[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2196 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2196

To amend title 17, United States Code, to extend protection to fashion 
                    design, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 30, 2009

 Mr. Delahunt (for himself, Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. Nadler of New York, Mr. 
Issa, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mrs. Bono Mack, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Ms. 
 Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Coble, Mr. Maffei, Mr. Weiner, Mr. Rangel, Mr. 
   Wexler, Ms. Waters, Mr. Cohen, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. George Miller of 
 California, and Ms. DeLauro) introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 17, United States Code, to extend protection to fashion 
                    design, 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 ``Design Piracy Prohibition Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 17, UNITED STATES CODE.

    (a) Designs Protected.--Section 1301 of title 17, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Fashion design.--A fashion design is subject to 
        protection under this chapter.''; and
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``, or an 
                article of apparel,'' after ``plug or mold''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(7) A `fashion design'--
                    ``(A) is the appearance as a whole of an article of 
                apparel, including its ornamentation; and
                    ``(B) includes original elements of the article of 
                apparel or the original arrangement or placement of 
                original or non-original elements as incorporated in 
                the overall appearance of the article of apparel.
            ``(8) The term `design' includes fashion design, except to 
        the extent expressly limited to the design of a vessel.
            ``(9) The term `apparel' means--
                    ``(A) an article of men's, women's, or children's 
                clothing, including undergarments, outerwear, gloves, 
                footwear, and headgear;
                    ``(B) handbags, purses, wallets, duffel bags, 
                suitcases, tote bags, and belts; and
                    ``(C) eyeglass frames.
            ``(10) In the case of a fashion design, the term `trend' 
        means a newly popular concept, idea, or principle expressed in, 
        or as part of, a wide variety of designs of articles of apparel 
        that create an immediate amplified demand for articles of 
        apparel embodying that concept, idea, or principle.''.
    (b) Designs Not Subject to Protection.--Section 1302(5) of title 
17, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``(5)'' and inserting ``(5)(A) in the case 
        of a design of a vessel hull,'';
            (2) by striking the period and inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(B) in the case of a fashion design, embodied in a useful 
        article that was made public by the designer or owner in the 
        United States or a foreign country more than 6 months before 
        the date of the application for registration under this 
        chapter.''.
    (c) Revisions, Adaptations, and Rearrangements.--Section 1303 of 
title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following: ``The presence or absence of a particular color or colors or 
of a pictorial or graphic work imprinted on fabric shall not be 
considered in determining the originality of a fashion design under 
section 1301 or 1302 or this section or the similarity or absence of 
similarity of fashion designs in determining infringement under section 
1309.''.
    (d) Term of Protection.--Section 1305(a) of title 17, United States 
Code, is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), the protection 
provided under this chapter--
            ``(1) for a design of a vessel hull, shall continue for a 
        term of 10 years beginning on the date of the commencement of 
        protection under section 1304; and
            ``(2) for a fashion design, shall continue for a term of 3 
        years beginning on the date of the commencement of protection 
        under section 1304.''.
    (e) Infringement.--Section 1309 of title 17, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (c), by striking ``that a design was 
        protected'' and inserting ``or reasonable grounds to know that 
        protection for the design is claimed'';
            (2) by amending subsection (e) to read as follows:
    ``(e) Infringing Article Defined.--
            ``(1) In general.--As used in this section, an `infringing 
        article' is any article the design of which has been copied 
        from a design protected under this chapter, or from an image 
        thereof, without the consent of the owner of the protected 
        design. An infringing article is not an illustration or picture 
        of a protected design in an advertisement, book, periodical, 
        newspaper, photograph, broadcast, motion picture, or similar 
        medium.
            ``(2) Vessel hull design.--In the case of a design of a 
        vessel hull, a design shall not be deemed to have been copied 
        from a protected design if it is original and not substantially 
        similar in appearance to a protected design.
            ``(3) Fashion design.--In the case of a fashion design, a 
        design shall not be deemed to have been copied from a protected 
        design if it is original and not closely and substantially 
        similar in overall visual appearance to a protected design, if 
        it merely reflects a trend, or if it is the result of 
        independent creation. This paragraph shall not be construed to 
        permit the copying of a discrete design protected by this 
        chapter.''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) Secondary Liability.--The doctrines of secondary infringement 
or secondary liability that are applied in actions under chapter 5 of 
this title apply to the same extent to actions under this chapter. Any 
person who is liable under either such doctrine under this chapter is 
subject to all the remedies provided under this chapter, including 
those attributable to any underlying or resulting infringement.''.
    (f) Application for Registration.--Section 1310 of title 17, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
    ``(a) Time Limit for Application for Registration.--
            ``(1) Vessel hull design.--In the case of a design of a 
        vessel hull, protection under this chapter shall be lost if 
        application for registration of the design is not made within 2 
        years after the date on which the design is first made public.
            ``(2) Fashion design.--In the case of a fashion design, 
        protection under this chapter shall be lost if application for 
        registration of the design is not made within 6 months after 
        the date on which the design is first made public by the 
        designer or owner in the United States or a foreign country.'';
            (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``offered for sale'' and 
        inserting ``offered for individual or public sale''; and
            (3) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (6) as 
                subparagraphs (A) through (F), respectively, and moving 
                such subparagraphs 2 ems to the right;
                    (B) by striking ``The application for registration 
                shall be made to the Administrator and shall state--'' 
                and inserting the following:
            ``(1) In general.--The application for registration shall 
        be made to the Administrator and shall state--''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Vessel hull designs.--In the case of a design of a 
        vessel hull, the application for registration may include a 
        description setting forth the salient features of the design, 
        but the absence of such a description shall not prevent 
        registration under this chapter.
            ``(3) Fashion designs.--In the case of a fashion design, 
        the Administrator shall require a brief description of the 
        design for purposes of matching the search criteria of the 
        searchable database established under section 1333, except that 
        such brief descriptions shall in no way limit the protection 
        granted to the design or the subject matter of the registration 
        under this chapter.''.
    (g) Recovery for Infringement.--Section 1323 of title 17, United 
States Code, is amended by striking ``$50,000 or $1 per copy'' and 
inserting ``250,000 or $5 per copy''.
    (h) Penalty for False Representation.--Section 1327 of title 17, 
United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``$500'' and inserting ``5,000''; and
            (2) by striking ``$1,000'' and inserting ``$10,000''.
    (i) Common Law and Other Rights Unaffected.--Section 1330 of title 
17, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``or'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) any rights that may exist under provisions of this 
        title other than this chapter.''.
    (j) Searchable Database for Fashion Design.--
            (1) In general.--Chapter 13 of title 17, United States 
        Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1333. Searchable database for fashion design
    ``(a) In General.--The Administrator shall establish and maintain a 
computerized database of fashion designs protected under this chapter. 
The database--
            ``(1) shall be searchable electronically, by general 
        apparel and accessory categories;
            ``(2) shall include the information required by 
        subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), (D), and (F) of paragraph (1), and 
        paragraph (3), or section 1310(d); and
            ``(3) shall be available to the public without a fee or 
        other access charge.
    ``(b) Additional Requirements.--The database under subsection (a) 
shall contain a substantially complete visual representation of all 
fashion designs that have been submitted for registration under this 
chapter, and shall include information as to the status of those 
designs, such as whether such designs are--
            ``(1) registered under section 1313(a);
            ``(2) denied registration under section 1313 (b);
            ``(3) cancelled under section 1313(c); or
            ``(4) expired under section 1305.''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--The table of sections for 
        chapter 13 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by 
        adding at the end the following:

``1333. Searchable database for fashion design.''.
            (3) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized 
        to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out 
        the amendments made by this subsection.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

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