[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.