I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6868 
To amend title 17, United States Code, to secure the rights of visual artists 
to copyright, to provide for resale royalties, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 25, 2018 
Mr. NADLER (for himself and Mr. COLLINS of Georgia) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend title 17, United States Code, to secure the rights 
of visual artists to copyright, to provide for resale royal-
ties, 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 ‘‘American Royalties 
Too Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITION. 
Section 101 of title 17, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after the definition of ‘‘architectural 
work’’ the following: 
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‘‘An ‘auction’ is a public sale at which a copy 
of a work of visual art is sold to the highest bidder 
and which is run by a person that sold not less than 
$1,000,000 of copies of works of visual art during 
the previous year. A person that conducts all sales 
exclusively online does not conduct an ‘auction’ for 
purposes of this title.’’. 
SEC. 3. EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS. 
(a) EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS IN COPYRIGHTED WORKS.— 
Section 106 of title 17, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(7) in the case of a work of visual art, to col-
lect a royalty for the sale of a copy of the work if 
the copy is sold by a person other than the author 
of the work or, if applicable, the author’s successor 
as copyright owner for a price of not less than 
$5,000 as the result of an auction.’’. 
(b) COLLECTION OF RESALE ROYALTY FOR VISUAL 
ART.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 17, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 
106A the following: 
‘‘§ 106B. Collection of resale royalty for visual art 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘price’ means the aggregate of all 
installments paid in cash or in-kind by or on behalf 
of a purchaser for a copy of a work of visual art sold 
as the result of the auction of that copy; and 
‘‘(2) the term ‘sale’ means a transfer of owner-
ship of a copy of a work of visual art as the result 
of the auction of that copy. 
‘‘(b) COLLECTION GENERALLY.—The collection of a 
royalty under section 106(7) shall be conducted in accord-
ance with this section. 
‘‘(c) CALCULATION OF ROYALTY.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The royalty shall be an 
amount equal to the lesser of— 
‘‘(A) 5 percent of the price of the copy of 
the work of visual art as sold at auction; or 
‘‘(B) $35,000. 
‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENT OF AMOUNT.—In 2019 and 
each year thereafter, the dollar amount described in 
paragraph (1)(B) shall be increased by an amount 
equal to the product of— 
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‘‘(A) that dollar amount; and 
‘‘(B) the cost-of-living adjustment deter-
mined under section 1(f)(3)(A) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 for the year, determined 
by substituting ‘the C–CPI–U for calendar year 
2017’ for ‘the CPI for calendar year 2016’ and 
all that follows in clause (ii) of that section. 
‘‘(3) JOINT WORKS.—In the case of a work of 
visual art that is a joint work, each author of the 
work or, if applicable, author’s successor as copy-
right owner shall be entitled to an equal share of 
any royalty for the sale of a copy of the work. 
‘‘(d) COLLECTION AND PAYMENT OF ROYALTY.— 
‘‘(1) COLLECTION.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date on which the final payment of the 
price of the copy of the work is made, the person 
that conducts the auction shall pay the resale roy-
alty calculated under subsection (c) to a visual art-
ists’ copyright collecting society designated by the 
Register of Copyrights under subsection (h). 
‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTION.—Not fewer than 4 times 
each year, a visual artists’ copyright collecting soci-
ety to which payments are made under paragraph 
(1) shall distribute to the author or the author’s suc-
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cessor as copyright owner an amount equal to the 
difference between— 
‘‘(A) all royalties attributable to the sales 
of copies of works by the author; and 
‘‘(B) the reasonable administrative ex-
penses of the collecting society as determined 
by regulations issued under subsection (h). 
‘‘(3) UNCLAIMED ROYALTIES.— 
‘‘(A) ESCROW.—Subject to subparagraph 
(B), if, after a good faith effort, a visual artists’ 
copyright collecting society is not able to make 
a timely distribution under paragraph (2) be-
cause the copyright collecting society is unable 
to locate the author or author’s successor as 
copyright owner, the copyright collecting society 
shall— 
‘‘(i) deposit the amount that would 
have been distributed to the author or au-
thor’s successor as copyright owner into an 
interest-bearing escrow account until the 
author or author’s successor as copyright 
owner has been identified and located; and 
‘‘(ii) upon locating the author or au-
thor’s successor as copyright owner, dis-
tribute the amount described in clause (i), 
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including interest, to the author or au-
thor’s successor as copyright owner. 
‘‘(B) TRANSFER.—If the author or au-
thor’s successor as copyright owner of a work 
of visual art is not identified and located during 
the 3-year period beginning on the date on 
which the sale of the copy of the work of visual 
art occurs, the amount that would have been 
distributed to the author or author’s successor 
as copyright owner under paragraph (2) shall 
be transferred to the Copyright Office for the 
purposes of developing and conducting pro-
grams, symposia, and education initiatives in 
support of artists in the United States. 
‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATION.—A visual artists’ copy-
right collecting society shall administer all amounts 
collected under this subsection in accordance with 
generally accepted accounting principles. 
‘‘(e) FAILURE TO PAY ROYALTY.— 
‘‘(1) RIGHT OF ACTION.—Except as provided in 
paragraph (2), if a person fails to pay or distribute 
a royalty in accordance with subsection (d), the per-
son to which the royalty is due may bring an action 
in an appropriate district court of the United States 
to recover either— 
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‘‘(A) the amount of the royalty; or 
‘‘(B) statutory damages in an amount 
available under section 504(c). 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), a person shall not be liable 
in an action brought against the person under 
paragraph (1) if, not later than 60 days after 
the date on which the royalty was due, the per-
son pays or distributes an amount equal to the 
sum of— 
‘‘(i) the royalty due; and 
‘‘(ii) a late fee determined in accord-
ance with appropriate regulations as may 
be promulgated by the Register of Copy-
rights. 
‘‘(B) WILLFUL OR REPEATED FAILURE TO 
PAY.—Subparagraph (A) shall not apply if the 
failure of the person to pay or distribute a roy-
alty in accordance with subsection (d) was will-
ful or repeated. 
‘‘(3) EXCLUSIVE
REMEDIES.—The remedies 
provided under this subsection shall be the exclusive 
remedies for a failure to pay or distribute a royalty 
in accordance with subsection (d). 
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‘‘(1) establish a process by which a person is 
determined to be and designated as a visual artists’ 
copyright collecting society, which process shall— 
‘‘(A) require a visual artists’ copyright col-
lecting society authorized to administer royalty 
collections and distributions under this title 
to— 
‘‘(i) have prior experience in licensing 
the copyrights of authors of works of vis-
ual art in the United States; or 
‘‘(ii) have been authorized by not 
fewer than 500 authors of works of visual 
art, either directly or through reciprocal 
agreements with foreign collecting soci-
eties, to license the rights granted under 
section 106; and 
‘‘(B) provide that a person shall no longer 
be designated as a visual artists’ copyright col-
lecting society if, during a period of not less 
than 5 years that begins after the date on 
which the person is designated as a visual art-
ists’ copyright collecting society, the person 
does not distribute directly to each author, or to 
the successor as copyright owner of each au-
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thor, the amount of the royalties required to be 
distributed under subsection (d); 
‘‘(2) determine a reasonable amount of adminis-
trative expenses that a visual artists’ copyright col-
lecting society may deduct from the royalties payable 
to an author of a work of visual art under sub-
section (d)(2); and 
‘‘(3) establish a process by which— 
‘‘(A) not less frequently than annually, a 
visual artists’ copyright collecting society may 
obtain from any person that conducts auctions 
a list of each copy of a work of visual art sold 
in those auctions that is by an author rep-
resented by the collecting society; and 
‘‘(B) an author of a work of visual art or, 
if applicable, an author’s successor as copyright 
owner may obtain from a visual artists’ copy-
right collecting society any information in the 
possession of the collecting society that relates 
to a sale of a copy of a work of visual art by 
the author, including the amount of any royalty 
paid to the collecting society on behalf of the 
author or the author’s successor as copyright 
owner.’’. 
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(2) TECHNICAL
AND
CONFORMING
AMEND-
MENT.—The table of sections for chapter 1 of title 
17, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 106A the following: 
‘‘106B. Collection of resale royalty for visual art.’’. 
SEC. 4. NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT. 
Section 401 of title 17, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(e) NON-APPLICABILITY
TO WORKS
OF VISUAL 
ART.—The provisions of this section shall not apply to a 
work of visual art.’’. 
SEC. 5. STUDY REQUIRED. 
Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Register of Copyrights shall— 
(1) conduct a study on— 
(A) the effects, if any, of the implementa-
tion of this Act, and the amendments made by 
this Act, on the art market in the United 
States; and 
(B) whether the provisions of this Act, and 
the amendments made by this Act, should be 
expanded to cover dealers, galleries, or other 
professionals engaged in the sale of copies of 
works of visual art; and 
(2) submit to the Committee on the Judiciary 
of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary 
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of the House of Representatives a report on the 
study conducted under paragraph (1), including any 
recommendations for legislation. 
SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 
take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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