[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 22, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H2980-H2982]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             ARTISTIC RECOGNITION FOR TALENTED STUDENTS ACT

  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 704) to amend section 708 of title 17, United States Code, 
to permit the Register of Copyrights to waive fees for filing an 
application for registration of a copyright claim in certain 
circumstances, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 704

       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 ``Artistic Recognition for 
     Talented Students Act'' or the ``ARTS Act''.

     SEC. 2. WAIVER OF FEES FOR WINNERS OF CERTAIN COMPETITIONS.

       Section 708 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(e)(1) In this subsection, the term `covered competition' 
     means--
       ``(A) an art competition sponsored by the Congressional 
     Institute that is open only to high school students; and
       ``(B) the competition described in section 3 of H. Res. 77, 
     as adopted by the 113th Congress.
       ``(2) With respect to a work that wins a covered 
     competition, the Register of Copyrights--
       ``(A) shall waive the requirement under subsection (a)(1) 
     with respect to an application for registration of a 
     copyright claim for that work if that application is filed 
     not later than the last day of the calendar year following 
     the year in which the work claimed by the application wins 
     the covered competition (referred to in this paragraph as the 
     `covered year'); and
       ``(B) may waive the fee described in subparagraph (A) for 
     an application filed after the end of the covered year if the 
     fee would

[[Page H2981]]

     have been waived under that subparagraph had the application 
     been submitted before the last day of the covered year.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Nadler) and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Bishop) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 704, a bill that would help 
introduce promising young students who have won either the 
Congressional Art Competition or the Congressional App Challenge to the 
intellectual property system by waiving the fee for those students to 
apply for a copyright registration for their winning work.
  I applaud Mr. Jeffries for introducing this bipartisan, bicameral 
legislation with Ms. Mace, along with their bipartisan cosponsors.
  Many of us in this Chamber know just how important intellectual 
property rights are to our country and to our economy, yet studies show 
that awareness of intellectual property is lacking among the country's 
students, even if they pursue fields that are IP-intensive.
  The ARTS Act helps close this awareness gap early on and allows these 
students to participate in the intellectual property system without a 
financial burden.
  It builds on Congress' work to encourage the creativity of our 
Nation's youth with the establishment of the Congressional Art 
Competition nearly 40 years ago and the Congressional App Challenge 
more recently in 2013.
  In the art competition, Members host a districtwide contest in which 
high school students compete to have their artwork hang in the Halls of 
Congress. In the app challenge, middle and high school students show 
off their computer coding skills and compete against others in their 
district.
  Year after year, in both of these competitions, the talent our 
students display is remarkable. Through both, we continue to see our 
youth encouraged to develop their artistic and technology talents, as 
Congress intended.
  The ARTS Act makes these competitions even more impactful. Under the 
bill, students may apply to register a copyright for their winning 
artwork and winning app for free. This introduces these students to the 
intellectual property system and the benefits of copyright protection.
  Under current law, the Register of Copyrights cannot waive these fees 
on her own. The ARTS Act amends the Copyright Act to allow such a fee 
waiver for these specific circumstances.
  Mr. Speaker, I again applaud Mr. Jeffries and Ms. Mace for bringing 
forward this important bipartisan legislation, which will aid the next 
generation of creators and innovators, and I urge my colleagues to 
support its passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 704, the Artistic Recognition 
for Talented Students Act, or ARTS Act.
  The Constitution authorizes Congress to promote the progress of 
science and the useful arts by securing, for limited times, to authors 
and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and 
discoveries.
  Our copyright system is designed to help fulfill that mandate by 
promoting the work of authors, musicians, artists, and other creators. 
Creative industries contribute hundreds of billion of dollars to the 
U.S. economy each year.
  This bill makes it easier for some of our brightest, young creators 
to obtain copyrights on their award-winning work. Promoting and 
encouraging the next generation of American creators ensures that our 
creative economy will remain strong for decades to come.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join in me supporting this bill, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Jeffries), the sponsor of this bill.
  Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chairman of the 
committee from New York (Mr. Nadler) for yielding and his support, as 
well as the distinguished Member from the great State of North Carolina 
(Mr. Bishop) for his support of this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 704, the ARTS Act, a 
bipartisan, bicameral effort to support the student creators of 
America, help ignite their passions, and allow them to dream big.
  The Framers of our Constitution and the Founders of our great country 
understood that society would benefit if we incentivize creativity and 
innovation. That is why Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the United 
States Constitution gives Congress the power to create a robust 
intellectual property system to promote the progress of science and 
useful arts. Many of our Founders, of course, were authors and 
inventors themselves.
  The ARTS Act seeks to build upon this principle and practice by 
helping to introduce the next generation of creators from around the 
country to copyright and intellectual property.
  Specifically, it would permit the Register of Copyrights to waive 
application filing fees to register a copyright for those talented high 
school students who win the Congressional Art Competition or the 
Congressional App Competition each year.
  By doing so, student creators will be incentivized to register their 
works, allowing them to gain experience with the copyright process and 
insight into its subsequent benefits and familiarize themselves with 
our intellectual property system, which is in the fabric of the U.S. 
Constitution.

  We have often worked together in a bipartisan fashion to carry out 
our constitutional mandate in this space, as we are doing today. In the 
last Congress, this bill unanimously passed the Senate, and it has 
bipartisan support in both Chambers.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to particularly thank the original co-lead 
on this bill, Representative Nancy Mace, for her leadership and 
partnership on this legislation, as well as Senators Tillis and Leahy 
for leading this effort in the Senate.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support our Nation's next 
generation of creators and to vote ``yes'' on this straightforward 
bipartisan, bicameral legislation.
  Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to 
support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Judiciary 
Committee, I rise in strong support of H.R. 704, the ``Artistic 
Recognition For Talented Students Act,'' or Arts Act,'' bicameral, 
bipartisan legislation that directs the Register of Copyrights to waive 
the filing fee for an application to register a copyright for a 
student's work that has won the Congressional Art Competition or the 
Congressional App Challenge.
  The Congressional Art Competition (``Art Competition'') and the 
Congressional App Challenge (``App Challenge'') are annual district-by-
district contests that recognize students' achievements in the visual 
arts and in the science, technology, engineering, and math (``STEM'') 
fields.
  The Art Competition began in 1982 to encourage students' artistic 
creativity.
  High school students are eligible to participate by submitting two-
dimensional artwork, which is typically judged by a panel of local 
artists.
  The App Challenge stems from H. Res. 77, adopted in the 113th 
Congress, which recognized both the importance of STEM achievement to 
the country and the importance of encouraging students to appreciate 
and pursue career paths in STEM and established an academic STEM 
challenge to further those goals.
  Middle and high school students are eligible to participate in the 
App Challenge by creating a software app using any programming language 
and any platform.
  Winners of the Art Competition have their work hung in the Cannon 
Tunnel for one year, and in the App Challenge, winning apps may be 
displayed in the Capitol or on the House's website.
  H.R. 704 would add another element to the award winners' prizes--
winning students will be able to file an application to register a

[[Page H2982]]

copyright for their winning artwork or app without paying a filing fee.
  H.R. 704's filing fee waiver complements the related aims of both 
contests by introducing young artists and innovators to the 
intellectual property system and the benefits of copyright protection.
  Intellectual property rights like copyright allow artists and 
innovators to protect and benefit economically from their work, 
incentivizing them to continue to pour time and resources into further 
creations and innovations.
  Industries that rely on intellectual property have a significant 
economic impact and are integral to the U.S. economy.
  Despite intellectual property's importance, studies show that 
students have low awareness of intellectual property, even if they are 
likely to encounter intellectual property later in their careers.
  H.R. 704 helps close this awareness gap early on by introducing 
students who have shown interest in the arts and STEM to the 
possibilities of copyright registration and removing the economic 
barrier for pursuing such registration.
  As part of the copyright application process, the winning works may 
also become a part of the Library of Congress' collections and 
archives, 75 further spreading the reach of these students' creations.
  Under current law, the Register of Copyrights does not have authority 
to waive filing fees for winning students on her own.
  Section 708(a)(1) of the Copyright Act prescribes that fees be paid 
to the Copyright Office for filing an application for registration of a 
copyright, and the Register has only limited authority to waive fees 
involving the United States government.
  H.R. 704 amends this section to allow such waivers for the student 
winners of the Art Competition and App Challenge.
  I urge all members to join me in voting to pass H.R. 704, ``Artistic 
Recognition For Talented Students Act,'' or Arts Act.''
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 704.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. ROSENDALE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion 
are postponed.

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