U.S.A. Copyright Law by Library of Congress. Copyright Office (best romantic novels to read .txt) 📕

This Act becomes effective on January 1, 1978, except as

otherwise expressly provided by this Act, including provisions of the

first section of this Act. The provisions of sections 118, 304(b), and

chapter 8 of title 17, as amended by the first section of this Act, take

effect upon enactment of this Act.

Sec. 103. This Act does not provide copyright protection for any work

that goes into the public domain before January 1, 1978. The exclusive

rights, as provided by section 106 of title 17 as amended by the first

section of this Act, to reproduce a work in phonorecords and to

distribute phonorecords of the work, do not extend to any nondramatic

musical work copyrighted before July 1, 1909.

Sec. 104. All proclamations issued by the President under section 1(e)

or 9(b) of title 17 as it existed on December 31, 1977, or under

previous copyright statutes of the United States, shall continue in

force until terminated, suspended, or revised by the President.

Sec. 105. (a)(1) Section 505 of title 44 is amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 505. Sale of duplicate plates

"The Public Printer shall sell, under regulations of the Joint Committee

on Printing to persons who may apply, additional or duplicate stereotype

or electrotype plates from which a Government publication is printed, at

a price not to exceed the cost of composition, the metal, and making to

the Government, plus 10 per centum, and the full amount of the price

shall be paid when the order is filed."

(2) The item relating to section 505 in the sectional analysis at the

beginning of chapter 5 of title 44, is amended to read as follows:

"505. Sale of duplicate plates.".

(b) Section 2113 of title 44 is amended to read as follows:

[To assist the reader, section 2113 of title 44, now designated section

2117, appears in part VII of the Appendix, infra, as currently

amended.]

(c) In section 1498(b) of title 28, the phrase "section 101(b) of title

17" is amended to read "section 504(c) of title 17".

(d) Section 543(a)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended,

is amended by striking out "(other than by reason of section 2 or 6

thereof)".

(e) Section 3202(a) of title 39 is amended by striking out clause (5).

Section 3206 of title 39 is amended by deleting the words "subsections

(b) and (c)" and inserting "subsection (b)" in subsection (a), and by

deleting subsection (c). Section 3206(d) is renumbered (c).

(f) Subsection (a) of section 290(e) of title 15 is amended by deleting

the phrase "section 8" and inserting in lieu thereof the phrase "section

105". [2]

(g) Section 131 of title 2 is amended by deleting the phrase "deposit to

secure copyright," and inserting in lieu thereof the phrase "acquisition

of material under the copyright law,".

Sec. 106. In any case where, before January 1, 1978, a person has

lawfully made parts of instruments serving to reproduce mechanically a

copyrighted work under the compulsory license provisions of section 1(e)

of title 17 as it existed on December 31, 1977, such person may continue

to make and distribute such parts embodying the same mechanical

reproduction without obtaining a new compulsory license under the terms

of section 115 of title 17 as amended by the first section of this Act.

However, such parts made on or after January 1, 1978, constitute

phonorecords and are otherwise subject to the provisions of said section

115.

Sec. 107. In the case of any work in which an ad interim copyright is

subsisting or is capable of being secured on December 31, 1977, under

section 22 of title 17 as it existed on that date, copyright protection

is hereby extended to endure for the term or terms provided by section

304 of title 17 as amended by the first section of this Act.

Sec. 108. The notice provisions of sections 401 through 403 of title 17

as amended by the first section of this Act apply to all copies or

phonorecords publicly distributed on or after January 1, 1978. However,

in the case of a work published before January 1, 1978, compliance with

the notice provisions of title 17 either as it existed on December 31,

1977, or as amended by the first section of this Act, is adequate with

respect to copies publicly distributed after December 31, 1977.

Sec. 109. The registration of claims to copyright for which the required

deposit, application, and fee were received in the Copyright Office

before January 1, 1978, and the recordation of assignments of copyright

or other instruments received in the Copyright Office before January 1,

1978, shall be made in accordance with title 17 as it existed on

December 31, 1977.

Sec. 110. The demand and penalty provisions of section 14 of title 17 as

it existed on December 31, 1977, apply to any work in which copyright

has been secured by publication with notice of copyright on or before

that date, but any deposit and registration made after that date in

response to a demand under that section shall be made in accordance with

the provisions of title 17 as amended by the first section of this Act.

Sec. 111. Section 2318 of title 18 of the United States Code is amended

to read as follows:

[To assist the reader, section 2318 of title 18, as currently amended,

along with related criminal provisions, appears in part VII of the

Appendix, infra.]

Sec. 112. All causes of action that arose under title 17 before January

1, 1978, shall be governed by title 17 as it existed when the cause of

action arose.

Sec. 113. (a) The Librarian of Congress (hereinafter referred to as the

"Librarian") shall establish and maintain in the Library of Congress a

library to be known as the American Television and Radio Archives

(hereinafter referred to as the "Archives"). The purpose of the Archives

shall be to preserve a permanent record of the television and radio

programs which are the heritage of the people of the United States and

to provide access to such programs to historians and scholars without

encouraging or causing copyright infringement.

(1) The Librarian, after consultation with interested organizations and

individuals, shall determine and place in the Archives such copies and

phonorecords of television and radio programs transmitted to the public

in the United States and in other countries which are of present or

potential public or cultural interest, historical significance,

cognitive value, or otherwise worthy of preservation, including copies

and phonorecords of published and unpublished transmission programs-

(A) acquired in accordance with sections 407 and 408 of title 17 as

amended by the first section of this Act; and

(B) transferred from the existing collections of the Library of

Congress; and

(C) given to or exchanged with the Archives by other libraries,

archives, organizations, and individuals; and

(D) purchased from the owner thereof.

(2) The Librarian shall maintain and publish appropriate catalogs and

indexes of the collections of the Archives, and shall make such

collections available for study and research under the conditions

prescribed under this section.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106 of title 17 as amended

by the first section of this Act, the Librarian is authorized with

respect to a transmission program which consists of a regularly

scheduled newscast or on-the-spot coverage of news events and, under

standards and conditions that the Librarian shall prescribe by

regulation-

(1) to reproduce a fixation of such a program, in the same or another

tangible form, for the purposes of preservation or security or for

distribution under the conditions of clause (3) of this subsection; and

(2) to compile, without abridgment or any other editing, portions of

such fixations according to subject matter, and to reproduce such

compilations for the purpose of clause (1) of this subsection; and

(3) to distribute a reproduction made under clause (1) or (2) of this

subsection-

(A) by loan to a person engaged in research; and

(B) for deposit in a library or archives which meets the requirements of

section 108(a) of title 17 as amended by the first section of this Act,

in either case for use only in research and not for further reproduction

or performance.

(c) The Librarian or any employee of the Library who is acting under the

authority of this section shall not be liable in any action for

copyright infringement committed by any other person unless the

Librarian or such employee knowingly participated in the act of

infringement committed by such person. Nothing in this section shall be

construed to excuse or limit liability under title 17 as amended by the

first section of this Act for any act not authorized by that title or

this section, or for any act performed by a person not authorized to act

under that title or this section.

(d) This section may be cited as the "American Television and Radio

Archives Act".

Sec. 114. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such funds as

may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.

Sec. 115. If any provision of title 17, as amended by the first section

of this Act, is declared unconstitutional, the validity of the remainder

of this title is not affected.

Appendix I Endnotes

1 Part I of the Appendix contains the Transitional and Supplementary

Provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976, Pub. L. No. 94-533, 90 Stat.

2541, that do not amend title 17 of the United States Code.

2 The correct reference is to "290e," not "290(e)."

Appendix II. Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 [1]

Sec. 2. Declarations.

The Congress makes the following declarations:

(1) The Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works,

signed at Berne, Switzerland, on September 9, 1886, and all acts,

protocols, and revisions thereto (hereafter in this Act referred to as

the "Berne Convention") are not self-executing under the Constitution

and laws of the United States.

(2) The obligations of the United States under the Berne Convention may

be performed only pursuant to appropriate domestic law.

(3) The amendments made by this Act, together with the law as it exists

on the date of the enactment of this Act, satisfy the obligations of the

United States in adhering to the Berne Convention and no further rights

or interests shall be recognized or created for that purpose.

Sec. 3. Construction of the Berne Convention.

(a) Relationship With Domestic Law. The provisions of the Berne

Convention-

(1) shall be given effect under title 17, as amended by this Act, and

any other relevant provision of Federal or State law, including the

common law; and

(2) shall not be enforceable in any action brought pursuant to the

provisions of the Berne Convention itself.

(b) Certain Rights Not Affected. The provisions of the Berne Convention,

the adherence of the United States thereto, and satisfaction of United

States obligations thereunder, do not expand or reduce any right of an

author of a work, whether claimed under Federal, State, or the common

law-

(1) to claim authorship of the work; or

(2) to object to any distortion, mutilation, or other modification of,

or other derogatory action in relation to, the work, that would

prejudice the author's honor or reputation.

Sec. 12. Works in the public domain.

Title 17, United States Code, as amended by this Act, does not provide

copyright protection for any work that is in the public domain in the

United States.

Sec. 13. Effective date: effect on pending cases.

(a) Effective Date. This Act and the amendments made by this Act take

effect on the date on which the Berne Convention (as defined in section

101 of title 17, United States Code) enters into force with respect to

the United States. [2]

(b) Effect on Pending Cases. Any cause of action arising under title 17,

United States Code, before the effective date of this Act shall be

governed by the provisions