I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9541 
To amend title 17, United States Code, to define and provide for accommoda-
tion and designation of technical measures to identify, protect, or manage 
copyrighted works, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 14, 2022 
Ms. CHU (for herself and Mr. ARMSTRONG) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend title 17, United States Code, to define and provide 
for accommodation and designation of technical measures 
to identify, protect, or manage copyrighted works, 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 ‘‘Strengthening Meas-
ures to Advance Rights Technologies Copyright Act of 
2023’’ or the ‘‘SMART Copyright Act of 2023’’. 
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SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF USE IN THE MARKETPLACE OF 
CERTAIN TECHNICAL MEASURES TO IDEN-
TIFY OR PROTECT COPYRIGHTED WORKS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of title 17, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 514. Designation of use in the marketplace of cer-
tain technical measures to identify or 
protect copyrighted works 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) COVERED SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term 
‘covered service provider’ means a service provider to 
which a designated technical measure applies. 
‘‘(2) DESIGNATED TECHNICAL MEASURE.—The 
term ‘designated technical measure’ means a tech-
nical measure that has been designated by the Li-
brarian in accordance with subsections (c), (d), and 
(e). 
‘‘(3) LIBRARIAN.—The term ‘Librarian’ means 
the Librarian of Congress. 
‘‘(4) PROPOSED
TECHNICAL
MEASURE.—The 
term ‘proposed technical measure’ means a technical 
measure that is proposed by a person under sub-
section (d). 
‘‘(5) REGISTER.—The term ‘Register’ means 
the Register of Copyrights. 
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‘‘(6) SERVICE
PROVIDER.—The term ‘service 
provider’ means— 
‘‘(A) a provider of online services or net-
work access, or the operator of facilities there-
for, that— 
‘‘(i) provides storage at the direction 
of a user of material that resides on a sys-
tem or network controlled or operated by 
or for the service provider; 
‘‘(ii) refers or links users to an online 
location by using information location 
tools, including a directory, index, ref-
erence, pointer, or hypertext link; and/or 
‘‘(iii) provides the intermediate and 
temporary storage of material on a system 
or network controlled or operated by or for 
the service provider in a case in which— 
‘‘(I) the material is made avail-
able online by a person other than the 
service provider; 
‘‘(II) the material is transmitted 
from the person described in clause (i) 
through the system or network to a 
person other than the person de-
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scribed in clause (i) at the direction of 
that other person; and 
‘‘(III) the storage is carried out 
through an automatic technical proc-
ess for the purpose of making the ma-
terial available to users of the system 
or network who, after the material is 
transmitted as described in clause (ii), 
request access to the material from 
the person described in clause (i); and 
‘‘(B) the term does not include— 
‘‘(i) a library or archives— 
‘‘(I) whose collections are open to 
the public, or are available not only to 
researchers affiliated with the library 
or archives or with the institution of 
which it is a part, but also to other 
persons doing research in a special-
ized field; 
‘‘(II) that has a public service 
mission; 
‘‘(III) whose trained staff or vol-
unteers provide professional services 
normally associated with libraries or 
archives; and 
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‘‘(IV) whose collections are com-
posed of lawfully acquired and/or li-
censed materials; 
‘‘(ii) a nonprofit educational institu-
tion; or 
‘‘(iii) any other person solely with re-
gard to providing the services described in 
section 512(k) to an institution described 
in subparagraph (i) or (ii) in the course of 
providing such services to such institution. 
‘‘(7) TECHNICAL MEASURE.—The term ‘tech-
nical measure’ means a technical measure that is 
used in commerce by a copyright owner or a service 
provider to identify or protect a copyrighted work. 
‘‘(b) EMPLOYMENT
OF DESIGNATED TECHNICAL 
MEASURES.—A covered service provider shall use reason-
able efforts to employ and effectively implement applicable 
designated technical measures. 
‘‘(c) AUTHORITY OF THE LIBRARIAN.— 
‘‘(1) DESIGNATION
OF
TECHNICAL
MEAS-
URES.—The Librarian may, at the recommendation 
of the Register, and pursuant to subsections (d) and 
(e)— 
‘‘(A) designate proposed technical meas-
ures that— 
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‘‘(i) are widely used in the market-
place by service providers; or 
‘‘(ii) are widely available in the mar-
ketplace on nondiscriminatory terms and a 
royalty-free basis; 
‘‘(B) rescind previous designations of tech-
nical measures; and 
‘‘(C) revise previous designations of tech-
nical measures. 
‘‘(2) PRESCRIPTION
OF
RULES.—The Librar-
ian, upon consultation with the Register, shall pre-
scribe rules that— 
‘‘(A) implement subsections (d) and (e); 
and 
‘‘(B) provide for the protection of confiden-
tial and sensitive information provided to the 
Librarian— 
‘‘(i) as part of a petition under sub-
section (d); or 
‘‘(ii) during a rulemaking under sub-
section (e). 
‘‘(d) PETITIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of the SMART Copyright Act 
of 2023 and every 3 years thereafter, the Librarian 
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shall accept petitions, from owners of copyrighted 
works, service providers, and other stakeholders, 
proposing the designation of a technical measure or 
the rescission or revision of a previous designation of 
a technical measure. 
‘‘(2) PETITION REQUIREMENTS.—In the case of 
a petition submitted to the Librarian under para-
graph (1) proposing the designation of a technical 
measure or review of a previous designation of a 
technical measure, as appropriate, the petition shall 
detail with specificity— 
‘‘(A) how the proposed technical measure, 
or the designated technical measure as proposed 
to be revised, meets the definition of ‘technical 
measure’ under subsection (a) and the criteria 
for designation of such technical measure under 
subsection (c)(1)(A); 
‘‘(B) the classes of copyrighted works, or 
any subsets thereof, intended to be covered; and 
‘‘(C) the types of service provider, or any 
subsets thereof, intended to be covered. 
‘‘(3) EVALUATION
OF
PETITION.—After each 
deadline under paragraph (1), the Librarian shall 
evaluate each petition received under that paragraph 
and take appropriate action as follows: 
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‘‘(A) The Librarian may begin a rule-
making process to— 
‘‘(i) designate a proposed technical 
measure; or 
‘‘(ii) rescind or revise a previous des-
ignation of a technical measure. 
‘‘(B) The Librarian shall reject without a 
rulemaking proceeding a petition that proposes 
the designation or revision of a designation ap-
plicable to a privately owned technical measure, 
unless the petition is filed or joined by the 
owner of the technical measure proposed to be 
designated or whose previous designation is pro-
posed to be revised. 
‘‘(e) RULEMAKING PROCESS.— 
‘‘(1) PUBLIC
COMMENT.—For any proposed 
technical measure or designated technical measure 
for which the Librarian has begun a rulemaking 
process under subsection (d)(3)(A), the public com-
ment process shall include not less than 1 public 
hearing convened by the Register. 
‘‘(2) EXAMINATION
BY
REGISTER.—For any 
rulemaking process the Librarian has begun under 
subsection (d)(3)(A), with respect to each proposed 
technical measure, the Register, in making a rec-
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ommendation under paragraph (3), shall consider 
whether the criteria set forth in subsection (c)(1)(A) 
have been met, and, in addition, shall take into ac-
count— 
‘‘(A) whether the proposed technical meas-
ure imposes substantial and disproportionate 
costs on service providers or substantial and 
disproportionate burdens on their systems or 
networks; 
‘‘(B) whether there are any intellectual 
property rights that need to be licensed by serv-
ice providers to employ and effectively imple-
ment the proposed technical measure; 
‘‘(C) the total amount of alleged or dem-
onstrated infringing activity occurring over sys-
tems or networks controlled by the types of 
service providers described in the petition, in-
cluding the volume of valid takedown notices re-
ceived by the service provider pursuant to sec-
tion 512, taking into consideration the scale of 
the platform and existing systems to identify or 
protect copyrighted material; 
‘‘(D) the positive or negative impact the 
proposed technical measure may have on criti-
cism, comment, news reporting, teaching, schol-
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arship, research, increasing information shar-
ing, or other relevant public interest consider-
ations; 
‘‘(E) whether the proposed technical meas-
ure poses a cybersecurity threat (as defined in 
section 102 of the Cybersecurity Information 
Sharing Act of 2015 (6 U.S.C. 1501)) to, or 
would create a security vulnerability (as defined 
in such section 102) for, the information sys-
tems of the affected service providers; 
‘‘(F) the impact the proposed technical 
measure may have on privacy and data protec-
tion; 
‘‘(G) the impact the lack of use of the pro-
posed technical measure may have on unfair 
competition among service providers; 
‘‘(H) whether certain categories or types of 
service providers should be exempt from the 
subset of service providers covered by the pro-
posed technical measure, such as corporate or 
not-for-profit websites that permit user com-
ments or posts, but have never or rarely had in-
fringing activity on their services; 
‘‘(I) whether the proposed technical meas-
ure may conflict or interfere with other pro-
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posed technical measures or designated tech-
nical measures; and 
‘‘(J) whether multiple proposed technical 
measures and designated technical measures 
should be subsumed under a broader category 
of designated technical measures. 
‘‘(3) RECOMMENDATION.—The Register shall 
make a recommendation on each proposed technical 
measure, and each proposed revision or rescinding of 
a previous designation of a technical measure, that 
is considered under the rulemaking process under 
this subsection, and after consulting with the fol-
lowing, as appropriate: 
‘‘(A) The Director of the National Insti-
tute of Standards and Technology. 
‘‘(B) The Assistant Secretary of Commerce 
for Communications and Information. 
‘‘(C) Any relevant cybersecurity agency. 
‘‘(4) DECISION.—If, at the conclusion of the 
rulemaking process under this subsection, the Li-
brarian determines based on the recommendation of 
the Register that a proposed technical measure 
should be designated under the authority granted in 
subsection (c), the Librarian shall— 
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‘‘(A)(i) for a proposed technical measure, 
designate the proposed technical measure; or 
‘‘(ii) for a revision of a previous designa-
tion of a technical measure, set forth the re-
vised designation of the technical measure; 
‘‘(B) for a proposed technical measure or 
a proposed revision of a previous designation of 
a technical measure— 
‘‘(i) describe, as part of the designa-
tion under subparagraph (A), the classes 
of copyrighted works, or any subsets there-
of, and the types of covered service pro-
viders to which the technical measure ap-
plies; and 
‘‘(ii) include in the description under 
clause (i), as appropriate, any category or 
subset of type of service provider that is 
exempt from the designation, such that the 
requirement under subsection (b) does not 
apply to those service providers; 
‘‘(C) for a previous designation of a tech-
nical measure proposed to be rescinded, rescind 
the designation of the technical measure; 
‘‘(D) for a proposed technical measure or 
a previous designation of a technical measure 
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proposed to be revised, provide examples or a 
definition with specificity for what ‘employ and 
effectively implement’ means for the technical 
measure, taking into account how different cov-
ered service providers to which the technical 
measure applies may have to employ and effec-
tively implement differently based on their size 
or other relevant characteristics, provided that 
no such examples shall imply that a particular 
proprietary product must be used; 
‘‘(E) publish a list of designated technical 
measures, including the description required 
under subparagraph (B)(i), to be in effect after 
the Librarian has designated technical meas-
ures or revised or rescinded previous designa-
tions of technical measures under the para-
graph in the Federal Register and publish and 
maintain the list on the website of the Library 
of Congress; and 
‘‘(F) for a proposed technical measure or 
a revised designation of a technical measure, 
publish a deadline, which shall not be earlier 
than 1 year after the date of publication, by 
which covered service providers shall implement 
the designated technical measure. 
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‘‘(f) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—To assist the public in 
understanding the requirements under this section, the 
Register shall— 
‘‘(1) publish on the website of the Copyright 
Office an index of cases relating to the requirements; 
and 
‘‘(2) update the list published under paragraph 
(1) not less frequently than annually. 
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section— 
‘‘(A) $900,000 for fiscal year 2023; and 
‘‘(B) subject to paragraph (2), $700,000 
for fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year there-
after. 
‘‘(2) 
ADJUSTMENT
FOR
INFLATION.—The 
amount authorized to be appropriated under para-
graph (1)(B) for fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal 
year thereafter shall be adjusted annually to reflect 
the change in the Consumer Price Index for All 
Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics. 
‘‘(h) APPEAL TO DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT.— 
Not later than 90 days after the date on which the Librar-
ian publishes a decision regarding a technical measure 
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under subsection (e)(4), any covered service provider to 
which the technical measure applies and any party that 
submitted a petition under subsection (d) regarding the 
technical measure may appeal the decision to the United 
States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Cir-
cuit. 
‘‘(i) CIVIL REMEDIES.— 
‘‘(1) CIVIL ACTIONS.—A copyright owner may 
bring a civil action in an appropriate United States 
district court against a covered service provider for 
a violation of subsection (b) for the remedies pro-
vided in this subsection. 
‘‘(2) AUTHORITY OF THE COURT.—In an action 
brought under paragraph (1), if the court finds a 
violation of subsection (b), the court shall enter an 
order on such terms as it may deem reasonable to 
ensure compliance by the covered service provider 
with subsection (b) within an appropriate time pe-
riod, and, in addition, the court may— 
‘‘(A) award damages, in accordance with 
paragraph (3); 
‘‘(B) allow, in its discretion, the recovery 
of costs by or against any party other than the 
United States or an officer of the United 
States; and 
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