IB
Union Calendar No. 297
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2652
[Report No. 105–525]
To amend title 17, United States Code, to prevent the misappropriation
of collections of information.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 9, 1997
Mr. COBLE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary
MAY 12, 1998
Additional sponsors: Mr. HALL of Ohio, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. VENTO, Mr.
LAHOOD, and Mrs. TAUSCHER
MAY 12, 1998
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on October 9, 1997]
A BILL
To amend title 17, United States Code, to prevent the
misappropriation of collections of information.
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 ‘‘Collections of Informa-
tion Antipiracy Act’’.
SEC. 2. MISAPPROPRIATION OF COLLECTIONS OF INFORMA-
TION.
Title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following new chapter:
‘‘CHAPTER 12—MISAPPROPRIATION OF
COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION
‘‘Sec.
‘‘1201. Definitions.
‘‘1202. Prohibition against misappropriation.
‘‘1203. Permitted acts.
‘‘1204. Exclusions.
‘‘1205. Relationship to other laws.
‘‘1206. Civil remedies.
‘‘1207. Criminal offenses and penalties.
‘‘1208. Limitations on actions.
‘‘§ 1201. Definitions
‘‘As used in this chapter:
‘‘(1) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.—The term
‘collection of information’ means information that has
been collected and has been organized for the purpose
of bringing discrete items of information together in
one place or through one source so that users may ac-
cess them.
‘‘(2) INFORMATION.—The term ‘information’
means facts, data, works of authorship, or any other
intangible material capable of being collected and or-
ganized in a systematic way.
‘‘(3) POTENTIAL MARKET.—The term ‘potential
market’ means any market that a person claiming
protection under section 1202 has current and demon-
strable plans to exploit or that is commonly exploited
by persons offering similar products or services incor-
porating collections of information.
‘‘(4) COMMERCE.—The term ‘commerce’ means
all commerce which may be lawfully regulated by the
Congress.
‘‘§ 1202. Prohibition against misappropriation
‘‘Any person who extracts, or uses in commerce, all
or a substantial part, measured either quantitatively or
qualitatively, of a collection of information gathered, orga-
nized, or maintained by another person through the invest-
ment of substantial monetary or other resources, so as to
cause harm to the actual or potential market of that other
person, or a successor in interest of that other person, for
a product or service that incorporates that collection of in-
formation and is offered or intended to be offered for sale
or otherwise in commerce by that other person, or a succes-
sor in interest of that person, shall be liable to that person
or successor in interest for the remedies set forth in section
1206.
‘‘§ 1203. Permitted acts
‘‘(a) INDIVIDUAL ITEMS OF INFORMATION AND OTHER
INSUBSTANTIAL PARTS.—Nothing in this chapter shall pre-
vent the extraction or use of an individual item of informa-
tion, or other insubstantial part of a collection of informa-
tion, in itself. An individual item of information, including
a work of authorship, shall not itself be considered a sub-
stantial part of a collection of information under section
1202. Nothing in this subsection shall permit the repeated
or systematic extraction or use of individual items or insub-
stantial parts of a collection of information so as to cir-
cumvent the prohibition contained in section 1202.
‘‘(b) GATHERING OR USE OF INFORMATION OBTAINED
THROUGH OTHER MEANS.—Nothing in this chapter shall
restrict any person from independently gathering informa-
tion or using information obtained by means other than
extracting it from a collection of information gathered, or-
ganized, or maintained by another person through the in-
vestment of substantial monetary or other resources.
‘‘(c) USE OF INFORMATION FOR VERIFICATION.—Noth-
ing in this chapter shall restrict any person from extracting
information, or from using information within any entity
or organization, for the sole purpose of verifying the accu-
racy of information independently gathered, organized, or
maintained by that person. Under no circumstances shall
the information so extracted or used be made available to
others in a manner that harms the actual or potential mar-
ket for the collection of information from which it is ex-
tracted or used.
‘‘(d) NONPROFIT EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC, OR RE-
SEARCH USES.—Nothing in this chapter shall restrict any
person from extracting or using information for nonprofit
educational, scientific, or research purposes in a manner
that does not harm the actual or potential market for the
product or service referred to in section 1202.
‘‘(e) NEWS REPORTING.—Nothing in this chapter shall
restrict any person from extracting or using information
for the sole purpose of news reporting, including news gath-
ering, dissemination, and comment, unless the information
so extracted or used is time sensitive, has been gathered by
a news reporting entity for distribution to a particular
market, and has not yet been distributed to that market,
and the extraction or use is part of a consistent pattern
engaged in for the purpose of direct competition in that
market.
‘‘(f) TRANSFER OF COPY.—Nothing in this chapter
shall restrict the owner of a particular lawfully made copy
of all or part of a collection of information from selling
or otherwise disposing of the possession of that copy.
‘‘§ 1204. Exclusions
‘‘(a) GOVERNMENT COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION.—
‘‘(1) EXCLUSION.—Protection under this chapter
shall not extend to collections of information gathered,
organized, or maintained by or for a government en-
tity, whether Federal, State, or local, including any
employee or agent of such entity, or any person exclu-
sively licensed by such entity, within the scope of the
employment, agency, or license. Nothing in this sub-
section shall preclude protection under this chapter
for information gathered, organized, or maintained
by such an agent or licensee that is not within the
scope of such agency or license, or by a Federal or
State educational institution in the course of engag-
ing in education or scholarship.
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The exclusion under para-
graph (1) does not apply to any information required
to be collected and disseminated by either a national
securities exchange under the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 or a contract market under the Commodity
Exchange Act.
‘‘(b) COMPUTER PROGRAMS.—
‘‘(1) PROTECTION NOT EXTENDED.—Subject to
paragraph (2), protection under this chapter shall not
extend to computer programs, including, but not lim-
ited to, any computer program used in the manufac-
ture, production, operation, or maintenance of a col-
lection of information, or any component of a com-
puter program necessary to its operation.
‘‘(2) INCORPORATED COLLECTIONS OF INFORMA-
TION.—A collection of information that is otherwise
subject to protection under this chapter is not dis-
qualified from such protection solely because it is in-
corporated into a computer program.
‘‘§ 1205. Relationship to other laws
‘‘(a) OTHER RIGHTS NOT AFFECTED.—Subject to sub-
section (b), nothing in this chapter shall affect rights, limi-
tations, or remedies concerning copyright, or any other
rights or obligations relating to information, including laws
with respect to patent, trademark, design rights, antitrust,
trade secrets, privacy, access to public documents, and the
law of contract.
‘‘(b) PREEMPTION OF STATE LAW.—On or after the
effective date of this chapter, all rights that are equivalent
to the rights specified in section 1202 with respect to the
subject matter of this chapter shall be governed exclusively
by Federal law, and no person is entitled to any equivalent
right in such subject matter under the common law or stat-
utes of any State. State laws with respect to trademark,
design rights, antitrust, trade secrets, privacy, access to
public documents, and the law of contract shall not be
deemed to provide equivalent rights for purposes of this sub-
section.
‘‘(c) 
RELATIONSHIP
TO
COPYRIGHT.—Protection
under this chapter is independent of, and does not affect
or enlarge the scope, duration, ownership, or subsistence of,
any copyright protection in any work of authorship that
is contained in or consists in whole or part of a collection
of information. This chapter does not provide any greater
protection to a work of authorship contained in a collection
of information, other than a work that is itself a collection
of information, than is available to that work under any
other chapter of this title.
‘‘(d) ANTITRUST.—Nothing in this chapter shall limit
in any way the constraints on the manner in which prod-
ucts and services may be provided to the public that are
imposed by Federal and State antitrust laws, including
those regarding single suppliers of products and services.
‘‘(e) LICENSING.—Nothing in this chapter shall re-
strict the rights of parties freely to enter into licenses or
any other contracts with respect to the use of collections of
information.
‘‘(f) COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934.—Nothing in this
chapter shall affect the operation of section 222(e) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222(e)), or shall
restrict any person from extracting or using subscriber list
information, as such term is defined in section 222(f)(3)
of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222(f)(3)),
for the purpose of publishing telephone directories in any
format.
‘‘§ 1206. Civil remedies
‘‘(a) CIVIL ACTIONS.—Any person who is injured by
a violation of section 1202 may bring a civil action for
such a violation in an appropriate United States district
court without regard to the amount in controversy, except
that any action against a State governmental entity may
be brought in any court that has jurisdiction over claims
against such entity.
‘‘(b) TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT INJUNCTIONS.—
Any court having jurisdiction of a civil action under this
section shall have the power to grant temporary and perma-
nent injunctions, according to the principles of equity and
upon such terms as the court may deem reasonable, to pre-
vent a violation of section 1202. Any such injunction may
be served anywhere in the United States on the person en-
joined, and may be enforced by proceedings in contempt or
otherwise by any United States district court having juris-
diction over that person.
‘‘(c) IMPOUNDMENT.—At any time while an action
under this section is pending, the court may order the im-
pounding, on such terms as it deems reasonable, of all cop-
ies of contents of a collection of information extracted or
used in violation of section 1202, and of all masters, tapes,
disks, diskettes, or other articles by means of which such
copies may be reproduced. The court may, as part of a final
judgment or decree finding a violation of section 1202,
order the remedial modification or destruction of all copies
of contents of a collection of information extracted or used
in violation of section 1202, and of all masters, tapes, disks,
diskettes, or other articles by means of which such copies
may be reproduced.
‘‘(d) MONETARY RELIEF.—When a violation of section
1202 has been established in any civil action arising under
this section, the plaintiff shall be entitled to recover any
damages sustained by the plaintiff and defendant’s profits
not taken into account in computing the damages sustained
by the plaintiff. The court shall assess such profits or dam-
ages or cause the same to be assessed under its direction.
In assessing profits the plaintiff shall be required to prove
defendant’s gross revenue only; defendant must prove all ele-
ments of cost or deduction claims. In assessing damages the
court may enter judgment, according to the circumstances
of the case, for any sum above the amount found as actual
damages, not exceeding three times such amount. The court
in its discretion may award reasonable costs and attorney’s
fees to the prevailing party and shall award such costs and
fees where it determines that an action was brought under
this chapter in bad faith against a nonprofit educational,
scientific, or research institution, library, or archives, or
an employee or agent of such an entity, acting within the
scope of his or her employment.
‘‘(e) REDUCTION OR REMISSION OF MONETARY RE-
LIEF FOR NONPROFIT EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC, OR RE-
SEARCH INSTITUTIONS.—The court shall reduce or remit
entirely monetary relief under subsection (d) in any case
in which a defendant believed and had reasonable grounds
for believing that his or her conduct was permissible under
this chapter, if the defendant was an employee or agent of
a nonprofit educational, scientific, or research institution,
library, or archives acting within the scope of his or her
employment.
‘‘(f) ACTIONS AGAINST UNITED STATES GOVERN-
MENT.—Subsections (b) and (c) shall not apply to any ac-
tion against the United States Government.
‘‘(g) RELIEF AGAINST STATE ENTITIES.—The relief
provided under this section shall be available against a
State governmental entity to the extent permitted by appli-
cable law.
‘‘§ 1207. Criminal offenses and penalties
‘‘(a) VIOLATION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who violates sec-
tion 1202 willfully, and—
‘‘(A) does so for direct or indirect commer-
cial advantage or financial gain, or
‘‘(B) causes loss or damage aggregating
$10,000 or more in any 1-year period to the per-
son who gathered, organized, or maintained the
information concerned,
shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).
‘‘(2) INAPPLICABILITY.—This section shall not
apply to an employee or agent of a nonprofit edu-
cational, scientific, or research institution, library, or
archives acting within the scope of his or her employ-
ment.
‘‘(b) PENALTIES.—An offense under subsection (a)
shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $250,000
or imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both. A sec-
ond or subsequent offense under subsection (a) shall be pun-
ishable by a fine of not more than $500,000 or imprison-
ment for not more than 10 years, or both.
‘‘§ 1208. Limitations on actions
‘‘(a) CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS.—No criminal proceed-
ing shall be maintained under this chapter unless it is com-
menced within three years after the cause of action arises.
‘‘(b) CIVIL ACTIONS.—No civil action shall be main-
tained under this chapter unless it is commenced within
three years after the cause of action arises or claim accrues.
‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL LIMITATION.—No criminal or civil
action shall be maintained under this chapter for the ex-
traction or use of all or a substantial part of a collection
of information that occurs more than 15 years after the in-
vestment of resources that qualified the portion of the collec-
tion of information for protection under this chapter that
is extracted or used.’’.
SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.
The table of chapters for title 17, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘12. Misappropriation of Collections of Information ............ 1201’’.
SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 28, UNITED
STATES CODE.
(a) JURISDICTION.—Section 1338 of title 28, United
States Code, is amended—
(1) in the section heading by inserting ‘‘mis-
appropriations of collections of informa-
tion,’’ after ‘‘trade-marks,’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(d) The district courts shall have original jurisdiction
of any civil action arising under chapter 12 of title 17,
relating to misappropriation of collections of information.
Such jurisdiction shall be exclusive of the courts of the
States.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating to
section 1338 in the table of sections for chapter 85 of title
28, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘mis-
appropriations of collections of information,’’ after ‘‘trade-
marks,’’.
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—This Act and the amendments
made by this Act shall take effect on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, and shall apply to acts committed on or
after that date.
(b) PRIOR ACTS NOT AFFECTED.—No person shall be
liable under chapter 12 of title 17, United States Code, as
added by section 2 of this Act, for the use of information
lawfully extracted from a collection of information prior to
the effective date of this Act, by that person or by that per-
son’s predecessor in interest.
Union Calendar No. 297
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2652
[Report No. 105–525]
A BILL
To amend title 17, United States Code, to prevent
the misappropriation of collections of information.
MAY 12, 1998
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commit-
tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
ordered to be printed