[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 158 (Tuesday, September 25, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H8838-H8839]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  MARRAKESH TREATY IMPLEMENTATION ACT

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of 
the bill (S. 2559) to amend title 17, United States Code, to implement 
the Marrakesh Treaty, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate 
consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 2559

       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.''.

  The bill was ordered to be read a third time, was read the third 
time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

[[Page H8839]]

  

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