[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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