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Home > Legislation > 114th Congress > H.R.1881

All Information (Except Text) for H.R.1881 - American Royalties Too Act of 2015 114th Congress (2015-2016)

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Sponsor: Rep. Nadler, Jerrold [D-NY-10] (Introduced 04/16/2015)
Committees: House - Judiciary
Latest Action: House - 05/15/2015 Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.  (All Actions)
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This bill has the status Introduced

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  1. Introduced

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

Titles (2)

Short Titles

Short Titles - House of Representatives

Short Titles as Introduced

American Royalties Too Act of 2015

Official Titles

Official Titles - House of Representatives

Official Title as Introduced

To amend title 17, United States Code, to secure the rights of visual artists to copyright, to provide for resale royalties, and for other purposes.

Actions Overview (1)

Date Actions Overview
04/16/2015 Introduced in House

All Actions (3)

Date All Actions
05/15/2015 Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.
Action By: Committee on the Judiciary
04/16/2015 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Action By: House of Representatives
04/16/2015 Introduced in House
Action By: House of Representatives

Cosponsors (9)

Cosponsor Date Cosponsored
Rep. Slaughter, Louise McIntosh [D-NY-25]* 04/16/2015
Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-27]* 04/16/2015
Rep. Jackson Lee, Sheila [D-TX-18]* 04/16/2015
Rep. Engel, Eliot L. [D-NY-16]* 04/16/2015
Rep. Meng, Grace [D-NY-6]* 04/16/2015
Rep. Deutch, Theodore E. [D-FL-21]* 04/16/2015
Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9]* 04/16/2015
Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2]* 04/16/2015
Rep. Titus, Dina [D-NV-1] 07/15/2015

Committees (1)

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 04/16/2015 Referred to
House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet 05/15/2015 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.

Subjects (9)

Latest Summary (1)

There is one summary for H.R.1881. View summaries

Shown Here:
Introduced in House (04/16/2015)

American Royalties Too Act of 2015

Expands copyright owners' exclusive rights, in the case of a work of visual art, to include the right to collect or authorize the collection of a royalty if the work is sold by a person other than the author for at least $5,000 in an auction.

Defines "auction" as a public sale of visual art to the highest bidder run by an entity that sold at least $1 million of works of visual art during the previous year.

Revises the term "work of visual art" to make requirements for photographs consistent with requirements for paintings, drawings, and prints. (Currently, a photograph must be a still photographic image produced for exhibition purposes only.)

Limits the amount of such a royalty to the lesser of: (1) 5% of the purchase price; or (2) $35,000, subject to cost-of-living adjustments.

Directs entities conducting such auctions to collect and pay the royalties to a visual artists' copyright collecting society. Requires the collecting society, at least four times each year, to distribute the appropriate royalties (minus administrative expenses) to authors or successor copyright owners.

Requires an author of a work of visual art, in order to be eligible to receive such a royalty, to: (1) be a citizen of, or domiciled in, the United States or a country that provides resale royalty rights; or (2) have first created the work in the United States or a country that provides such royalty rights.

Establishes a copyright infringement offense for the failure to pay such a royalty. Subjects infringers to: (1) statutory damages, and (2) liability for the full royalty.

Prohibits the sale, assignment, or waiver of the right to collect such a royalty, subject to exceptions for works made for hire and transfers of copyright ownership.

Directs the Register of Copyrights to issue regulations governing visual artists' copyright collecting societies.