I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3559

To amend title 10, United States Code, to allow faculty members at Department of Defense service academies and schools of professional military 

education to secure copyrights for certain scholarly works that they 

produce as part of their official duties in order to submit such works 

for publication, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 20, 2003

Mr. PLATTS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL

To amend title 10, United States Code, to allow faculty 

members at Department of Defense service academies 

and schools of professional military education to secure 

copyrights for certain scholarly works that they produce 

as part of their official duties in order to submit such 

works for publication, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. LIMITED AUTHORITY FOR DEPARTMENT OF 

2 DEFENSE PERSONNEL WHO ARE FACULTY 

3 MEMBERS AT DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

4 SCHOOLS OR OTHER ACADEMIES TO SECURE 

5 COPYRIGHTS FOR CERTAIN SCHOLARLY 

6 WORKS. 

7 (a) AUTHORITY.—(1) Chapter 53 of title 10, United 

8 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1033 

9 the following new section: 

10 ‘‘§ 1033a. Faculty of service academies and Depart11 ment of Defense professional schools: lim12 ited authority to secure copyrights for 

13 certain works 

14 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—Subject to regulations prescribed 

15 under subsection (f), a person who is a member of the 

16 Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps, or a civilian em17 ployee of the Department of Defense, and is a faculty 

18 member of an institution described in subsection (e) may, 

19 notwithstanding section 105 or 201(b) of title 17, secure 

20 copyright protection under title 17 for a qualifying work, 

21 but only for the purposes of submitting such work for pub22 lication in a scholarly journal, publication, or other edited 

23 work for which such a copyright is a requirement for con24 sideration for publication or otherwise as may be pre25 scribed under regulations under this section. 
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1 ‘‘(b) QUALIFYING WORKS.—A work is a qualifying 

2 work for purposes of this section if the work—

3 ‘‘(1) is prepared as part of a person’s official 

4 duties; and 

5 ‘‘(2) meets such criteria as the Secretary of De6 fense may prescribe by regulation as a scholarly 

7 work for which copyright protection as provided in 

8 subsection (a) is warranted. 

9 ‘‘(c) TRANSFER OF COPYRIGHT.—Upon acceptance 

10 for publication of a work for which copyright protection 

11 exists by reason of subsection (a), the person holding the 

12 copyright shall transfer the copyright to the owner or pub13 lisher of the medium in which the work will be published. 

14 ‘‘(d) ROYALTIES, ETC.—No royalties or other com15 pensation may be accepted by a person described in sub16 section (a) by reason of copyright protection that exists 

17 by reason of subsection (a). 

18 ‘‘(e) COVERED INSTITUTIONS.—The institutions re19 ferred to in subsection (a) are the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) The United States Military Academy, 

21 United States Naval Academy, and United States 

22 Air Force Academy. 

23 ‘‘(2) The National Defense University. 

24 ‘‘(3) Any war college of the armed forces. 
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1 ‘‘(4) Any graduate-level college or university of 

2 the Department of Defense. 

3 ‘‘(5) The Coast Guard Academy. 

4 ‘‘(6) The United States Merchant Marine Acad5 emy. 

6 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Defense shall 

7 prescribe regulations for the purposes of this section. Such 

8 regulations shall include provisions specifying the types of 

9 works for which copyright protection may be secured by 

10 a person described in subsection (a).’’. 

11 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such 

12 chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating 

13 to section 1033 the following new item:

‘‘1033a. Faculty of service academies and Department of Defense professional 

schools: limited authority to secure copyrights for certain 

works.’’.

14 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 1033a of title 10, 

15 United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall 

16 apply only with respect to works that, as determined under 

17 regulations prescribed under that section, are produced 

18 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

19 (c) DEADLINE FOR REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of 

20 Defense shall prescribe regulations under subsection (f) of 

21 section 1033a of title 10, United States Code, as added 

22 by subsection (a), not later than 180 days after the date 

23 of the enactment of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 2. LIMITED AUTHORITY FOR FACULTY MEMBERS AT 

2 COAST GUARD ACADEMY TO SECURE COPY3 RIGHTS FOR CERTAIN SCHOLARLY WORKS. 

4 (a) AUTHORITY.—(1) Chapter 9 of title 14, United 

5 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 196 the 

6 following new section: 

7 ‘‘§ 197. Limited authority for faculty members to se8 cure copyrights for certain works 

9 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—Subject to regulations prescribed 

10 under subsection (f), a person who is a member of the 

11 Coast Guard, or a civilian employee of the Coast Guard, 

12 and is a faculty member of an institution described in sub13 section (e) may, notwithstanding section 105 or 201(b) of 

14 title 17, secure copyright protection under title 17 for a 

15 qualifying work, but only for the purposes of submitting 

16 such work for publication in a scholarly journal, publica17 tion, or other edited work for which such a copyright is 

18 a requirement for consideration for publication or other19 wise as may be prescribed under regulations under this 

20 section. 

21 ‘‘(b) QUALIFYING WORKS.—A work is a qualifying 

22 work for purposes of this section if the work—

23 ‘‘(1) is prepared as part of a person’s official 

24 duties; and 

25 ‘‘(2) meets such criteria as the Secretary may 

26 prescribe by regulation as a scholarly work for which 
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1 copyright protection as provided in subsection (a) is 

2 warranted. 

3 ‘‘(c) TRANSFER OF COPYRIGHT.—Upon acceptance 

4 for publication of a work for which copyright protection 

5 exists by reason of subsection (a), the person holding the 

6 copyright shall transfer the copyright to the owner or pub7 lisher of the medium in which the work will be published. 

8 ‘‘(d) ROYALTIES, ETC.—No royalties or other com9 pensation may be accepted by a person described in sub10 section (a) by reason of copyright protection that exists 

11 by reason of subsection (a). 

12 ‘‘(e) COVERED INSTITUTIONS.—The institutions re13 ferred to in subsection (a) are the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) The Coast Guard Academy. 

15 ‘‘(2) The United States Merchant Marine Acad16 emy. 

17 ‘‘(3) The United States Military Academy, 

18 United States Naval Academy, and United States 

19 Air Force Academy. 

20 ‘‘(4) The National Defense University. 

21 ‘‘(5) Any war college of the armed forces. 

22 ‘‘(6) Any graduate-level college or university of 

23 the Department of Defense. 

24 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

25 regulations for the purposes of this section. Such regula-
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1 tions shall include provisions specifying the types of works 

2 for which copyright protection may be secured by a person 

3 described in subsection (a).’’. 

4 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such 

5 chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating 

6 to section 196 the following new item:

‘‘197. Limited authority for faculty members to secure copyrights for certain 

works.’’.

7 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 197 of title 14, 

8 United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall 

9 apply only with respect to works that, as determined under 

10 regulations prescribed under that section, are produced 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

12 (c) DEADLINE FOR REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of 

13 the department in which the Coast Guard is operating 

14 shall prescribe regulations under subsection (f) of section 

15 197 of title 14, United States Code, as added by sub16 section (a), not later than 180 days after the date of the 

17 enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 3. LIMITED AUTHORITY FOR FACULTY MEMBERS AT 

19 UNITED STATES MERCHANT MARINE ACAD20 EMY TO SECURE COPYRIGHTS FOR CERTAIN 

21 WORKS. 

22 (a) AUTHORITY.— Title XIII of the Merchant Marine 

23 Act, 1936 (46 App. U.S.C. 1295 et seq.) is amended by 

24 adding at the end the following new section: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 1308. LIMITED AUTHORITY FOR FACULTY MEMBERS 

2 TO SECURE COPYRIGHTS FOR CERTAIN 

3 WORKS. 

4 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—Subject to regulations prescribed 

5 under subsection (f), a person who is an employee of the 

6 Department of Transportation and is a faculty member 

7 of an institution described in subsection (e) may, notwith8 standing section 105 or 201(b) of title 17, secure copy9 right protection under title 17 for a qualifying work, but 

10 only for the purposes of submitting such work for publica11 tion in a scholarly journal, publication, or other edited 

12 work for which such a copyright is a requirement for con13 sideration for publication or otherwise as may be pre14 scribed under regulations under this section. 

15 ‘‘(b) QUALIFYING WORKS.—A work is a qualifying 

16 work for purposes of this section if the work—

17 ‘‘(1) is prepared as part of a person’s official 

18 duties; and 

19 ‘‘(2) meets such criteria as the Secretary of 

20 Transportation may prescribe by regulation as a 

21 scholarly work for which copyright protection as pro22 vided in subsection (a) is warranted. 

23 ‘‘(c) TRANSFER OF COPYRIGHT.—Upon acceptance 

24 for publication of a work for which copyright protection 

25 exists by reason of subsection (a), the person holding the 
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1 copyright shall transfer the copyright to the owner or pub2 lisher of the medium in which the work will be published. 

3 ‘‘(d) ROYALTIES, ETC.—No royalties or other com4 pensation may be accepted by a person described in sub5 section (a) by reason of copyright protection that exists 

6 by reason of subsection (a). 

7 ‘‘(e) COVERED INSTITUTIONS.—The institutions re8 ferred to in subsection (a) are the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) The United States Merchant Marine Acad10 emy. 

11 ‘‘(2) The Coast Guard Academy. 

12 ‘‘(3) The United States Military Academy, 

13 United States Naval Academy, and United States 

14 Air Force Academy. 

15 ‘‘(4) The National Defense University. 

16 ‘‘(5) Any war college of the armed forces. 

17 ‘‘(6) Any graduate-level college or university of 

18 the Department of Defense. 

19 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Transpor20 tation shall prescribe regulations for the purposes of this 

21 section. Such regulations shall include provisions speci22 fying the types of works for which copyright protection 

23 may be secured by a person described in subsection (a).’’. 

24 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 1308 of Merchant 

25 Marine Act, 1936, as added by subsection (a), shall apply 
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1 only with respect to works that, as determined under regu2 lations prescribed under that section, are produced after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 (c) DEADLINE FOR REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of 

5 Transportation shall prescribe regulations under section 

6 1308 of Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as added by sub7 section (a), not later than 180 days after the date of the 

8 enactment of this Act.

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