FILE s1284.is
S 1284 IS
104th CONGRESS
1st Session
To amend title 17 to adapt the copyright law to the digital,
networked environment of the National Information Infrastructure,
and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
SEPTEMBER 28 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 25), 1995
Mr. HATCH (for himself and Mr. LEAHY) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Judiciary
A BILL
To amend title 17 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 insert `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 or
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) by deleting `one copy or phonorecord'
and inserting in lieu thereof `three copies or phonorecords';
(2) in subsection (a) by deleting `such copy or phonorecord'
and inserting in lieu thereof `no more than one of such copies
or phonorecords';
(3) by inserting at the end of subsection (a)(3) `if such
notice appears on the copy or phonorecord that is reproduced
under the provisions of this section';
(4) in subsection (b) by inserting `or digital' after
`facsimile' and by inserting `in facsimile form' before `for
deposit for research use'; and
(5) in subsection (c) by inserting `or digital' after
`facsimile'.
(b) VISUALLY IMPAIRED- Title 17, United States Code, is amended
by adding the following new section:
`Sec. 108A. Limitations on exclusive rights: Reproduction for the
Visually Impaired
`Notwithstanding the provision of section 106, it is not an
infringement of copyright for a non-profit 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 the following
new chapter:
`CHAPTER 12- COPYRIGHT PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
`Sec.
`1201. Circumvention of copyright protection systems.
`1202. Integrity of copyright management information.
`1203. Civil remedies.
`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 remedies
`(a) CIVIL ACTIONS- Any person injured by a violation of Sec.
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 subsection (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 by
subsection (2) or (ii) statutory damages, as provided by
subsection (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, 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 three 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.