103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 897
AN ACT
To amend title 17, United States Code, to modify
certain registration requirements, and for other
purposes.
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 897
AN ACT
To amend title 17, United States Code, to modify certain
registration requirements, and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘Copyright Reform Act
of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. DEPOSIT OF COPIES OR PHONORECORDS FOR
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.
Section 407 of title 17, United States Code, is
amended as follows:
(1) Subsection (a) is amended by striking ‘‘(a)’’
and all that follows through ‘‘publication—’’ and in-
serting the following:
‘‘(a) REQUIRED DEPOSITS.—Except as provided in
subsection (c), the owner of copyright in a work or of the
exclusive right of publication of a work in the United
States shall deposit, after the earliest date of such publica-
tion—’’.
(2) Subsection (b) is amended—
(A) by inserting ‘‘DEPOSIT IN COPYRIGHT
OFFICE.—’’ after ‘‘(b)’’; and
(B) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘A
deposit made under this section may be used to
satisfy the deposit requirements of section
408.’’.
(3) Subsection (c) is amended—
(A) by inserting ‘‘REGULATIONS.—’’ after
‘‘(c)’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘Register of Copyrights’’
and inserting ‘‘Librarian of Congress’’.
(4) Subsection (d) is amended—
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2),
and (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), re-
spectively;
(B) by striking ‘‘(d) At any time after pub-
lication of a work as provided by subsection
(a)’’ and inserting the following:
‘‘(d) PROCEDURES.—(1) During November of each
year, the Librarian of Congress shall publish in the Fed-
eral Register a statement of the categories of works of
which the Library of Congress wishes to acquire copies
or phonorecords under this section during the next cal-
endar year. The Librarian shall review such statement an-
nually in light of the changes in the Library’s policies and
procedures, changes in technology, and changes in pat-
terns of publication. The statement shall also describe—
‘‘(A) the types of works of which only one copy
or phonorecord need be deposited;
‘‘(B) the types of works for which the deposit
requirements may be fulfilled by placing the Library
of Congress on a subscription list; and
‘‘(C) the categories of works which are exempt
under subsection (c) from the deposit requirements.
‘‘(2) At any time after publication in the United
States of a work or body of works’’;
(C) by striking ‘‘Register of Copyrights’’
and inserting ‘‘Librarian of Congress’’;
(D) by inserting after the first sentence
the following: ‘‘Such demand shall specify a
date for compliance with the demand.’’;
(E) by inserting ‘‘in a civil action’’ after
‘‘are liable’’;
(F) in subparagraph (B) (as redesignated
by subparagraph (A) of this paragraph) by
striking ‘‘cost of’’ and inserting ‘‘cost to’’;
(G) in subparagraph (C) (as redesignated
by subparagraph (A) of this paragraph) by
striking ‘‘clauses (1) and (2)’’ and inserting
‘‘subparagraphs (A) and (B)’’; and
(H) by adding after subparagraph (C) (as
so redesignated) the following:
‘‘In addition to the penalties set forth in subparagraphs
(A), (B), and (C), the person against whom an action is
brought under this paragraph shall be liable in such action
for all costs of the United States in pursuing the demand,
including an amount equivalent to a reasonable attorney’s
fee.’’.
(5) Subsection (e) is amended—
(A) by inserting ‘‘TRANSMISSION
PRO-
GRAMS.—’’ after ‘‘(e)’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘Register of Copyrights
shall, after consulting with the Librarian of
Congress and other interested organizations
and officials,’’ and inserting ‘‘Librarian of Con-
gress shall, after consulting with interested or-
ganizations and officials,’’; and
(C) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘Register
of Copyrights’’ and inserting ‘‘Librarian of
Congress’’.
(6) Section 407 of title 17, United States Code,
is further amended by adding at the end the follow-
ing:
‘‘(f) OBLIGATION TO MAKE DEPOSITS.—Immediately
upon the publication in the United States of any work in
which copyright subsists under this title, it shall be the
obligation of the persons identified in subsection (a) with
respect to that work, subject to the requirements and ex-
ceptions specified in this section, to deposit, for the use
or disposition of the Library of Congress, the copies or
phonorecords specified in such subsection. The obligation
to make such deposit arises without any prior notification
or demand for compliance with subsection (a).
‘‘(g) RECORDS
OF DEPOSITS.—The Librarian of
Congress shall establish and maintain public records of
the receipt of copies and phonorecords deposited under
this section.
‘‘(h) DATABASE OF DEPOSIT RECORDS.—The Li-
brarian of Congress shall establish and maintain an elec-
tronic database containing its records of all deposits made
under this section on and after October 1, 1995, and shall
make such database available to the public through one
or more international information networks.
‘‘(i) DELEGATION AUTHORITY.—The Librarian of
Congress may delegate to the Register of Copyrights or
other officer or employee of the Library of Congress any
of the Librarian’s responsibilities under this section.’’.
SEC. 3. COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION IN GENERAL.
Section 408 of title 17, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in subsection (c)—
(A) in paragraph (1) by adding at the end
the following: ‘‘The Register is also authorized
to specify by regulation classes of material in
which registration may be made without deposit
of any copy or phonorecord, in cases in which
the Register determines that the purposes of
examination, registration, and deposit can be
adequately served by deposit of descriptive ma-