[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2559 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.2559
One Hundred Fifteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and eighteen
An Act
To amend title 17, United States Code, to implement the Marrakesh
Treaty, 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 ``Marrakesh Treaty Implementation
Act''.
SEC. 2. IMPLEMENTATION AMENDMENTS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 17, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in section 121--
(A) in subsection (a)--
(i) by inserting ``in the United States'' after
``distribute'';
(ii) by striking ``, nondramatic'';
(iii) by inserting ``or of a previously published
musical work that has been fixed in the form of text or
notation'' after ``literary work'';
(iv) by striking ``specialized formats'' and inserting
``accessible formats''; and
(v) by striking ``blind or other persons with
disabilities'' and inserting ``eligible persons'';
(B) in subsection (b)(1)--
(i) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) by inserting ``in the United States'' after
``distributed'';
(II) by striking ``a specialized format'' and
inserting ``an accessible format''; and
(III) by striking ``blind or other persons with
disabilities'' and inserting ``eligible persons''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``a specialized
format'' and inserting ``an accessible format'';
(C) in subsection (c)(3), by striking ``specialized
formats'' and inserting ``accessible formats''; and
(D) in subsection (d)--
(i) by striking paragraphs (2) and (4);
(ii) by redesignating paragraph (1) as paragraph (2);
(iii) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4);
(iv) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so
redesignated, the following:
``(1) `accessible format' means an alternative manner or form
that gives an eligible person access to the work when the copy or
phonorecord in the accessible format is used exclusively by the
eligible person to permit him or her to have access as feasibly and
comfortably as a person without such disability as described in
paragraph (3);'';
(v) by inserting after paragraph (2), as so
redesignated, the following:
``(3) `eligible person' means an individual who, regardless of
any other disability--
``(A) is blind;
``(B) has a visual impairment or perceptual or reading
disability that cannot be improved to give visual function
substantially equivalent to that of a person who has no such
impairment or disability and so is unable to read printed works
to substantially the same degree as a person without an
impairment or disability; or
``(C) is otherwise unable, through physical disability, to
hold or manipulate a book or to focus or move the eyes to the
extent that would be normally acceptable for reading; and'';
and
(vi) in paragraph (4), as so redesignated, by striking
``; and'' at the end and inserting a period; and
(2) by inserting after section 121 the following:
``Sec. 121A. Limitations on exclusive rights: reproduction for blind or
other people with disabilities in Marrakesh Treaty countries
``(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 602, it is
not an infringement of copyright for an authorized entity, acting
pursuant to this section, to export copies or phonorecords of a
previously published literary work or of a previously published musical
work that has been fixed in the form of text or notation in accessible
formats to another country when the exportation is made either to--
``(1) an authorized entity located in a country that is a Party
to the Marrakesh Treaty; or
``(2) an eligible person in a country that is a Party to the
Marrakesh Treaty,
if prior to the exportation of such copies or phonorecords, the
authorized entity engaged in the exportation did not know or have
reasonable grounds to know that the copies or phonorecords would be
used other than by eligible persons.
``(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 602, it is
not an infringement of copyright for an authorized entity or an
eligible person, or someone acting on behalf of an eligible person,
acting pursuant to this section, to import copies or phonorecords of a
previously published literary work or of a previously published musical
work that has been fixed in the form of text or notation in accessible
formats.
``(c) In conducting activities under subsection (a) or (b), an
authorized entity shall establish and follow its own practices, in
keeping with its particular circumstances, to--
``(1) establish that the persons the authorized entity serves
are eligible persons;
``(2) limit to eligible persons and authorized entities the
distribution of accessible format copies by the authorized entity;
``(3) discourage the reproduction and distribution of
unauthorized copies;
``(4) maintain due care in, and records of, the handling of
copies of works by the authorized entity, while respecting the
privacy of eligible persons on an equal basis with others; and
``(5) facilitate effective cross-border exchange of accessible
format copies by making publicly available--
``(A) the titles of works for which the authorized entity
has accessible format copies or phonorecords and the specific
accessible formats in which they are available; and
``(B) information on the policies, practices, and
authorized entity partners of the authorized entity for the
cross-border exchange of accessible format copies.
``(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to establish--
``(1) a cause of action under this title; or
``(2) a basis for regulation by any Federal agency.
``(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
ability to engage in any activity otherwise permitted under this title.
``(f) For purposes of this section--
``(1) the terms `accessible format', `authorized entity', and
`eligible person' have the meanings given those terms in section
121; and
``(2) the term `Marrakesh Treaty' means the Marrakesh Treaty to
Facilitate Access to Published Works by Visually Impaired Persons
and Persons with Print Disabilities concluded at Marrakesh,
Morocco, on June 28, 2013.''.
(b) Table of Sections Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter
1 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the
item relating to section 121 the following:
``121A. Limitations on exclusive rights: reproduction for blind or other
people with disabilities in Marrakesh Treaty countries.''.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.