IIB 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1695 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
APRIL 27, 2017 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and 
Administration 
AN ACT 
To amend title 17, United States Code, to provide additional 
responsibilities for the Register of Copyrights, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Register of Copyrights 
Selection and Accountability Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTS. 
(a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 701 of title 17, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘(a) All administrative’’ 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(a) REGISTER AND DIRECTOR.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—All administrative’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘director’’ and inserting 
‘‘Director’’; 
(C) by inserting after the first sentence the 
following: ‘‘The Register of Copyrights shall be 
a citizen of the United States with a profes-
sional background and experience in copyright 
law, shall be capable of identifying and super-
vising a Chief Information Officer or other 
similar official responsible for managing mod-
ern information technology systems, and shall 
be appointed by the President from the individ-
uals recommended under paragraph (6), by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate.’’; 
and 
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(D) in the last sentence, by striking ‘‘shall 
be appointed’’ and all that follows through ‘‘and 
shall act’’ and inserting ‘‘shall act’’; 
(2) in subsection (b), by redesignating para-
graphs (1) through (5) as subparagraphs (A) 
through (E), respectively, and adjusting the margins 
accordingly; 
(3) by redesignating subsection (b) as para-
graph (2), and adjusting the margins accordingly; 
(4) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated, by in-
serting ‘‘DUTIES.—’’ before ‘‘In addition’’; 
(5) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(3) OATH.—The Register of Copyrights shall, 
before taking office, take an oath to discharge faith-
fully the duties of the Copyright Office described in 
paragraph (2). 
‘‘(4) REMOVAL.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Register of Copy-
rights may be removed from office by the Presi-
dent. 
‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION.—The President shall 
provide notification to both Houses of Congress 
of a removal under subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(5) TERM OF OFFICE.— 
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‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), the Register of Copyrights— 
‘‘(i) shall be appointed for a term of 
10 years; and 
‘‘(ii) may serve until a successor is ap-
pointed, confirmed, and taken the oath of 
office. 
‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The Register of Copy-
rights may not continue to serve after the date 
on which Congress adjourns sine die after the 
date on which the 10-year period described in 
subparagraph (A)(i) ends. 
‘‘(C) REAPPOINTMENT.—An individual ap-
pointed to the position of Register of Copy-
rights, by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate, may be reappointed to that position 
in accordance with the requirements of this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(6) PANEL
FOR
REGISTER
OF
COPYRIGHTS 
RECOMMENDATIONS.—There is established a panel 
to recommend a list of at least 3 individuals to the 
President for appointment as the Register of Copy-
rights. The panel shall be composed of the following: 
‘‘(A) The Speaker of the House of Rep-
resentatives. 
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‘‘(B) The President pro tempore of the 
Senate. 
‘‘(C) The majority and minority leaders of 
the House of Representatives and the Senate. 
‘‘(D) The Librarian of Congress.’’; 
(6) by redesignating subsections (c) through (f) 
as subsections (b) through (e), respectively; 
(7) in subsection (b), as so redesignated, by in-
serting ‘‘SEAL.—’’ before ‘‘The Register’’; 
(8) in subsection (c), as so redesignated, by in-
serting ‘‘ANNUAL REPORT.—’’ before ‘‘The Reg-
ister’’; 
(9) in subsection (d), as so redesignated, by in-
serting ‘‘APPLICABILITY
OF TITLE 5.—’’ before 
‘‘Except as provided’’; and 
(10) in subsection (e), as so redesignated, by 
inserting ‘‘COMPENSATION.—’’ before ‘‘The Reg-
ister’’. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub-
section (a) shall apply with respect to any vacancy for the 
Register of Copyrights after January 1, 2017. If a Reg-
ister of Copyrights is appointed during the period begin-
ning on January 1, 2017 and ending on the day before 
the date of the enactment of this Act, that Register shall 
meet the requirements of the amendments made by this 
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Act or shall be replaced in accordance with such amend-
ments. 
SEC. 3. CONSTRUCTION. 
Nothing in this Act may be construed to impact the 
mandatory deposit requirements in title 17, United States 
Code. 
Passed the House of Representatives April 26, 2017. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
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