I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2408
To amend title 17, United States Code, to allow abandoned copyrighted 
works to enter the public domain after 50 years. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 17, 2005
Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California (for herself and Mr. DOOLITTLE) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend title 17, United States Code, to allow abandoned 
copyrighted works to enter the public domain after 50 years.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Domain En-
hancement Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) The copyright clause, as set forth in article 
I, section 8 of the United States Constitution, 
grants Congress the power to ‘‘promote the Progress
of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited 
Times to Authors . . . the exclusive Right to their 
respective Writings . . .’’. 
(2) The copyright clause serves two purposes. 
First, it gives authors an economic incentive to cre-
ate new works. ‘‘By establishing a marketable right 
to the use of one’s expression, copyright supplies the 
economic incentive to create and disseminate ideas.’’ 
Harper & Row Publications, Inc. v. Nation Enters., 
471 U.S. 539, 558 (1985). Second, it promotes soci-
ety’s interest in the ‘‘free flow of ideas, information 
and commerce.’’ Sony Corp. v. Universal City Stu-
dios, Inc., 464 U.S. 417, 429 (1984). ‘‘The copy-
right term is limited so that the public will not be 
permanently deprived of the fruits of an artist’s la-
bors.’’ Stewart v. Abend, 495 U.S. 207, 228 (1990). 
(3) Both commercial and noncommercial cre-
ators depend on a healthy public domain. For exam-
ple, book publishers print titles from the public do-
main and make them available to the public at re-
duced prices. See Edward Rappaport, CRS Report 
for Congress, Copyright Term Extension: Esti-
mating the Economic Values, 3 (May 11, 1998). 
Others depend on the public domain as a source of 
raw material for new productions, such as a movie
based on an old book or a theme song based on old 
musical arrangements. Id. Schools, museums, and li-
braries use works in the public domain to create pic-
torial and textual materials for educational and cul-
tural purposes. Id. at 4. In addition, media sources 
like the World Wide Web benefit from the freedom 
of public domain content, such as historical mate-
rials placed on the Web by the Library of Congress. 
Id. 
(4) Current law continues to grant copyright 
protection to works published as early as 1923. See 
17 U.S.C. 304. Yet the vast majority of older works 
are no longer commercially available. One study indi-
cates that only 2 percent of works between 55 and 
75 years old continue to retain commercial value. 
Eldred v. Ashcroft, 123 S. Ct. 769, 804 (2003) 
(Breyer, J., dissenting). Nevertheless, under current 
law, these abandoned works will not enter the public 
domain for many years. This prevents commercial 
and noncommercial entities from building upon, cul-
tivating, and preserving abandoned works. Indeed, 
while older works are less likely to retain commercial 
value, they are more likely to ‘‘prove useful to the 
historian, artist, or teacher.’’ Eldred v. Ashcroft, 
123 S. Ct. 769, 805 (2003) (Breyer, J., dissenting).
(5) Thus, the existing copyright system func-
tions contrary to the intent of the Framers of the 
Constitution in adopting the copyright clause and 
the intent of Congress in enacting the Copyright 
Act. Neither is intended to deprive the public of 
works when there is no commercial or copyright pur-
pose behind their continued protection. It is, there-
fore, necessary to establish a mechanism by which 
abandoned American copyrights can enter the public 
domain. 
SEC. 3. MAINTENANCE FEE FOR PUBLISHED UNITED 
STATES WORKS. 
(a) DEFINITION OF UNITED STATES WORK.—The 
definition of ‘‘United States work’’ contained in section 
101 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘For purposes of section 411’’ and inserting ‘‘For pur-
poses of sections 306 and 411’’. 
(b) DURATION OF COPYRIGHT.—
(1) WORKS CREATED ON OR AFTER JANUARY 1, 
1978.—Section 302 of title 17, United States Code, 
is amended—
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Copy-
right’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to section 306, 
copyright’’;
(B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘In’’ and 
inserting ‘‘Subject to section 306, in’’; and 
(C) in subsection (c), in the first sentence, 
by striking ‘‘In’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to sec-
tion 306, in’’. 
(2) WORKS CREATED BUT NOT PUBLISHED OR 
COPYRIGHTED
BEFORE
JANUARY
1, 1978.—Section 
303(a) of title 17, United States Code, is amend-
ed—
(A) by striking ‘‘Copyright’’ and inserting 
‘‘Subject to section 306, copyright’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘. In no case, however,’’ 
and inserting ‘‘; except that, subject to section 
306, in no case’’; and 
(C) by striking ‘‘and, if’’ and inserting 
‘‘and, subject to section 306, if’’. 
(3) SUBSISTING COPYRIGHTS.—Section 304 of 
title 17, United States Code, is amended—
(A) in subsection (a)—
(i) in paragraph (1)—
(I) in subparagraph (B), by 
striking ‘‘In’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject 
to section 306, in’’; and