or sponsor, facility owner, or 
other person does not exercise control over the selection of works 
performed.''.

SEC. 205. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    Section 101 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting after the undesignated paragraph relating to the definition 
of ``perform'' the following:
            ``A `performing rights society' is an association, 
        corporation, or other entity that licenses the public 
        performance of nondramatic musical works on behalf of copyright 
        owners of such works, such as the American Society of 
        Composers, Authors, and Publishers, Broadcast Music, Inc., and 
        SESAC, Inc. The `repertoire' of a performing rights society 
        consists of those works for which the society provides licenses 
        on behalf of the owners of copyright in the works.''.

SEC. 206. CONSTRUCTION OF TITLE.

    Except as provided in section 504(d)(1) of title 17, United States 
Code, as added by section 203(a) of this Act, nothing in this title 
shall be construed to relieve any performing rights society (as defined 
in section 101 of title 17, United States Code) of any obligation under 
any consent decree, State statute, or other court order governing its 
operation, as such statute, decree, or order is in effect on the date 
of the enactment of this Act, as it may be amended after such date, or 
as it may be enacted, issued, or agreed to after such date.

SEC. 207. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This title and the amendments made by this title shall take effect 
on the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall apply to actions 
filed on or after such date.

            Passed the House of Representatives March 25, 1998.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.