I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6845 
To amend title 17, United States Code, with respect to works connected 
to certain funding agreements. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 9, 2008 
Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Mr. ISSA, Mr. WEXLER, and Mr. FEENEY) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Ju-
diciary 
A BILL 
To amend title 17, United States Code, with respect to 
works connected to certain funding agreements. 
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 ‘‘Fair Copyright in Re-
search Works Act’’. 
SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ON FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REGARD-
ING EXTRINSIC WORKS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 201 of title 17, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:26 Sep 10, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6845.IH
H6845
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
of, or assent to, any prohibition under subpara-
graph (A); or 
‘‘(C) assert any rights under this title in 
material developed under any funding agree-
ment that restrain or limit the acquisition or 
exercise of rights under this title in an extrinsic 
work. 
Any term, condition, or assertion prohibited under 
subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) shall be given no ef-
fect under this title or otherwise. 
‘‘(2) CONSTRUCTION.— 
‘‘(A) CERTAIN OTHER RIGHTS NOT LIM-
ITED.—Nothing in paragraph (1)(A)(i)(II) shall 
be construed to limit the rights provided to the 
copyright owner under paragraphs (1) and (2) 
of section 106. 
‘‘(B) NO
NEW
COPYRIGHT
PROTECTION 
CREATED.—Nothing in this subsection provides 
copyright protection to any subject matter that 
is not protected under section 102. 
‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) EXTRINSIC WORK.—The term ‘extrin-
sic work’ means any work, other than a work 
of the United States Government, that is based 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:26 Sep 10, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6845.IH
H6845
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
upon, derived from, or related to, a funding 
agreement and— 
‘‘(i) is also funded in substantial part 
by one or more other entities, other than 
a Federal agency, that are not a party to 
the funding agreement or acting on behalf 
of such a party; or 
‘‘(ii) represents, reflects, or results 
from a meaningful added value or process 
contributed by one or more other entities, 
other than a Federal agency, that are not 
a party to the funding agreement or acting 
on behalf of such a party. 
‘‘(B) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘Fed-
eral agency’ means any department, agency, or 
instrumentality of the United States Govern-
ment. 
‘‘(C) FUNDING
AGREEMENT.—The term 
‘funding agreement’ means any contract, grant, 
or other agreement entered into between a Fed-
eral agency and any person under which funds 
are provided by a Federal agency, in whole or 
in part, for the performance of experimental, 
developmental, or research activities.’’. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:26 Sep 10, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6845.IH
H6845
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
(b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub-
section (a) applies to any funding agreement that is en-
tered into on or after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
(c) REPORT TO CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—Not 
later than the date that is 5 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Register of Copyrights shall, 
after consulting with the Comptroller General and with 
Federal agencies that provide funding under funding 
agreements and with publishers in the private sector, re-
view and submit to the appropriate congressional commit-
tees a report on the Register’s views on section 201(f) of 
title 17, United States Code, as added by subsection (a) 
of this section, taking into account the development of and 
access to extrinsic works and materials developed under 
funding agreements, including the role played by pub-
lishers in the private sector and others. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) EXTRINSIC
WORK; 
FEDERAL
AGENCY; 
FUNDING
AGREEMENT.—The 
terms 
‘‘extrinsic 
work’’, ‘‘Federal agency’’, and ‘‘funding agreement’’ 
have the meanings given those terms in section 
201(f)(3) of title 17, United States Code, as added 
by subsection (a) of this section. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:26 Sep 10, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6845.IH
H6845
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
(2) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means the Committee on the Judiciary and 
the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary 
and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. 
Æ 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:26 Sep 10, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H6845.IH
H6845
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS