H.R.1621 - Copyright Term Extension Act of 1997 105th Congress (1997-1998)

[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 1621 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1621

 To amend the provisions of title 17, United States Code, with respect 
         to the duration of copyright, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 15, 1997

   Mr. Bono introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the provisions of title 17, United States Code, with respect 
         to the duration of copyright, 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 ``Copyright Term Extension Act of 
1997''.

SEC. 2. DURATION OF COPYRIGHT PROVISIONS.

    (a) Preemption With Respect to Other Laws.--Section 301(c) of title 
17, United States Code, is amended by striking ``February 15, 2047'' 
each place it appears and inserting ``February 15, 2067''.
    (b) Duration of Copyright: Works Created on or After January 1, 
1978.--Section 302 of title 17, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a) by striking ``fifty'' and inserting 
        ``70'';
            (2) in subsection (b) by striking ``fifty'' and inserting 
        ``70'';
            (3) in subsection (c) in the first sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``seventy-five'' and inserting 
                ``95''; and
                    (B) by striking ``one hundred'' and inserting 
                ``120''; and
            (4) in subsection (e) in the first sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``seventy-five'' and inserting 
                ``95'';
                    (B) by striking ``one hundred'' and inserting 
                ``120''; and
                    (C) by striking ``fifty'' each place it appears and 
                inserting ``70''.
    (c) Duration of Copyright: Works Created but Not Published or 
Copyrighted Before January 1, 1978.--Section 303 of title 17, United 
States Code, is amended in the second sentence by striking ``December 
31, 2027'' and inserting ``December 31, 2047''.
    (d) Duration of Copyright: Subsisting Copyrights.--
            (1) In general.--Section 304 of title 17, United States 
        Code, is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1)--
                                    (I) in subparagraph (B) by striking 
                                ``47'' and inserting ``67''; and
                                    (II) in subparagraph (C) by 
                                striking ``47'' and inserting ``67'';
                            (ii) in paragraph (2)--
                                    (I) in subparagraph (A) by striking 
                                ``47'' and inserting ``67''; and
                                    (II) in subparagraph (B) by 
                                striking ``47'' and inserting ``67''; 
                                and
                            (iii) in paragraph (3)--
                                    (I) in subparagraph (A)(i) by 
                                striking ``47'' and inserting ``67''; 
                                and
                                    (II) in subparagraph (B) by 
                                striking ``47'' and inserting ``67'';
                    (B) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
    ``(b) Copyrights in Their Renewal Term at the Time of the Effective 
Date of the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1997.--Any copyright still 
in its renewal term at the time that the Copyright Term Extension Act 
of 1997 becomes effective shall have a copyright term of 95 years from 
the date copyright was originally secured.'';
                    (C) in subsection (c)(4)(A) in the first sentence 
                by inserting ``or, in the case of a termination under 
                subsection (d), within the five-year period specified 
                by subsection (d)(2),'' after ``specified by clause (3) 
                of this subsection,''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following new 
                subsection:
    ``(d) Termination Rights Provided in Subsection (c) Which Have 
Expired on or Before the Effective Date of the Copyright Term Extension 
Act of 1997.--In the case of any copyright other than a work made for 
hire, subsisting in its renewal term on the effective date of the 
Copyright Term Extension Act of 1997 for which the termination right 
provided in subsection (c) has expired by such date, where the author 
or owner of the termination right has not previously exercised such 
termination right, the exclusive or nonexclusive grant of a transfer or 
license of the renewal copyright or any right under it, executed before 
January 1, 1978, by any of the persons designated in subsection 
(a)(1)(C) of this section, other than by will, is subject to 
termination under the following conditions:
            ``(1) The conditions specified in subsection (c) (1), (2), 
        (4), (5), and (6) of this section apply to terminations of the 
        last 20 years of copyright term as provided by the amendments 
        made by the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1997.
            ``(2) Termination of the grant may be effected at any time 
        during a period of 5 years beginning at the end of 75 years 
        from the date copyright was originally secured.''.
            (2) Copyright renewal act of 1992.--Section 102 of the 
        Copyright Renewal Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-307; 106 Stat. 
        266; 17 U.S.C. 304 note) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (c)--
                            (i) by striking ``47'' and inserting 
                        ``67'';
                            (ii) by striking ``(as amended by 
                        subsection (a) of this section)''; and
                            (iii) by striking ``effective date of this 
                        section'' each place it appears and inserting 
                        ``effective date of the Copyright Term 
                        Extension Act of 1997''; and
                    (B) in subsection (g)(2) in the second sentence by 
                inserting before the period the following: ``, except 
                each reference to forty-seven years in such provisions 
                shall be deemed to be 67 years''.

SEC. 3. REPRODUCTION BY LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES.

    Section 108 of title 17, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (i); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (g) the following:
    ``(h)(1) For purposes of this section, during the last 20 years of 
any term of copyright of a published work, a library or archives, 
including a nonprofit educational institution that functions as such, 
may reproduce, distribute, display, or perform in facsimile or digital 
form a copy or phonorecord of such work, or portions thereof, for 
purposes of preservation, scholarship, or research, if such library or 
archives has first determined, on the basis of a reasonable 
investigation, that none of the conditions set forth in subparagraphs 
(A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (2) apply.
    ``(2) No reproduction, distribution, display, or performance is 
authorized under this subsection if--
            ``(A) the work is subject to normal commercial 
        exploitation;
            ``(B) a copy or phonorecord of the work can be obtained at 
        a reasonable price; or
            ``(C) the copyright owner or its agent provides notice 
        pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Register of 
        Copyrights that either of the conditions set forth in 
        subparagraphs (A) and (B) applies.
    ``(3) The exemption provided in this subsection does not apply to 
any subsequent uses by users other than such library or archives.''.

SEC. 4. DISTRIBUTION OF PHONORECORDS.

    Section 303 of title 17, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence by striking ``Copyright'' and 
        inserting ``(a) Copyright''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) The distribution before January 1, 1978, of phonorecords 
shall not constitute publication of the musical work embodied therein 
for purposes of the Copyright Act of 1909.''.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATES.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act and 
the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
    (b) Distribution of Phonorecords.--The amendment made by section 4 
shall not be a basis to reopen an action nor to commence a subsequent 
action for copyright infringement if an action in which such claim was 
raised was dismissed by final judgment before the date of enactment of 
this Act. The amendment made by section 4 shall not apply to any action 
pending on the date of enactment in any court in which a party, prior 
to the date of enactment, sought dismissal of, judgment on, or 
declaratory relief regarding a claim of infringement by arguing that 
the adverse party had no valid copyright in a musical work by virtue of 
the distribution of phonorecords embodying it.
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