I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 890 

To establish the United States Copyright Office as an agency in the legislative 

branch, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 6, 2017 

Mr. MARINO (for himself, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, and Mrs. COMSTOCK) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish the United States Copyright Office as an agency 

in the legislative branch, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Copyright Office for 

5 the Digital Economy Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT AND ORGANIZATION OF THE 

7 UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT OFFICE. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND ORGANIZATION.—Section 

9 701 of title 17, United States Code, is amended to read 

10 as follows: 


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1 ‘‘§ 701. United States Copyright Office; organization, 

2 powers, and duties 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The United States Copy4 right Office is established as an agency in the legislative 

5 branch. 

6 ‘‘(b) DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY DIRECTOR.— 

7 ‘‘(1) DIRECTOR.— 

8 ‘‘(A) APPOINTMENT.—The powers and du9 ties of the United States Copyright Office shall 

10 be vested in a Director of the United States 

11 Copyright Office, who shall be a citizen of the 

12 United States and shall be appointed by the 

13 President, by and with the advice and consent 

14 of the Senate. The President shall make the ap15 pointment after receiving the recommendations 

16 of the commission established under subpara17 graph (B). 

18 ‘‘(B) COMMISSION TO RECOMMEND INDI19 VIDUALS.— 

20 ‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is es21 tablished a commission to recommend indi22 viduals to the President for appointment to 

23 the office of Director (in this subsection 

24 referred to as the ‘commission’). The com25 mission shall recommend at least three inVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Feb 13, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H890.IH H890

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1 dividuals for appointment to such office. 

2 The commission shall be composed of— 

3 ‘‘(I) the Speaker of the House of 

4 Representatives; 

5 ‘‘(II) the President pro tempore 

6 of the Senate; 

7 ‘‘(III) the majority and minority 

8 leaders of the House of Representa9 tives and the Senate; and 

10 ‘‘(IV) the chairmen and the rank11 ing minority members of the Com12 mittee on the Judiciary of the House 

13 of Representatives and the Committee 

14 on the Judiciary of the Senate. 

15 ‘‘(ii) TIMING OF RECOMMENDA16 TIONS.—The commission shall make its 

17 recommendations to the President for Di18 rector— 

19 ‘‘(I) in the case of the first Di20 rector appointed under this para21 graph, not later than 60 days after 

22 the date of the enactment of the 

23 Copyright Office for the Digital Econ24 omy Act; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) in the case of any subse2 quent vacancy in the office of Direc3 tor, not later than 60 days after the 

4 date on which the vacancy occurs. 

5 ‘‘(iii) APPOINTMENTS WITHOUT REC6 OMMENDATIONS.—If the commission does 

7 not make its recommendations to the 

8 President within the applicable 60-day pe9 riod provided in clause (ii), the President 

10 may appoint a Director without receiving 

11 such recommendations. 

12 ‘‘(C) TERM OF OFFICE.—The term of of13 fice of the Director shall be 10 years. An indi14 vidual appointed Director under subparagraph 

15 (A) shall not be eligible for reappointment to 

16 such office. An individual may serve as Director 

17 after the expiration of the term for which the 

18 individual was appointed until a successor has 

19 been appointed. 

20 ‘‘(D) REMOVAL FROM OFFICE.—The Presi21 dent may remove the Director solely for ineffi22 ciency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. 

23 ‘‘(2) DEPUTY DIRECTOR.—The Director shall 

24 appoint a Deputy Director of the United States 

25 Copyright Office, who shall be vested with the auVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Feb 13, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H890.IH H890

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1 thority to act in the capacity of the Director in the 

2 event of the absence or incapacity of the Director. 

3 Before appointing a Deputy Director, the Director 

4 shall consult with the commission. The Deputy Di5 rector shall be a citizen of the United States and 

6 shall be appointed without regard to political affili7 ation. 

8 ‘‘(3) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Director and Dep9 uty Director shall be persons who have a profes10 sional background and experience in copyright law. 

11 ‘‘(c) OTHER OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.—The Di12 rector shall appoint and fix the pay of such other officers, 

13 employees (including attorneys), and agents of the Office 

14 as the Director considers necessary to carry out the func15 tions of the Office, define the title, authority, and duties 

16 of such officers and employees, and delegate to them such 

17 of the powers vested in the Office as the Director may 

18 determine. The Director shall appoint officers and employ19 ees under this subsection who have responsibility for ad20 ministering technology and data systems of the Office. 

21 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES.— 

22 All administrative functions and duties under this title, 

23 except as otherwise specified, are the responsibility of the 

24 Director. 


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1 ‘‘(e) SPECIFIC POWERS AND DUTIES.—In addition to 

2 the powers and duties set forth in other provisions of this 

3 title, the Office— 

4 ‘‘(1) shall advise Congress on national and 

5 international issues relating to copyright, other mat6 ters arising under this title, and related matters; 

7 ‘‘(2) shall provide advice and assistance to the 

8 executive branch and the Judiciary on national and 

9 international issues relating to copyright, other mat10 ters arising under this title, and related matters; 

11 ‘‘(3) shall participate in meetings of inter12 national intergovernmental organizations and meet13 ings with foreign government officials, and shall 

14 serve on United States delegations, relating to copy15 right, other matters arising under this title, and re16 lated matters; 

17 ‘‘(4) shall conduct studies and programs re18 garding copyright, other matters arising under this 

19 title, and related matters, the administration of the 

20 Copyright Office, or any function vested in the 

21 Copyright Office by law, including educational pro22 grams conducted cooperatively with foreign intellec23 tual property offices and international intergovern24 mental organizations; 


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1 ‘‘(5) shall review and maintain its records and 

2 provide services in a manner that reflects applicable 

3 technological needs and developments; 

4 ‘‘(6) shall promptly register any copyright claim 

5 for which a deposit, application, and fee have been 

6 delivered to the Office, within a period that does not 

7 adversely impact the timely enforcement of rights 

8 and remedies granted under this title; 

9 ‘‘(7) shall perform such other functions as Con10 gress may direct, or as may be appropriate in fur11 therance of the functions and duties specifically set 

12 forth in this title; and 

13 ‘‘(8) shall adopt a seal to be used to authen14 ticate all certified documents issued by the Copy15 right Office. 

16 ‘‘(f) ROLE AS CONGRESSIONAL ADVISOR.—No officer 

17 or agency of the United States shall have any authority 

18 to require the Director or any other officer or employee 

19 of the Copyright Office to submit legislative recommenda20 tions, or testimony or comments on legislation, to any offi21 cer or agency of the United States for approval, com22 ments, or review before the submission of such rec23 ommendations, testimony, or comments to Congress. 

24 ‘‘(g) ADDITIONAL OPERATIONAL AUTHORITIES.— 

25 The Office— 


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1 ‘‘(1) may acquire, construct, purchase, lease, 

2 hold, manage, operate, improve, alter, and renovate 

3 any real, personal, or mixed property, or any interest 

4 therein, as it considers necessary to carry out its 

5 functions; 

6 ‘‘(2) may make such purchases, contracts for 

7 the construction, maintenance, or management and 

8 operation of facilities, and contracts for supplies or 

9 services, including information technology, as it con10 siders necessary to carry out the functions of the Of11 fice, without regard to the provisions of subtitle I 

12 and chapter 33 of title 40, division C (except sec13 tions 3302, 3501(b), 3509, 3906, 4710, and 4711) 

14 of subtitle I of title 41, and the McKinney-Vento 

15 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11301 et seq.); 

16 ‘‘(3) may enter into and perform such pur17 chases and contracts for printing services, including 

18 the processes of composition, platemaking, press19 work, silk screen processes, binding, and microform, 

20 and the products of such processes, as it considers 

21 necessary to carry out the functions of the Office, 

22 without regard to sections 501 through 517 and 

23 1101 through 1123 of title 44; 

24 ‘‘(4) may use, with their consent, services, 

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1 ments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Fed2 eral Government, on a reimbursable basis; and 

3 ‘‘(5) may retain and use, to carry out the func4 tions of the Office, all of its revenues and receipts, 

5 including revenues from the sale, lease, or disposal 

6 of any real, personal, or mixed property, or any in7 terest therein, of the Office. 

8 ‘‘(h) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Director shall, not later 

9 than 180 days after the end of each fiscal year, make and 

10 publish an annual report of the work and accomplishments 

11 of the Copyright Office for that fiscal year.’’. 

12 (b) DIRECTOR DEFINED.—Section 101 of title 17, 

13 United States Code, is amended— 

14 (1) by inserting after the definition of ‘‘digital 

15 transmission’’ the following: 

16 ‘‘The term ‘Director’ means the Director of the 

17 United States Copyright Office.’’; and 

18 (2) by inserting after the definition of ‘‘copies’’ 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘The terms ‘Copyright Office’ and ‘Office’ 

21 mean the United States Copyright Office.’’. 

22 SEC. 3. MODERNIZING COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION. 

23 (a) REGISTRATION IN GENERAL.—Section 408 of 

24 title 17, United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘the deposit 

2 specified by this section’’ and inserting ‘‘any exam3 ination copies required by regulations issued under 

4 this section’’; 

5 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(b) EXAMINATION COPIES FOR COPYRIGHT REG8 ISTRATION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) The Director shall issue regulations speci10 fying the form, quality, and content of examination 

11 copies of works to be submitted under subsection 

12 (a). Such regulations shall include provisions gov13 erning the retention and disposition of examination 

14 copies, and may, in the Director’s discretion, include 

15 appropriate administrative classifications, group reg16 istration practices, and other provisions that both fa17 cilitate registration and establish a meaningful pub18 lic record. The administrative classification of works 

19 has no significance with respect to the subject mat20 ter of copyright or the exclusive rights provided by 

21 this title. 

22 ‘‘(2) Pursuant to regulations issued by the Di23 rector upon consultation with the Librarian of Con24 gress, the Director shall provide the Library of Con25 gress access to examination copies and related data 


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1 solely for the Library’s determination of whether to 

2 demand a deposit under section 407 or to otherwise 

3 engage with copyright owners regarding works of au4 thorship that may be of curatorial and collection in5 terest to the national library. The Director shall con6 sult with the Librarian of Congress, as the Director 

7 considers appropriate, on other matters of common 

8 interest.’’; 

9 (3) by striking subsection (c) and redesignating 

10 subsections (d), (e), and (f) as subsections (c), (d), 

11 and (e), respectively; and 

12 (4) in subsection (e)(3)(B), as redesignated, by 

13 striking ‘‘a deposit’’ and inserting ‘‘an examination 

14 copy’’. 

15 (b) RETENTION AND DISPOSITION OF ARTICLES DE16 POSITED IN COPYRIGHT OFFICE.—Section 704 of title 17, 

17 United States Code, is amended— 

18 (1) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol19 lows: 

20 ‘‘(b) In the case of published works deposited pursu21 ant to section 407, all copies, phonorecords, and identi22 fying material deposited are available to the Library of 

23 Congress for its collections, or for exchange or transfer 

24 to any other library according to regulations issued by the 


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1 Director that prescribe the period of retention and applica2 ble conditions.’’; and 

3 (2) by striking subsections (c) and (d) and re4 designating subsection (e) as subsection (c). 

5 SEC. 4. PAY OF DIRECTOR, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, AND ASSO6 CIATE DIRECTORS. 

7 (a) PAY OF DIRECTOR.—Section 5314 of title 5, 

8 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Register of 

9 Copyrights’’ and inserting ‘‘Director of the United States 

10 Copyright Office’’. 

11 (b) PAY OF DEPUTY DIRECTOR.—Section 5315 of 

12 title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

13 end the following: 

14 ‘‘Deputy Director of the United States Copy15 right Office.’’. 

16 SEC. 5. COPYRIGHT ADVISORY BOARD. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNCTIONS.—Chapter 7 

18 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

19 the end the following new section: 

20 ‘‘§ 710. Copyright Advisory Board 

21 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall establish 

22 a Copyright Advisory Board to advise and consult with 

23 the Copyright Office in the exercise of its functions under 

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1 ing practices regarding copyright, including technology 

2 practices. 

3 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Director shall appoint the 

4 Copyright Advisory Board. In doing so, the Director shall 

5 seek to assemble experts in copyright law and practice, 

6 including authors, licensees, licensing organizations, public 

7 interest organizations, nonprofit organizations, and tech8 nology providers. 

9 ‘‘(c) MEETINGS.—The Copyright Advisory Board 

10 shall meet from time to time at the call of the Director, 

11 but, at a minimum, shall meet at least twice in each year. 

12 ‘‘(d) COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.— 

13 Members of the Copyright Advisory Board shall not re14 ceive compensation by reason of their service on the Advi15 sory Board, but shall be allowed travel expenses, including 

16 per diem in lieu of subsistence, under subchapter I of 

17 chapter 57 of title 5. 

18 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The 

19 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 

20 apply to the Copyright Advisory Board.’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec22 tions for chapter 7 of title 17, United States Code, is 

23 amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘709. Copyright Advisory Board.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. TRANSFER OF ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS. 

2 (a) INTERIM ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT BY THE LI3 BRARY OF CONGRESS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

5 (A) SUPPORT BY LIBRARIAN OF CON6 GRESS.—Until such time as the first Director 

7 of the United States Copyright Office is ap8 pointed under section 701 of title 17, United 

9 States Code, as amended by section 2(a) of this 

10 Act, the Librarian of Congress shall continue to 

11 perform, on and after the effective date of this 

12 Act, any administrative functions the Librarian 

13 performs, on the day before such effective date, 

14 for or to the benefit of the Copyright Office (in15 cluding the Copyright Royalty Judges). 

16 (B) TRANSFER OF ADMINISTRATIVE FUNC17 TIONS.—On the date on which the first Direc18 tor of the United States Copyright Office is ap19 pointed under section 701 of title 17, United 

20 States Code, the administrative functions de21 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall be trans22 ferred to the Director. 

23 (2) COOPERATION OF LIBRARY.—The Librarian 

24 of Congress shall ensure the full cooperation of the 

25 Library of Congress with the Director and facilitate 

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1 tor requests for purposes of carrying out the trans2 fer of administrative functions to the Director. 

3 (b) LEASING OF SPACE BY GSA FOR THE UNITED

4 STATES COPYRIGHT OFFICE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 

6 funds, the Administrator of the General Services Ad7 ministration may acquire real property by lease for 

8 the use of the United States Copyright Office in the 

9 District of Columbia. 

10 (2) LIMITATION.—No obligation entered into 

11 pursuant to the authority of this subsection shall be 

12 in advance of, or in excess of, available appropria13 tions. 

14 (c) STATUS REPORT.—Not later than 18 months 

15 after the date of the appointment of the first Director 

16 under section 701 of title 17, United States Code, the Di17 rector shall submit to Congress the following: 

18 (1) A status report regarding the transfer of 

19 administrative functions under this section and mod20 ernization objectives of the Copyright Office, includ21 ing improvements to staffing, fee schedules, tech22 nology, and services. 

23 (2) Recommendations for additional amend24 ments to title 17, United States Code, that are nec25 essary by reason of the enactment of this Act or to 


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1 assist the Copyright Office in its modernization ef2 forts. 

3 (3) Such other recommendations that the Di4 rector considers appropriate. 

5 (d) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

6 term ‘‘administrative functions’’ includes, but is not lim7 ited to, any operational support, information technology, 

8 physical space, and any other support services that the 

9 Library of Congress was providing to the Copyright Office 

10 as of the day before the effective date of this Act. 

11 SEC. 7. STUDY OF MANDATORY DEPOSIT. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the United States 

13 Copyright Office shall conduct a study on the future ad14 ministration of mandatory deposit provisions in section 

15 407 of title 17, United States Code. Such study shall cover 

16 the following: 

17 (1) The history of the mandatory deposit provi18 sions and their application to the digital era. 

19 (2) The Library’s preferences regarding format 

20 or quality when seeking deposits that are appro21 priate to preservation efforts. 

22 (3) The concerns of copyright owners relating 

23 to the Library’s retention of works, copying of works 

24 for preservation purposes, and copying or sharing 

25 required to make such works, including digital 


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1 works, available to Library patrons or the public at 

2 large. 

3 (4) Observations regarding the legal and admin4 istrative conditions under which the Copyright Office 

5 may transfer to the Library the responsibility for 

6 administering such section 407. 

7 (5) Relevant experience from foreign countries 

8 that have adopted similar or analogous regimes for 

9 the benefit of their national libraries, archives, or 

10 other institutions. 

11 (6) Such recommendations, including rec12 ommendations for statutory changes, that the Direc13 tor considers appropriate. 

14 (b) SUBMISSION OF REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The 

15 Director of the United States Copyright Office shall, not 

16 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

17 Act, submit to Congress a report on the results of the 

18 study conducted under subsection (a). The Director shall 

19 also publish the report on the website of the Copyright 

20 Office. 

21 (c) PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.—In conducting the 

22 study under subsection (a), the Director of the United 

23 States Copyright Office shall provide an opportunity for 

24 the submission of public comments on the subject matter 


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1 of the study, and shall publish with the study the re2 sponses of the Director to those comments. 

3 SEC. 8. TECHNOLOGY STUDIES. 

4 The Director of the United States Copyright Office 

5 shall periodically conduct studies of the information tech6 nology and operations of the United States Copyright Of7 fice in order to ensure that the Office has the technology 

8 and staff necessary to establish and maintain a modern 

9 copyright system. Such studies shall— 

10 (1) evaluate the effectiveness of current tech11 nologies and staff in meeting the needs of the copy12 right community, including internal and external 

13 users; and 

14 (2) analyze potential improvements in tech15 nologies and staff to meet those needs. 

16 SEC. 9. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

17 (a) AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 17, UNITED STATES

18 CODE.— 

19 (1) Section 111(d) of title 17, United States 

20 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Librarian of Con21 gress’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Direc22 tor’’. 

23 (2) Section 119(b) of title 17, United States 

24 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Librarian of ConVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Feb 13, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H890.IH H890

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1 gress’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Direc2 tor’’. 

3 (3) Section 410(d) of title 17, United States 

4 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘deposit’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘examination copy’’. 

6 (4) Section 411(a) of title 17, United States 

7 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘deposit’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘examination copy’’. 

9 (5) Section 702 of title 17, United States Code, 

10 is amended by striking ‘‘All regulations established 

11 by the Register under this title are subject to the 

12 approval of the Librarian of Congress.’’. 

13 (6) Section 704(d) of title 17, United States 

14 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘deposit’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘examination copy’’. 

16 (7) Section 705 of title 17, United States Code, 

17 is amended by striking ‘‘deposits’’ each place it ap18 pears and inserting ‘‘examination copies’’. 

19 (8) Section 709 of title 17, United States Code, 

20 is amended by striking ‘‘deposit’’ and inserting ‘‘ex21 amination copy’’. 

22 (9) Section 801 of title 17, United States Code, 

23 is amended— 

24 (A) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

2 ‘‘Librarian of Congress’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘Director’’; and 

4 (ii) by striking the second sentence; 

5 (B) in subsection (b)(8), by striking ‘‘Reg6 ister of Copyrights within the Library of Con7 gress’’ and inserting ‘‘Director’’; 

8 (C) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘Librar9 ian of Congress’’ and inserting ‘‘Director’’; and 

10 (D) by striking subsection (e) and redesig11 nating subsection (f) as subsection (e). 

12 (10) Section 802 of title 17, United States 

13 Code, is amended— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘Librarian of Congress’’ 

15 and ‘‘Librarian’’ each place it appears and in16 serting ‘‘Director’’; and 

17 (B) in subsection (i), by striking ‘‘Librar18 ian of Congress’’ and ‘‘Librarian’’ each place it 

19 appears and inserting ‘‘Director’’. 

20 (11) Section 803 of title 17, United States 

21 Code, is amended— 

22 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Librar23 ian of Congress’’ the first place it appears and 

24 inserting ‘‘Director’’; 


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1 (B) in subsection (b)(6)(A), by striking 

2 ‘‘Librarian of Congress’’ and inserting ‘‘Direc3 tor’’; 

4 (C) in subsection (c)(6), by striking ‘‘Li5 brarian of Congress’’ or ‘‘Librarian’’ in each 

6 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Director’’; and 

7 (D) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘Li8 brarian of Congress’’ each place it appears and 

9 inserting ‘‘Director’’. 

10 (12) Section 1201(a)(1) of title 17, United 

11 States Code, is amended— 

12 (A) in subparagraph (C)— 

13 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

14 ‘‘the Librarian of Congress, upon the rec15 ommendation of the Register of Copy16 rights, who shall consult with the Assistant 

17 Secretary for Communications and Infor18 mation of the Department of Commerce 

19 and report and comment on his or her 

20 views in making such recommendation’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘the Director, after con22 sulting with the Assistant Secretary for 

23 Communications and Information of the 

24 Department of Commerce’’; and 


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1 (ii) in the second sentence, by striking 

2 ‘‘Librarian’’ each place it appears and in3 serting ‘‘Director’’; and 

4 (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘Li5 brarian’’ each place it appears and inserting 

6 ‘‘Director’’. 

7 (13) Title 17, United States Code, is amended 

8 by striking ‘‘Register of Copyrights’’ or ‘‘Register’’ 

9 (except when used in the term ‘‘Federal Register’’) 

10 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Director’’. 

11 (14) The item relating to chapter 7 in the table 

12 of chapters for title 17, United States Code, is 

13 amended to read as follows: 

‘‘7. United States Copyright Office ........................................... 701’’. 

14 (15) The heading for chapter 7 of title 17, 

15 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘CHAPTER 7—UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT 

17 OFFICE’’. 

18 (16) The item relating to section 701 in the 

19 table of contents for chapter 7 of title 17, United 

20 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘701. United States Copyright Office; organization, powers, and duties.’’. 

21 (b) OTHER PROVISIONS OF LAW.— 

22 (1) Section 301(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Prioritizing 

23 Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property 


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1 Act of 2008 (15 U.S.C. 8111(b)(3)(A)(ii)) is amend2 ed— 

3 (A) by striking ‘‘Register of Copyrights’’ 

4 the first place it appears and inserting ‘‘Direc5 tor of the United States Copyright Office’’; and 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘Register of Copyrights’’ 

7 the second place it appears and inserting ‘‘Di8 rector’’. 

9 (2) Section 2 of title 35, United States Code, 

10 is amended by striking ‘‘Register of Copyrights’’ 

11 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Director of the 

12 United States Copyright Office’’. 

13 SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS. 

14 (a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act and the amend15 ments made by this Act shall take effect upon the expira16 tion of the 90-day period beginning on the date of the en17 actment of this Act, except that the provisions of section 

18 701 of title 17, United States Code, as amended by section 

19 2(a) of this Act, shall take effect on the date of the enact20 ment of this Act. 

21 (b) CONTINUATION IN OFFICE OF CERTAIN OFFI22 CERS.— 

23 (1) REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTS.—An individual 

24 serving as the Register of Copyrights on the day be25 fore the date of the enactment of this Act may serve, 


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1 on and after that date, as the interim Director of 

2 the United States Copyright Office until a Director 

3 of the United States Copyright Office has been ap4 pointed under section 701 of title 17, United States 

5 Code, as amended by section 2(a) of this Act. 

6 (2) COPYRIGHT ROYALTY JUDGES.—An indi7 vidual serving as a Copyright Royalty Judge on the 

8 day before the effective date of this Act may con9 tinue to serve in that role until the date on which 

10 a Copyright Royalty Judge to replace such indi11 vidual is appointed under section 801 of title 17, 

12 United States Code. 

13 (c) CARRYOVER OF PERSONNEL.—Effective on the 

14 effective date under subsection (a), all employees of the 

15 Library of Congress serving in the Copyright Office on 

16 the day before such effective date shall become employees 

17 of the United States Copyright Office, without a break in 

18 service. 

19 (d) TRANSFER OF ASSETS.—Except as otherwise 

20 provided in this Act, so much of the personnel, property, 

21 records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, allo22 cations, and other funds employed, used, held, available, 

23 or to be made available in connection with a function that 

24 this Act vests in the United States Copyright Office shall 

25 be available and transferred to the Director. 


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1 SEC. 11. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

2 (a) REFERENCES.—Any reference to the Register of 

3 Copyrights in any other Federal law, Executive order, 

4 rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, or any docu5 ment of or pertaining to the Copyright Office, shall be 

6 deemed to refer to the Director of the United States Copy7 right Office. 

8 (b) LEGAL DOCUMENTS.—All orders, determinations, 

9 rules, regulations, permits, grants, loans, contracts, agree10 ments, certificates, licenses, and privileges related to a 

11 function that is vested in the Copyright Office and that 

12 are in effect on the effective date of this Act (or become 

13 effective after such date pursuant to their terms as in ef14 fect on such effective date), shall continue in effect accord15 ing to their terms until modified, terminated, superseded, 

16 set aside, or revoked in accordance with law. 

17 (c) PROCEEDINGS.—This Act shall not affect any 

18 proceedings or any applications for any benefits, service, 

19 license, permit, or certificate pending on the effective date 

20 of this Act before the Copyright Office or the Copyright 

21 Royalty Judges, but such proceedings and requests shall 

22 be continued. Orders and determinations shall be issued 

23 in such proceedings, appeals shall be taken therefrom, and 

24 actions shall be taken pursuant to such orders and deter25 minations, as if this Act had not been enacted, and orders 

26 and determinations issued in any such proceeding shall 


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1 continue in effect until modified, terminated, superseded, 

2 or revoked by a duly authorized official, by a court of com3 petent jurisdiction, or by operation of law. Nothing in this 

4 subsection shall be considered to prohibit the discontinu5 ance or modification of any such proceeding under the 

6 same terms and conditions and to the same extent that 

7 such proceeding could have been discontinued or modified 

8 if this subtitle had not been enacted. 

9 (d) SUITS.—This Act shall not affect suits com10 menced before the effective date of this Act, and in all 

11 such suits, proceedings shall be had, appeals taken, and 

12 judgments rendered in the same manner and with the 

13 same effect as if this Act had not been enacted. 

Æ 


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