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Titles Actions Overview All Actions Cosponsors Committees Related Bills Subjects Latest Summary All Summaries

Titles (4)

Short Titles

Short Titles - House of Representatives

Short Titles as Passed House

Vessel Hull Design Protection Act

Short Titles as Reported to House

Vessel Hull Design Protection Act

Short Titles as Introduced

Vessel Hull Design Protection Act

Official Titles

Official Titles - House of Representatives

Official Title as Introduced

To amend title 17, United States Code, to provide for protection of certain original designs.


Actions Overview (3)

Date Actions Overview
03/18/1998 Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
03/11/1998 Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Judiciary. H. Rept. 105-436.
10/22/1997 Introduced in House

All Actions (17)

Date Chamber All Actions
03/19/1998 Senate Received in the Senate and read twice and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
03/19/1998 House For Further Action See H.R.2281.
03/18/1998-10:42am House Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
03/18/1998-10:41am House On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
03/18/1998-10:36am House DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate.
03/18/1998-10:36am House Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H1243-1247)
03/18/1998-10:35am House Mr. Coble moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
03/11/1998 House Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 246.
03/11/1998 House Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Judiciary. H. Rept. 105-436.
03/03/1998 House Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
Action By: Committee on the Judiciary
03/03/1998 House Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Action By: Committee on the Judiciary
02/26/1998 House Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote.
Action By: House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property
02/26/1998 House Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Action By: House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property
10/23/1997 House Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Action By: House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property
10/23/1997 House Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property.
Action By: Committee on the Judiciary
10/22/1997 House Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
10/22/1997 House Introduced in House

Cosponsors (1)

Cosponsor Date Cosponsored
Rep. Shaw, E. Clay, Jr. [R-FL-22]* 10/22/1997

Committees (2)

Committees, subcommittees and links to reports associated with this bill are listed here, as well as the nature and date of committee activity and Congressional report number.

Committee / Subcommittee Date Activity Related Documents
House Judiciary 10/22/1997 Referred to
03/03/1998 Markup by
03/11/1998 Reported by H. Rept. 105-436
House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property 10/23/1997 Referred to
10/23/1997 Hearings by
02/26/1998 Markup by
02/26/1998 Reported by
Senate Judiciary 03/19/1998 Referred to

Related Bills (1)

Bill relationships are identified by the House, the Senate, or CRS, and refer only to same-congress measures. Read more About Related Bills.


Latest Summary (3)

There are 3 summaries for H.R.2696. View summaries

Shown Here:
Passed House amended (03/18/1998)

Vessel Hull Design Protection Act - Amends Federal copyright law to provide for protection of original designs of vessel hulls which make a vessel attractive or distinctive in appearance to the purchasing or using public.

Bars protection for designs that are: (1) not original; (2) staple or commonplace; (3) dictated solely by a utilitarian function of the article that embodies them; or (4) embodied in a useful article that was made public by the designer or owner more than one year before the date of application for registration.

Provides for ten-year terms of protection.

Sets forth marking and design notice requirements for protected designs. Bars recovery against persons who began undertakings leading to infringement before receiving notice. Places the burden of providing notice of protection on design owners.

Grants owners of protected designs exclusive rights to make, have made, import, sell, or distribute for sale or for use in trade any useful article embodying protected designs. Makes it infringement to engage in such activities with respect to infringing articles without an owner's consent. Provides that it shall not be infringement to: (1) engage in certain activities with respect to protected designs without knowledge; or (2) reproduce a protected design solely for purposes of teaching, analyzing, or evaluating the appearance, concepts, or techniques embodied in the design or the functions of the useful article embodying the design.

Places the burden of establishing a design's originality on the party alleging rights in a design.

Provides that protection shall be lost if application for design registration is not made within two years after the date on which the design is first made public.

Sets forth registration application requirements. Accords protection to designs with respect to which an application was filed by a U.S. owner in a foreign country on the date as filed if the U.S. application is filed within six months after the earliest date on which such foreign application was filed.

Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) determinations of registrations and procedures for cancelling registrations in cases where a party believes he or she may be damaged by registration; and (2) ownership and transfer of property rights of protected designs.

Authorizes design owners to seek judicial review of final refusals of the Register of Copyrights to register designs. Permits the use of arbitration to resolve infringement disputes. Authorizes injunctive relief to prevent infringement.

Provides for recovery of damages or the infringer's profits in infringement cases. Sets a three-year statute of limitations with respect to recovery for infringement. Authorizes the court to order or cancel registrations. Prescribes penalties for the filing of infringement actions with respect to fraudulently-obtained registrations or making false markings or representations.

Directs the Secretary of the Treasury and the Postal Service to issue regulations for the enforcement of exclusive rights with respect to importation of protected designs. Subjects articles imported in violation of such rights to seizure and forfeiture.

Terminates protection under this Act upon issuance of a design patent with respect to an original design.

Grants the U.S. district courts jurisdiction over actions arising under this Act.