FILE h2441.ih
HR 2441 IH
104th CONGRESS
1st Session
To amend title 17, United States Code, to adapt the copyright law
to the digital, networked environment of the national information
infrastructure, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 29, 1995
Mr. MOORHEAD (for himself, Mrs. SCHROEDER, and Mr. COBLE)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend title 17, United States Code, to adapt the copyright law
to the digital, networked environment of the national information
infrastructure, and for other purposes.
[Italic->] Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled, [<-Italic]
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `NII Copyright Protection Act of
1995'.
SEC. 2. TRANSMISSION OF COPIES.
(a) DISTRIBUTION- Section 106(3) of title 17, United States Code,
is amended by striking `or by rental, lease, or lending' and
inserting `by rental, lease, or lending, or by transmission'.
(b) DEFINITIONS- Section 101 of title 17, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in the definition of `publication', by striking `or by
rental, lease, or lending' in the first sentence and inserting
`by rental, lease, or lending, or by transmission'; and
(2) in the definition of `transmit', by inserting at the end
thereof the following: `To `transmit' a reproduction is to
distribute it by any device or process whereby a copy of
phonorecord of the work is fixed beyond the place from which it
was sent.'.
(c) IMPORTATION- Section 602 of title 17, United States Code, is
amended by inserting `whether by carriage of tangible goods or by
transmission,' after `Importation into the United States,'.
SEC. 3. EXEMPTIONS FOR LIBRARIES AND THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED.
(a) LIBRARIES- Section 108 of title 17, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking `one copy or phonorecord' and inserting
`three copies or phonorecords';
(B) by striking `such copy or phonorecord' and inserting
`no more than one of such copies or phonorecords';
(C) by inserting before the period at the end of
paragraph (3) the following: `if such notice appears on the
copy or phonorecord that is reproduced under the provisions
of this section';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) by inserting `or digital' after `facsimile'; and
(B) by inserting `in facsimile form' before `for deposit
for research use'; and
(3) in subsection (c) by inserting `or digital' after
`facsimile'.
(b) VISUALLY IMPAIRED- Title 17, United States Code, is amended
by inserting after section 108 the following new section:
`Sec. 108A. Limitations on exclusive rights: Reproduction for the
visually impaired
`Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, it is not an
infringement of copyright for a nonprofit organization to reproduce
and distribute to the visually impaired, at cost, a Braille, large
type, audio, or other edition of a previously published literary
work in a form intended to be perceived by the visually impaired,
provided that, during a period of at least one year after the first
publication of a standard edition of such work in the United
States, the owner of the exclusive right to distribute such work in
the United States has not entered the market for editions intended
to be perceived by the visually impaired.'.
SEC. 4. COPYRIGHT PROTECTION SYSTEMS AND COPYRIGHT MANAGEMENT
INFORMATION.
Title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following new chapter:
`CHAPTER 12--COPYRIGHT PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
`Sec. 1201. Circumvention of copyright protection systems.
`Sec. 1202. Integrity of copyright management information.
`Sec. 1203. Civil remedies.
`Sec. 1204. Criminal offenses and penalties.
`Sec. 1201. Circumvention of copyright protection systems
`No person shall import, manufacture, or distribute any device,
product, or component incorporated into a device or product, or
offer or perform any service, the primary purpose or effect of
which is to avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, or otherwise
circumvent, without the authority of the copyright owner or the
law, any process, treatment, mechanism, or system which prevents or
inhibits the violation of any of the exclusive rights of the
copyright owner under section 106.
`Sec. 1202. Integrity of copyright management information
`(a) FALSE COPYRIGHT MANAGEMENT INFORMATION- No person shall
knowingly provide copyright management information that is false,
or knowingly publicly distribute or import for public distribution
copyright management information that is false.
`(b) REMOVAL OR ALTERATION OF COPYRIGHT MANAGEMENT INFORMATION-
No person shall, without authority of the copyright owner or the
law, (i) knowingly remove or alter any copyright management
information, (ii) knowingly distribute or import for distribution
copyright management information that has been altered without
authority of the copyright owner or the law, or (iii) knowingly
distribute or import for distribution copies or phonorecords from
which copyright management information has been removed without
authority of the copyright owner or the law.
`(c) DEFINITION- As used in this chapter, `copyright management
information' means the name and other identifying information of
the author of a work, the name and other identifying information of
the copyright owner, terms and conditions for uses of the work, and
such other
information as the Register of Copyrights may prescribe by
regulation.
`Sec. 1203. Civil rights
`(a) CIVIL ACTIONS- Any person injured by a violation of section
1201 or 1202 may bring a civil action in an appropriate United
States district court for such violation.
`(b) POWERS OF THE COURT- In an action brought under subsection
(a), the court--
`(1) may grant temporary and permanent injunctions on such
terms as it deems reasonable to prevent or restrain a violation;
`(2) at any time while an action is pending, may order the
impounding, on such terms as it deems reasonable, of any device
or product that is in the custody or control of the alleged
violator and that the court has reasonable cause to believe was
involved in a violation;
`(3) may award damages under subsection (c);
`(4) in its discretion may allow the recovery of costs by or
against any party other than the United States or an officer
thereof;
`(5) in its discretion may award reasonable attorney's fees
to the prevailing party; and
`(6) may, as part of a final judgment or decree finding a
violation, order the remedial modification or the destruction
of any device or product involved in the violation that is in
the custody or control of the violator or has been impounded
under paragraph (2).
`(c) AWARD OF DAMAGES-
`(1) IN GENERAL- Except as otherwise provided in this
chapter, a violator is liable for either (i) the actual damages
and any additional profits of the violator, as provided in
paragraph (2), or (ii) statutory damages, as provided in
paragraph (3).
`(2) ACTUAL DAMAGES- The court shall award to the complaining
party the actual damages suffered by him or her as a result of
the violation, and any profits of the violator that are
attributable to the violation and are not taken into account in
computing the actual damages, if the complaining party elects
such damages at any time before final judgment is entered.
`(3) STATUTORY DAMAGES-
`(A) At any time before final judgment is entered, a
complaining party may elect to recover an award of
statutory damages for each violation of section 1201 in the
sum of not less than $200 or more than $2,500 per device,
product, or offer or performance of service, as the court
considers just.
`(B) At any time before final judgment is entered, a
complaining party may elect to recover an award of
statutory damages for each violation of section 1202 in the
sum of not less than $2,500 or more than $25,000.
`(4) REPEATED VIOLATIONS- In any case in which the injured
party sustains the burden of proving, and the court finds, that
a person has violated section 1201 or 1202 within 3 years after
a final judgment was entered against that person for another
such violation, the court may increase the award of damages up
to triple the amount that would otherwise be awarded, as the
court considers just.
`(5) INNOCENT VIOLATIONS- The court in its discretion may
reduce or remit altogether the total award of damages in any
case in which the violator sustains the burden of proving, and
the court finds, that the violator was not aware and had no
reason to believe that its acts constituted a violation.
`Sec. 1204. Criminal offenses and penalties
`Any person who violates section 1202 with intent to defraud
shall be fined not more than $500,000 or imprisoned for not more
than 5 years, or both.'.
SEC. 5. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.
(a) TABLE OF SECTIONS- The table of sections for chapter 1 of
title 17, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the
item relating to section 108 the following:
`108A. Limitations on exclusive rights: Reproduction for the
visually impaired.'.
(b) TABLE OF CHAPTERS- The table of chapters for title 17, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
1201'.
SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall take effect
on the date of the enactment of this Act.