An Act for the general revision of the Copyright Law, title 17 of the United States Code, and for other purposes.
PL 94-553 (S.22), enacted 10/19/1976

PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2541 
Public Law 94-553 
94th Congress 
An Act 
For the general revision of the Copyright Law, title 17 of the United States 
Oct. 19, 1976 
Code, and for other purposes. 
[S. 22] 
Be It enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assennhled^ 
Title 17, USC, 
copyrights. 
T I T L E I — G E N E R A L R E V I S I O N O F C O P Y R I G H T LAW 
SEC. 101. Title 17 of the United States Code, entitled "Copyrights", 
is hereby amended in its entirety to read as follows: 
TITLE 17—COPYRIGHTS 
CHAPTER 
Sec. 
1. SUBJECT MATTER AND SCOPE OF COPYRIGHT 
101 
2. COPYRIGHT OWNERSHIP AND TRANSFER 
201 
3. DURATION OF COPYRIGHT 
301 
4 COPYRIGHT NOTICE, DEPOSIT, AND REGISTRATION 
401 
"). COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AND REMEDIES 
501 
6. MANUFACTURING REQUIREMENT AND IMPORTATION 
601 
7. COPYRIGHT OFFICE 
701 
8. COPYRIGHT ROYALTY TRIBUNAL 
801 
Chapter 1.—SUBJECT MATTER AND SCOPE OF 
COPYRIGHT 
Sec. 
' 
101. Definitions. 
102. Subject matter of copyright: In general. 
103. Subject matter of copyright: Compilations and derivative works. 
104. Subject matter of copyright: National origin. 
105. Subject matter of copyright: United States Government works. 
106. Exclusive rights in copyrighted works. 
107. Limitations on exclusive rights : Fair use. 
108. Limitations on exclusive rights: Reproduction by libraries and archives. 
109. Limitations on exclusive rights: Effect of transfer of particular copy or 
phonorecord. 
110. Limitations on exclusive rights: Exemption of certain performances and 
displays. 
111. Limitations on exclusive rights: Secondary transmissions. 
112. Limitations on exclusive rights: Ephemeral recordings. 
113. Scope of exclusive rights in pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works. 
114. Scoi)e of exclusive rights in sound recordings. 
115. Scope of exclusive rights in nondramatic musical works : Compulsory license 
for making and distributing phonorecords. 
116. Scope of exclusive rights in nondramatic musical works: Public perform-
ances by means of coin-operated phonorecord players. 
117. Scope of exclusive rights: Use in conjunction with computers and similar 
information systems. 
118. Scope of exclusive rights: Use of certain works in connection with non-
commercial broadcasting. 
§ 101. Definitions 
17 USC lOl. 
As used in this title, tlie following terms and their variant forms 
mean the following: 
An "anonymous work" is a work on the copies or phonorecords 
of which no natural person is identified as author. 
"Audiovisual works" are Avorks that consist of a series of related 
images which are intrinsically intended to be shown by the use 
of machines or devices such as projectors, viewers, or electronic 
equipment, together with accompanying sounds, if any, regardless 
89-194 O—78—pt. 2 
68 
90 STAT. 2542 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
of the nature of the material objects, such as films or tapes, in 
which the works are embodied. 
The "best edition" of a work is the edition, published in the 
United States at any time before the date of deposit, that the 
Library of Congress determines to be most suitable for its 
purposes. 
A person's "children" are that person's immediate offspring, 
whether legitimate or not, and any children legally adopted by 
that person. 
A "collective work" is a work, such as a periodical issue, 
anthology, or encyclopedia, in which a number of contributions, 
constituting separate and independent works in themselves, are 
assembled into a collective whole. 
A "compilation" is a work formed by the collection and assem-
bling of preexisting materials or of data that are selected, coordi-
nated, or arranged in such a way that the resulting work as a 
whole constitutes an original work of authorship. The term "com-
pilation" includes collective works. 
"Copies" are material objects, other than phonorecords, in which 
a work is fixed by any method now known or later developed, 
and from which the work can be perceived, reproduced, or other-
wise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine 
or device. The term "copies" includes the material object, other 
than a phonorecord, in which the work is first fixed. 
"Copyright owner", with respect to any one of the exclusive 
rights comprised in a copyright, refers to the owner of that par-
ticular right. 
A work is "created" when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord 
for the first time; where a work is prepared over a period of 
time, the portion of it that has been fixed at any particular time 
constitutes the work as of that time, and where the work has been 
prepared in different versions, each version constitutes a separate 
work. 
A "derivative work" is a work based upon one or more preexist-
ing works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatiza-
tion, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art 
reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in 
which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted. A work 
consisting of editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or 
other modifications which, as a whole, represent an original work 
of authorship, is a "derivative work". 
A "device", "machine", or "process" is one now known or later 
developed. 
To "display" a work means to show a copy of it, either directly 
or by means of a film, slide, television image, or any other device 
or process or, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual 
work, to show individual images nonsequentially. 
A work is "fixed" in a tangible medium of expression when its 
embodiment in a copjr or phonorecord, by or under the authority 
of the author, is sufficiently permanent or stable to permit it to be 
perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated for a period of 
more than transitory duration. A work consisting of sounds, 
images, or both, that are being transmitted, is "fixed" for purposes 
of this title if a fixation of the work is being made simultaneously 
with its transmission. 
•' 
The terms "including" and "such as" are illustrative and not 
limitative. 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2543 
A "joint work" is a work prepared by two or more authors with 
the intention that their contributions be merged into inseparable 
or interdependent parts of a unitary whole. 
"Literary works" are works, other than audiovisual works, 
expressed in words, numbers, or other verbal or numerical symbols 
or indicia, regardless of the nature of the material objects, such as 
books, periodicals, manuscripts, phonorecords, film, tapes, disks, 
or cards, in which they are embodied. 
"Motion pictures" are audiovisual works consisting of a series 
of related images which, when shown in succession, impart an 
impression of motion, together with accompanying sounds, if any. 
To "perform" a work means to recite, render, play, dance, or 
act it, either directly or by means of any device or process or, in 
the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to show 
its images in any sequence or to make the sounds accompanying 
it audible. 
"Phonorecords" are material objects in which sounds, other 
than those accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual 
work, are fixed by any method now known or later developed, and 
from which the sounds can be perceived, reproduced, or other-
wise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine 
or device. The term "phonorecords" includes the material object 
in which the sounds are first fixed. 
"Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works" include two-dimen-
sional and three-dimensional works of fine, graphic, and applied 
art, photographs, prints and art reproductions, maps, globes, 
charts, technical drawings, diagrams, and models. Such works 
shall include works of artistic craftsmanship insofar as their form 
but not their mechanical or utilitarian aspects are concerned; the 
design of a useful article, as defined in this section, shall be con-
sidered a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work only if, and only 
to the extent that, such design incorporates pictorial, graphic, 
or sculptural features that can be identified separately from, and 
are capable of existing independently of, the utilitarian aspects of 
the article. 
A "pseudonymous work" is a work on the copies or phono-
records of which the author is identified under a fictitious name. 
"Publication" is the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a 
work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by 
rental, lease, or lending. The offering to distribute copies or phono-
records to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, 
public performance, or public display, constitutes publication. A 
public performance or display of a work does not of itself con-
stitute publication. 
To perform or display a work "publicly" means— 
(1) to perform or display it at a place open to the public 
or at any place where a substantial number of persons outside 
of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is 
gathered; or 
(2) to transmit or otherwise communicate a performance 
or display of the work to a place specified by clause (1) or 
to the public, by means of any device or processs, whether 
the members of the public capable of receiving the perform-
ance or display receive it in the same place or in separate 
places and at the same time or at different times. 
• • 
90 STAT. 2544 
, 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
"Sound recordings" are works that result from the fixation 
of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds, but not including 
the sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual 
work, regardless of the nature of the material objects, such as 
disks, tapes, or other phonorecords, in which they are embodied. 
"State" includes the District of Columbia and the Common-
wealth of Puerto Rico, and any territories to which this title 
is made applicable by an Act of Congress. 
A "transfer of copyright ownership" is an assignment, mort-
gage, exclusive license, or any other conveyance, alienation, or 
hypothecation of a copyright or of any of the exclusive rights 
comprised in a copyright, whether or not it is limited in time or 
place of efl'ect, but not including a nonexclusive license. 
A "transmission program" is a body of material that, as an 
aggregate, has been produced for the sole purpose of transmis-
sion to the public in sequence and as a unit. 
To "transmit" a performance or display is to communicate it 
by any device or process whereby images or sounds are received 
beyond the place from which they are sent. 
The "United States", when used in a geographical sense, com-
prises the several States, the District of Columbia and the Com-
monwealth of Puerto Rico, and the organized territories under 
the jurisdiction of the United States Government. 
A "useful article" is an article having an intrinsic utilitarian 
function that is not merely to portray the appearance of the 
article or to convey information. An article that is normally a 
part of a useful article is considered a "useful article". 
The author's "widow" or "widower" is the author's surviving 
spouse under the law of the author's domicile at the time of his 
or her death, whether or not the spouse has later remarried. 
A "work of the United States Government" is a work prepared 
by an officer or employee of the United States Government as 
part of that person's official duties. 
A "work made for hire" is— 
(1) a work prepared by an employee within the scope of 
his or her employment; or 
(2) a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as 
a contribution to a collective work, as a part of a motion 
picture or other audiovisual work, as a translation, as a sup-
plementary work, as a compilation, as an instructional text, 
as a test, as answer material for a test, or as an atlas, if the 
parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by 
them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire. 
For the purpose of the foregoing sentence, a "supplementary 
work" is a Avork prepared for publication as a secondary 
adjunct to a Avork by another author for the purpose of 
introducing, concluding, illustrating, explaining, revising, 
commenting upon, or assisting in the use of the other work, 
such as forewords, afterwords, pictorial illustrations, maps, 
charts, tables, editorial notes, musical arrangements, answer 
material for tests, bibliographies, appendixes, and indexes, 
and an "instructional text" is a literary, pictorial, or graphic 
work prepared for publication and with the purpose of use 
in systematic instructional activities. 
17 use 102. 
§ 102. Subject matter of copyright: In general 
(a) Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in 
original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expres-
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2545 
sion, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, 
reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the 
aid of a machine or device. Works of authorship include the following 
Works of 
categories: 
authorship. 
(1) literary works; 
(2) musical works, including any accompanying words; 
" 
(3) dramatic works, including any accompanying music; 
(4) pantomimes and choreographic works; 
^5) pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works; 
(6) motion pictures and other audiovisual works; and 
(7) sound recordings. 
(b) In no case does copyright protection for an original work of 
authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method 
of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form 
in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such 
work. 
§ 103. Subject matter of copyright: Compilations and derivative 17 USC 103. 
works 
(a) The subject matter of copyright as specified by section 102 
includes compilations and derivative works, but protection for a work 
employing preexisting material in which copyright subsists does not 
extend to any part of the work in which such material has been used 
unlawfully. 
(b) The copyright in a compilation or derivative work extends only 
to the material contributed by the author of such work, as distin-
guished from the preexisting material employed in the work, and does 
not imply any exclusive right in the preexisting material. The copy-
right in such work is independent of, and does not affect or enlarge 
the scope, duration, ownership, or subsistence of, any copyright pro-
tection in the preexisting material. 
§ 104. Subject matter of copyright: National origin 
17 USC 104. 
(a) UNPUBLISHED WORKS.—The works specified by sections 102 and 
103, while unpublished, are subject to protection under this title with-
out regard to the nationality or domicile of the author. 
(b) PUBLISHED WORKS.—The works specified by sections 102 and 
103, when published, are subject to protection under this title if— 
(1) on the date of first publication, one or more of the authors 
is a national or domiciliary of the United States, or is a national, 
domiciliary, or sovereign authority of a foreign nation that is 
a party to a copyright treaty to which the United States is also 
a party, or is a stateless person, wherever that person may be 
domiciled; or 
(2) the work is first published in the United States or in a 
foreign nation that, on the date of first publication, is a party to 
the Universal Copyright Convention; or 
(3) the work is first published by the United Nations or any 
of its specialized agencies, or by the Organization of American 
States; or 
(4) the work comes within the scope of a Presidential proclama-
tion. Whenever the President finds that a particular foreign 
nation extends, to works by authors who are nationals or domi-
ciliaries of the United States or to works that are first published 
in the United States, copyright protection on substantially the 
same basis as that on which the foreign nation extends protection 
to works of its own nationals and domiciliaries and works first 
published in that nation, the President may by proclamation 
extend protection under this title to works of which one or more 
90 STAT. 2546 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
of the authors is, on the date of first publication, a national, 
domiciliary, or sovereign authority of that nation, or which was 
first published in that nation. The President may revise, suspend, 
or revoke any such proclamation or impose any conditions or 
limitations on protection under a proclamation. 
17 use 105. 
§105. Subject matter of copyright: United States Government 
works 
Copyright protection under this title is not available for any work 
of the United States Government, but the United States Government 
is not precluded from receiving and holding copyrights transferred to 
it by assignment, bequest, or otherwise. 
17 use 106. 
§ 106. Exclusive rights in copyrighted works 
Subject to sections 107 through 118, the owner of copyriglit under 
this title has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the 
following: 
(1) 
to reproduce the copyrighted 
work in copies or 
phonorecords; 
(2) to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted 
work; 
(3) to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted 
work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by 
rental, lease, or lending; 
(4) in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic 
works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual 
works, to perform the copyrighted work publicly; and 
(5) in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic 
works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, 
including the individual images of a motion picture or other 
audiovisual work, to display the copyrighted work publicly. 
17 use 107. 
§ 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use 
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, the fair use of a 
copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or 
phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for 
purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching 
(including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, 
is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use 
made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be 
considered shall include— 
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether 
such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational 
purposes; 
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work; 
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in rela-
tion to the copyrighted work as a whole; and 
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value 
o f the copyrighted work. 
17 use 108. 
§ 108. Limitations on exclusive rights: Reproduction by libraries 
and archives 
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, it is not an 
infringement of copyright for a library or archives, or any of its 
employees acting within the scope of their employment, to reproduce 
no more than one copy or phonorecord of a work, or to distribute such 
copy or phonorecord, under the conditions specified by this section, 
if— 
(1) the reproduction or distribution is made without any pur-
pose of direct or indirect commercial advantage; 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2547 
(2) the collections of the library or archives are (i) open to 
the public, or (ii) 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 specialized field; 
and 
(3) the reproduction or distribution of the work includes a 
notice of copyright. 
(b) The rights of reproduction and distribution under this section 
apply to a copy or phonorecord of an unpublished work duplicated 
in facsimile form solely for purposes of preservation and security or 
for deposit for research use in another library or archives of the type 
described by clause (2) of subsection (a), if the copy or phonorecord 
reproduced is currently in the collections of the library or archives. 
(c) The right of reproduction under this section applies to a copy 
or phonorecord of a published work duplicated in facsimile form 
solely for the purpose of replacement of a copy or phonorecord that 
is damaged, deteriorating, lost, or stolen, if the library or archives 
has, after a reasonable effort, determined that an unused replacement 
cannot be obtained at a fair price. 
(d) The rights of reproduction and distribution under this section 
apply to a copy, made from the collection of a library or archives 
where the user makes his or her request or from that of another library 
or archives, of no more than one article or other contribution to a 
copyrighted collection or periodical issue, or to a copy or phonorecord 
of a small part of any other copyrighted work, if— 
(1) the copy or phonorecord becomes the property of the user, 
and the library or archives has had no notice that the copy or 
phonorecord would be used for any purpose other than private 
study, scholarship, or research; and 
(2) the library or archives displays prominently, at the place 
where orders are accepted, and includes on its order form, a warn-
ing of copyright in accordance with requirements that the 
Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation, 
(e) The rights of reproduction and distribution under this section 
apply to the entire work, or to a substantial part of it, made from the 
collection of a library or archives where the user makes his or her 
request or from that of another library or archives, if the library or 
archives has first determined, on the basis of a reasonable investiga-
tion, that a copy or phonorecord of the copyrighted work cannot be 
obtained at a pair price, if— 
(1) the copy or phonorecord becomes the property of the user, 
and the library or archives has had no notice that the copy or 
phonorecord would be used for any purpose other than private 
study, scholarship, or research; and 
(2) the library or archives displays prominently, at the place 
'' * »
^
' 
where orders are accepted, and includes on its order form, a warn-
ing of copyright in accordance with requirements that the Regis-
ter of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation. 
(f) Nothing in this section— 
(1) shall be construed to impose liability for copyright 
infringement upon a library or archives or its employees for the 
unsupervised use of reproducing equipment located on its 
;, , wi/i 
premises: Provided, That such equipment displays a notice that 
the making of a copy may be subject to the copyright law; 
(2) excuses a person who uses such reproducing equipment or 
who requests a copy or phonorecord under subsection (d) from 
liability for copyright infringement for any such act, or for any 
later use of such copy or phonorecord, if it exceeds fair use as 
provided by section 107; 
90 STAT. 2548 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
Report to 
Congress. 
17 use 109. 
Sale or disposal. 
Public display. 
(3) shall be construed to limit the reproduction and distribu-
tion by lending of a limited number of copies and excerpts by a 
library or archives of an audiovisual news program, subject to 
clauses (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (a) ; or 
(4) in any way affects the right of fair use as provided by 
section 107, or any contractual obligations assumed at any time 
by the library or archives when it obtained a copy or phonorecord 
of a work in its collections. 
(g) The rights of reproduction and distribution under this section 
extend to the isolated and unrelated reproduction or distribution of a 
single copy or phonorecord of the same material on separate occasions, 
l)ut do not extend to cases where the library or archives, or its 
employee— 
(1) is aware or has substantial reason to believe that it is 
engaging in the related or concerted reproduction or distribution 
of multiple copies or phonorecords of the same material, whether 
made on one occasion or over a period of time, and whether 
intended for aggregate use by one or more individuals or for 
separate use by the individual members of a group; or 
, 
(2) engages in the systematic reproduction or distribution of 
single or multiple copies or phonorecords of material described 
in subsection (d): Provided, That nothing in this clause prevents 
a library or archives from participating in interlibrary arrange-
ments that do not have, as their purpose or effect, that the library 
or archives receiving such copies or phonorecords for distribution 
does so in such aggregate quantities as to substitute for a sub-
scription to or purchase of such work, 
(h) The rights of reproduction and distribution under this section 
do not apply to a musical work, a pictorial, graphic or sculptural 
work, or a motion picture or other audiovisual work other than an 
audiovisual work dealing with news, except that no such limitation 
shall apply with respect to rights granted by subsections (b) and(c), 
or with respect to pictorial or graphic works published as illustra-
tions, diagrams, or similar adjuncts to works of which copies are 
reproduced or distributed in accordance with subsections (d) and (e). 
(i) Five years from the effective date of this Act, and at five-year 
intervals thereafter, the Register of Copyrights, after consulting with 
representatives of authors, book and periodical publishers, and other 
owners of copyrighted materials, and with representatives of library 
users and librarians, shall submit to the Congress a report setting 
forth the extent to which this section has achieved the intended statu-
tory balancing of the rights of creators, and the needs of users. The 
report should also describe any problems that may have arisen, and 
present legislative or other recommendations, if warranted. 
§109. Limitations on exclusive rights: Effect of transfer of par-
ticular copy or phonorecord 
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106(3), the owner of 
a particular copy or phonorecord lawfully made under this title, or 
any person authorized by such owner, is entitled, without the authority 
of the copyright owner, to sell or otherwise dispose of the possession 
of that copy or phonorecord. 
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106(5), the owner of 
a particular copy lawfully made under this title, or smj person author-
ized by such owner, is entitled, without the authority of the copy-
right owner, to display that copy publicly, either directly or by the 
projection of no more than one image at a time, to viewers present at 
the place where the copy is located. 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2549 
(c) The privileges prescribed by subsections (a) and (b) do not, 
unless authorized by the coyright owner, extend to any person who 
has acquired possession of the copy or phonorecord from the copy-
right owner, by rental, lease, loan, or otherwise, without acquiring 
ownership of it. 
§ 110. Limitations on exclusive rights: Exemption of certain per- 17 USC llO. 
formances and displays 
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, the following are not 
infringements of copyright: 
(1) performance or display of a work by instructors or pupils 
in the course of face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit edu-
cational institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to 
instruction, unless, in the case of a motion picture or other audio-
visual work, the performance, or the display of individual images, 
is given by means of a copy that was not lawfully made under 
this title, and that the person responsible for the performance 
knew or had reason to believe was not lawfully made; 
(2) performance of a nondramatic literary or musical work or 
display of a work, by or in the course of a transmission, if— 
(A) the performance or display is a regular part of the 
systematic instructional activities of a governmental body or 
a nonprofit educational institution; and 
(B) the performance or display is directly related and of 
material assistance to the teaching content of the transmis-
sion; and 
(C) the transmission is made primarily for— 
(i) reception in classrooms or similar places normally 
devoted to instruction, or 
(ii) reception by persons to whom the transmission 
is directed because their disabilities or other special cir-
cumstances prevent their attendance in classrooms or 
similar places normally devoted to instruction, or 
, 
(iii) reception by officers or employees of govern-
mental bodies as a part of their official duties or employ-
ment; 
(3) performance of a nondramatic literary or musical work 
or of a dramatico-musical work of a religious nature, or display 
of a work, in the course of services at a place of worship or other 
religious assembly; 
(4) performance of a nondramatic literary or musical work 
otherwise than in a transmission to the public, without any pur-
pose of direct or indirect commercial advantage and without 
payment of any fee or other compensation for the performance 
to any of its performers, promoters, or organizers, if— 
(A) there is no direct or indirect admission charge; or 
(B) the proceeds, after deducting the reasonable costs of Notice of 
producing the performance, are used exclusively for educa- objection to 
tional, religious, or charitable purposes and not for private performance, 
financial gain, except where the copyright owner has served 
notice of objection to the performance under the following 
conditions; 
(i) the notice shall be in writing and signed by the 
copyright owner or such owner's duly authorized agent; 
and 
" * 
(ii) the notice shall be served on the person respon-
sible for the performance at least seven days before the 
date of the performance, and shall state the reasons for 
the objection; and 
90 STAT. 2550 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
Regulation. 
(iii) the notice shall comply, in form, content, and 
manner of service, with requirements that the Register 
of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation; 
(5) communication of a transmission embodying a perform-
ance or display of a work by the public reception of the trans-
mission on a single receiving apparatus of a kind commonly used 
in private homes, unless— 
(A) a direct charge is made to see or hear the transmission; 
or 
(B) the transmission thus received is further transmitted 
to the public; 
(6) performance of a nondramatic musical work by a govern-
mental body or a nonprofit agricultural or horticultural organiza-
tion, in the course of an annual agricultural or horticultural fair 
or exhibition conducted by such body or organization; the exemp-
tion provided by this clause shall extend to any liability for copy-
right infringement that would otherwise be imposed on such body 
or organization, under doctrines of vicarious liability or related 
infringement, for a performance by a concessionnaire, business 
establishment, or other person at such fair or exhibition, but shall 
not excuse any such person from liability for the performance; 
(7) performance of a nondramatic musical work by a vending 
establishment open to the public at large without any direct or 
indirect admission charge, where the sole purpose of the per-
formance is to promote the retail sale of copies or phonorecords 
of the work, and the performance is not transmitted beyond the 
place where the establishment is located and is within the imme-
diate area where the sale is occurring; 
(8) performance of a nondramatic literary work, by or in the 
course of a transmission specifically designed for and primarily 
directed to blind or other handicapped persons who are unable to 
read normal printed material as a result of their handicap, or 
deaf or other handicapped persons who are unable to hear the 
aural signals accompanying a transmission of visual signals, if 
the performance is made without any purpose of direct or indirect 
commercial advantage and its transmission is made through the 
facilities of: (i) a governmental body; or (ii) a noncommercial 
educational broadcast station (as defined in section 397 of title 
47); or (iii) a radio subcarrier authorization (as defined in 47 
CFR 73.293-73.295 and 73.593-73.595); or (iv) a cable system 
(as defined in section 111(f)). 
(9) performance on a single occasion of a dramatic literary 
work published at least ten years before the date of the perform-
ance, by or in the course of a transmission specifically designed 
for and primarily directed to blind or other handicapped persons 
who are unable to read normal printed material as a result of 
their handicap, if the performance is made without any purpose 
of direct or indirect commercial advantage and its transmission 
is made through the facilities of a radio subcarrier authorization 
referred to in clause (8) (iii). Provided, That the provisions of 
this clause shall not be applicable to more than one performance 
of the same work by the same performers or under the auspices of 
the same organization. 
17 use 111. 
§111. Limitations on exclusive rights: Secondary transmissions 
(a) CERTAIN SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS EXEMPTED.—The second-
ary transmission of a primary transmission embodying a performance 
or display of a work is not an infringement of copyright if— 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2551 
(1) the secondary transmission is not made by a cable system, 
and consists entirely of the relaying, by the management of a 
hotel, apartment house, or similar establishment, of signals trans-
mitted by a broadcast station licensed by the Federal Communi-
cations Commission, within the local service area of such station, 
to the private lodgings of quests or residents of such establish-
ment, and no direct charge is made to see or hear the secondary 
transmission; or 
(2) the secondary transmission is made solely for the purpose 
and under the conditions specified by clause (2) of section 110; or 
(3) the secondary transmission is made by any carrier who has 
no direct or indirect control over the content or selection of the 
primary transmission or over the particular recipients of the 
secondary transmission, and whose activities with respect to the 
. • 
secondary transmission consist solely of providing wires, cables, 
or other communications channels for the use of othei-s: Provided, 
That the provisions of this clause extend only to the activities of 
said carrier with respect to secondary transmissions and do not 
exempt from liability the activities of others with respect to their 
own primary or secondary transmissions; or 
(4) the secondary transmission is not made by a cable system 
but is made by a governmental body, or other nonprofit organiza-
tion, without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advan-
tage, and without charge to the recipients of the secondary 
transmission other than assessments necessary to defray the actual 
and reasonable costs of maintaining and operating the secondary 
transmission service. 
(b) SECONDARY TRANSMISSION or PRIMARY TRANSMISSION TO CON-
TROLLED GROUP.—Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections 
(a) and (c), the secondary transmission to the public of a primary 
transmission embodying a performance or display of a work is action- 
' ..=. 
able as an act of infringement under section 501, and is fully subject 
'• • 
to the remedies provided by sections 502 through 506 and 509, if the 
primary transmission is not made for reception by the public at large 
but is controlled and limited to reception by particular members of the 
public: Provided, however. That such secondary transmission is not 
actionable as an act of infringement if— 
(1) the primary transmission is made by a broadcast station 
licensed by the Federal Communications Commission; and 
(2) the carriage of the signals comprising the secondary trans-
mission is required under the rules, regulations, or authorizations 
of the Federal Communications Commission; and 
(3) the signal of the primary transmitter is not altered or 
changed in any way by the secondary transmitter. 
(c) 
SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS BY CABLE SYSTEMS,— 
(1) Subject to the provisions of clauses (2), (3), and (4) of 
this subsection, secondary transmissions to the public by a cable 
system of a primary transmission made by a broadcast station 
licensed by the Federal Communications Commission or by an 
appropriate governmental authority of Canada or Mexico and 
embodying a performance or display of a work shall be subject to 
compulsory licensing upon compliance with the requirements of 
subsection (d) where the carriage of the signals comprising the 
secondary transmission is permissible under the rules, regulations^ 
or authorizations of the Federal Communications Commission. 
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of clause (1) of this sub-
section, the willful or repeated secondary transmission to the 
public by a cable system of a primary transmission made by a 
90 STAT. 2552 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
Alteration, 
deletion, or 
substitution. 
Prior consent of 
advertiser. 
broadcast station licensed by the Federal Communications Com-
mission or by an appropriate governmental authority of Canada 
or Mexico and embodying a performance or display of a work is 
actionable as an act of infringement under section 501, and is 
fully subject to the remedies provided by sections 502 through 506 
and 509, in the following cases: 
(A) where the carriage of the signals comprising the sec-
ondary transmission is not permissible under the rules, regu-
lations, or authorizations of the Federal Communications 
Commission; or 
(B) where the cable system has not recorded the notice 
specified by subsection (d) and deposited the statement of 
account and royalty fee required by subsection (d). 
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of clause (1) of this sub-
section and subject to the provisions of subsection (e) of this 
section, the secondary transmission to the public by a cable system 
of a primary transmission made by a broadcast station licensed by 
the Federal Communications Commission or by an appropriate 
governmental authority of Canada or Mexico and embodying a 
performance or display of a work is actionable as an act of 
infringement under section 501, and is fully subject to the reme-
dies provided by sections 502 through 506 and sections 509 and 
510, if the content of the particular program in which the per-
formance or display is embodied, or any commercial advertising 
or station announcements transmitted by the primary transmitter 
during, or immediately before or after, the transmission of such 
program, is in any way willfully altered by the cable system 
through changes, deletions, or additions, except for the alteration, 
deletion, or substitution of commercial advertisements performed 
by those engaged in television commercial advertising market 
research: Provided, That the research company has obtained the 
prior consent of the advertiser who has purchased the original 
commercial advertisement, the television station broadcasting that 
commercial advertisement, and the cable system performing the 
secondary transmission: And provided further, That such com-
mercial alteration, deletion, or substitution is not performed for 
the purpose of deriving income from the sale of that commercial 
time. 
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of clause (1) of this sub-
section, the secondary transmission to the public by a cable sys-
tem of a primary transmission made by a broadcast station 
licensed by an appropriate governmental authority of Canada or 
Mexico and embodying a performance or display of a work is 
actionable as an act of infringement under section 501, and is 
fully subject to the remedies provided by sections 502 through 506 
and section 509, if (A) with respect to Canadian signals, the 
community of the cable system is located more than 150 miles 
from the United States-Canadian border and is also located south 
of the forty-second parallel of latitude, or (B) with respect to 
Mexican signals, the secondary transmission is made by a cable 
system which received the primary transmission by means other 
than direct interception of a free space radio wave emitted by 
such broadcast television station, unless prior to April 15, 1976, 
such cable system was actually carrying, or was specifically 
authorized to carry, the signal of such foreign station on the 
system pursuant to the rules, regulations, or authorizations of the 
Federal Communications Commission. 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2553 
(d) COMPULSORY LICENSE FOR SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS BY CABLE 
SYSTEMS.— 
Notice. 
Statement of 
account. 
(1) For any secondary transmission to be subject to compul-
sory licensing under subsection (c), the cable system shall, at 
least one month before the date of the commencement of opera-
tions of the cable system or within one hundred and eighty days 
after the enactment of this Act, whichever is later, and there-
after within thirty days after each occasion on which the owner-
ship or control or the signal carriage complement of the cable 
system changes, record in the Copyright Office a notice including 
a statement of the identity and address of the person who owns 
or operates the secondary transmission service or has power to 
exercise primary control over it, together with the name and 
location of the primary transmitter or primary transmitters 
whose signals are regularly carried by the cable system, and there-
after, from time to time, such further information as the Register 
of Copyrights, after consultation with the Copyright Royalty 
Tribunal (if and when the Tribunal has been constituted), shall 
prescribe by regulation to carry out the purpose of this clause. 
(2) A cable system whose secondary transmissions have been 
subject to compulsory licensing under subsection (c) shall, on 
a semiannual basis, deposit with the Register of Copyrights, in 
accordance with requirements that the Register shall, after con-
sultation with the Copyright Royalty Tribunal (if and when 
the Tribunal has been constituted), prescribe by regulation— 
(A) a statement of account, covering the six months next 
preceding, specifying the number of channels on which the 
cable system made secondary transmissions to its subscribers, 
the names and locations of all primary transmitters whose 
transmissions were further transmitted by the cable system, 
the total number of subscribers, the gross amounts paid to 
the cable system for the basic service of providing secondary 
transmissions of primary broadcast transmitters, and such 
other data as the Register of Copyrights may, after consulta-
tion with the Copyright Royalty Tribunal (if and when the 
Tribunal has been constituted), from time to time prescribe 
by regulation. Such statement shall also include a special 
statement of account covering any nonnetwork television 
programming that was carried by the cable system in whole 
or in part beyond the local service area of the primary 
transmitter, under rules, regulations, or authorizations of 
the Federal Communications Commission permitting the 
substitution or addition of signals under certain circum-
stances, together with logs showing the times, dates, stations, 
and programs involved in such substituted or added carriage; 
; 
and 
(B) except in the case of a cable system whose royalty is Total royalty fee. 
specified in subclause (C) or (D), a total royalty fee for the 
period covered by the statement, computed on the basis of 
specified percentages of the gross receipts from subscribers 
to the cable service during said period for the basic service 
of providing secondary transmissions of primary broadcast 
transmitters, as follows: 
(i) 0.675 of 1 per centum of such gross receipts for 
the privilege of further transmitting any nonnetwork 
programing of a primary transmitter in whole or in part 
beyond the local service area of such primary trans-
mitter, such amount to be applied against the fee, if 
any, payable pursuant to paragraphs (ii) through (iv); 
Nonnetwork 
television 
programming. 
90 STAT. 2554 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
Statements of 
account, 
submittal to 
Copyright 
Royalty Tribunal. 
Royalty fees, 
distribution. 
5 T
K 
(ii) 0.675 of 1 per centum of such gross receipts for 
the first distant signal equivalent; 
(iii) 0.425 of 1 per centum of such gross receipts for 
each of the second, third, and fourth distant signal 
equivalents; 
(iv) 0.2 of 1 per centum of such gross receipts for the 
fifth 
distant signal equivalent and each 
additional 
distant signal equivalent thereafter; and 
in computing the amounts payable under paragraph (ii) 
through (iv), above, any fraction of a distant signal equiv-
alent shall be computed at its fractional value and, in the 
case of any cable system located partly within and partly 
without the local service area of a primary transmitter, 
gross receipts shall be limited to those gross receipts derived 
from subscribers located without the local service area of 
such primary transmitter; and 
(C) if the actual gross receipts paid by subscribers to a 
cable system for the period covered by the statement for the 
basic service of providing secondary transmissions of pri-
mary broadcast transmitters total $80,000 or less, gross 
receipts of the cable system for the purpose of this subclause 
shall be computed by subtracting from such actual gross 
receipts the amount by which $80,000 exceeds such actual 
gross receipts, except that in no case shall a cable system's 
gross receipts be reduced to less than $3,000. The royalty fee 
payable under this subclause shall be 0.5 of 1 per centum, 
regardless of the number of distant signal equivalents, if 
any; and 
(D) if the actual gross receipts paid by subscribers to a 
cable system for the period covered by the statement, for the 
basic service of providing secondary transmissions of primary 
broadcast transmitters, are more than $80,000 but less than 
$160,000, the royalty fee payable under this subclause shall 
be (i) 0.5 of 1 per centum of any gross receipts up to $80,000; 
and (ii) 1 per centum of any gross receipts in excess of 
$80,000 but less than $160,000, regardless of the number of 
distant signal equivalents, if any. 
(3) The Register of Copyrights shall receive all fees deposited 
under this section and, after deducting the reasonable costs 
incurred by the Copyright Office under this section, shall deposit 
the balance in the Treasury of the United States, in such manner 
as the Secretary of the Treasury directs. All funds held by the 
Secretary of the Treasury shall be invested in interest-bearing 
United States securities for later distribution with interest by the 
Copyright Royalty Tribunal as provided by this title. The Reg-
ister shall submit to the Copyright Royalty Tribunal, on a semi-
annual basis, a compilation of all statements of account covering 
the relevant six-month period provided by clause (2) of this sub-
section. 
(4) The royalty fees thus deposited shall, in accordance with 
the procedures provided by clause (5), be distributed to those 
among the following copyright owners who claim that their 
works were the subject of secondary transmissions by cable 
systems during the relevant semiannual period: 
(A) any such owner whose work was included in a sec-
ondary transmission made by a cable system of a nonnet-
work television program in whole or in part beyond the 
local service area of the primary transmitter; and 
PUBUC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2555 
Royalty fees, 
distribution 
procedures. 
(B) any such owner whose work was included in a second-
ary transmission identified in a special statement of account 
deposited under clause (2) (A); and 
(C) any such owner whose work was included in nonnet-
work programing consisting exclusively of aural signals 
carried by a cable system in whole or in part beyond the 
local service area of the primary transmitter of such 
programs. 
(5) The royalty fees thus deposited shall be distributed in 
accordance with the following procedures: 
(A) During the month of July in each year, every person 
claiming to be entitled to compulsory license fees for second-
ary transmissions shall file a claim with the Copyright 
Royalty Tribunal, in accordance with requirements that the 
Tribunal shall prescribe by regulation. Notwithstanding any 
provisions of the antitrust laws, for purposes of this clause 
any claimants may agree among themselves as to the propor-
tionate division of compulsory licensing fees among them, 
may lump their claims together and file them jointly or as 
a single claim, or may designate a common agent to receive 
payment on their behalf. 
(B) After the first day of August of each year, the Copy-
right Royalty Tribunal shall determine whether there exists 
a controversy concerning the distribution of royalty fees. 
If the Tribunal determines that no such controversy exists, 
it shall, Ufter deducting its reasonable administrative costs 
under tliis section, distribute such fees to the copyright 
owners entitled, or to their designated agents. If the Tribunal 
finds the existence of a controversy, it shall, pursuant to 
chapter 8 of this title, conduct a proceeding to determine the Post, p. 2594. 
distribution of royalty fees. 
(C) During the pendency of any proceeding under this 
subsection, the Copyright Royalty Tribunal shall withhold 
from distribution an amount sufficient to satisfy all claims 
with respect to which a controversy exists, but shall liave 
discretion to proceed to distribute any amounts that are not 
in controversy. 
(e) NONSIMULTANEOUS SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS BY CABLE S Y S -
'I'EMS.— 
(1) Notwithstanding those provisions of the second paragraph 
of subsection (f) relating to nonsimultaneous secondary trans-
missions by a cable system, any such transmissions are actionable 
as an act of infringement under section 501, and are fully subject 
to the remedies ])rovided by sections 502 through 506 and sections 
509 and 510, unless— 
(A) the program on the videotape is transmitted no more 
than one time to the cable system's subscribers; and 
; 
(B) the copyrighted program, episode, or motion picture 
videotape, including the commercials contained within such 
program, episode, or picture, is transmitted without deletion 
or editing; and 
(C) an owner or officer of the cable system (i) prevents 
the duplication of the videotape while in the possession of 
the system, (ii) prevents unauthorized duplication while in 
the possession of the facility making the videotape for the 
system if the system owns or controls the facility, or takes 
.'*•!- J: 
reasonable precautions to prevent such duplication if it does 
90 STAT. 2556 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
'Videotape. 
not own or control the facility, (iii) takes adequate precau-
tions to prevent duplication while the tape is being trans-
ported, and (iv) subject to clause (2), erases or destroys, or 
causes the erasure or destruction of, the videotape; and 
(D) within forty-five days after the end of each calendar 
quarter, an owner or officer of the cable system executes an 
affidavit attesting (i) to the steps and precautions taken to 
prevent duplication of the videotape, and (ii) subject to 
clause (2), to the erasure or destruction of all videotapes 
made or used during such quarter; and 
(E) such owner or officer places or causes each such affi-
davit, and affidavits received pursuant to clause (2) (C), to 
be placed in a file, open to public inspection, at such system's 
main office in the community where the transmission is made 
or in the nearest community where such system maintains an 
office; and 
(F) the nonsimultaneous transmission is one that the cable 
system would be authorized to transmit under the rules, reg-
ulations, and authorizations of the Federal Communications 
Commission in effect at the time of the nonsimultaneous 
transmission if the transmission had been made simultane-
ously, except that this subclause shall not apply to inadvert-
ent or accidental transmissions. 
(2) If a cable system transfers to any person a videotape of a 
program nonsimultaneously transmitted by it, such transfer is 
actionable as an act of infringement under section 501, and is 
fully subject to the remedies provided by sections 502 through 
506 and 509, except that, pursuant to a written, nonprofit contract 
providing for the equitable sharing of the costs of such videotape 
and its transfer, a videotape nonsimultaneously transmitted by 
it, in accordance with clause (1), may be transferred by one cable 
system in Alaska to another system in Alaska, by one cable system 
in Hawaii permitted to make such nonsimultaneous transmissions 
to another such cable system in Hawaii, or by one cable system 
in Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Trust Territory 
of the Pacific Islands, to another cable system in any of those 
three territories, if— 
(A) each such contract is available for public inspection 
in the offices of the cable systems involved, and a copy of such 
contract is filed, within thirty days after such contract is 
entered into, with the Copyright Office (which Office shall 
make each such contract available for public inspection); and 
(B) the cable system to which the videotape is transferred 
complies with clause (1)(A), (B), (C)(i), (iii), and (iv), 
and (D) through (F); and 
(C) such system provides a copy of the affidavit required 
to be made in accordance with clause (1) (D) to each cable 
system making a previous nonsimultaneous transmission of 
the same videotape. 
(3) This subsection shall not be construed to supersede the 
exclusivity protection provisions of any existing agreement, or 
any such agreement hereafter entered into, between a cable system 
and a television broadcast station in the area in which the cable 
system is located, or a network with which such station is 
affiliated. 
(4) As used in this subsection, the term "videotape'", and each 
of its variant forms, means the reproduction of the images and 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2557 
sounds of a program or programs broadcast by a television broad-
cast station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, 
regardless of the nature of the material objects, such as tapes or 
films, in which the reproduction is embodied, 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the following terms and 
their variant forms mean the following: 
A "primary transmission" is a transmission made to the public 
by the transmitting facility whose signals are being received and 
further transmitted by the secondary transmission service, 
regardless of where or when the performance or display was first 
transmitted. 
A "secondary transmission" is the further transmitting of a 
primary transmission simultaneously with the primary transmis-
sion, or nonsimultaneously with the primary transmission if by 
a "cable system" not located in whole or in part within the 
boundary of the forty-eight contiguous States, Hawaii, or Puerto 
Rico: Provided^ however, That a nonsimultaneous further trans-
mission by a cable system located in Hawaii of a primary trans-
mission shall be deemed to be a secondary transmission if the 
carriage of the television broadcast signal comprising such 
further transmission is permissible under the rules, regulations, 
or authorizations of the Federal Communications Commission. 
A "cable system" is a facility, located in any State, Territory, 
Trust Territory, or Possession, that in whole or in part receives 
signals transmitted or programs broadcast by one or more televi-
sion broadcast stations licensed by the Federal Communications 
Commission, and makes secondary transmissions of such signals 
or programs by wires, cables, or other communications channels 
to subscribing members of the public who pay for such service. 
For purposes of determining the royalty fee under subsection 
(d)(2), two or more cable systems in contiguous communities 
under common ownership or control or operating from one head-
end shall be considered as one system. 
The "local service area of a primary transmitter", in the case 
of a television broadcast station, comprises the area in which such 
station is entitled to insist upon its signal being retransmitted by 
a cable system pursuant to the rules, regulations, and authoriza-
tions of the Federal Communications Commission in effect on 
April 15, 1976, or in the case of a television broadcast station 
licensed by an appropriate governmental authority of Canada or 
Mexico, the area in which it would be entitled to insist upon its 
signal being retransmitted if it were a television broadcast station 
subject to such rules, regulations, and authorizations. The "local 
service area of a primary transmitter", in the case of a radio 
broadcast station, comprises the primary service area of such 
station, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Federal 
Communications Commission. 
A "distant signal equivalent" is the value assigned to the 
secondary transmission of any nonnetwork television programing 
carried by a cable system in whole or in part beyond the local 
service area of the primary transmitter of such programing. It 
is computed by assigning a value of one to each independent 
station and a value of one-quarter to each network station and 
noncommercial educational station for the nonnetwork pro-
graming so carried pursuant to the rules, regulations, and 
authorizations of the Federal Communications Commission. The 
foregoing values for independent, network, and noncommercial 
89-194 O—78—pt. 2 
69 
90 STAT. 2558 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
educational stations are subject, however, to the following excep-
tions and limitations. Where the rules and regulations of the 
Federal Communications Commission require a cable system to 
omit the further transmission of a particular program and such 
rules and regulations also permit the substitution of another pro-
gram embodying a performance or display of a work in place of 
the omitted transmission, or where such rules and regulations in 
effect on the date of enactment of this Act permit a cable system, 
at its election, to effect such deletion and substitution of a nonlive 
program or to carry additional programs not transmitted by 
primary transmitters within whose local service area the cable 
system is located, no value shall be assigned for the substituted or 
additional program; where the rules, regulations, or authoriza-
tions of the Federal Communications Commission in effect on the 
date of enactment of this Act permit a cable system, at its election, 
to omit the further transmission of a particular program and such 
rules, regulations, or authorizations also permit the substitution 
of another program embodying a performance or display of a 
work in place of the omitted transmission, the value assigned for 
the substituted or additional program shall be, in the case of a live 
program, the value of one full distant signal equivalent multi-
plied by a fraction that has as its numerator the number of darys 
in the year in which such substitution occurs and as its denomi-
nator the number of days in the year. In the case of a station 
carried pursuant to the late-night or specialty programing rules 
of the Federal Communications Commission, or a station carried 
on a part-time basis where full-time carriage is not possible 
because the cable system lacks the activated channel capacity to 
retransmit on a full-time basis all signals which it is authorized 
to carry, the values for independent, network, and noncommercial 
educational stations set forth above, as the case may be, shall be 
multiplied by a fraction which is equal to the ratio of the broad-
cast hours of such station carried by the cable system to the total 
broadcast hours of the station. 
A "netw^ork station" is a television broadcast station that is 
owned or operated by, or affiliated with, one or more of the televi-
sion networks in the United States providing nationwide trans-
missons, and that transmits a substantial part of the programing 
supplied by such networks for a substantial part of that station's 
typical broadcast day. 
An "independent station" is a commercial television broadcast 
station other than a network station. 
A "noncommercial educational station" is a television station 
that is a noncommercial educational broadcast station as defined 
47 use 397. 
in section 397 of title 47. 
17 use 112. 
§112. Limitations on exclusive rights: Ephemeral recordings 
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, and except in 
the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, it is not an 
infringement of copyright for a transmitting organization entitled to 
transmit to the public a performance or display of a work, under a 
license or transfer of the copyright or under the limitations on exclu-
sive rights in sound recordings specified by section 114(a), to make no 
more than one copy or phonorecord of a particular transmission pro-
gram embodying the performance or display, if— 
(1) the copy or phonorecord is retained and used solely by the 
transmitting organization that made it, and no further copies or 
phonorecords are reproduced from it; and 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2559 
(2) the copy or phonorecord is used solely for the transmitting 
organization's own transmissions within its local service area, or 
for purposes of archival preservation or security; and 
i 
(3) unless preserved exclusively for archival purposes, the copy 
or phonorecord is destro^^ed within six months from the date the 
transmission program was first transmitted to the public. 
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, it is not an 
infringement of copyright for a governmental body or other nonprofit 
organization entitled to transmit a performance or display of a work, 
under section 110(2) or under the limitations on exclusive rights in 
sound recordings specified by section 114(a), to make no more than 
thirty copies or phonorecords of a particular transmission program 
embodying the performance or display, if— 
(1) no further copies or phonorecords are reproduced from 
the copies or phonorecords made under this clause; and 
(2) except for one copy or phonorecord that may be preserved 
exclusively for archival purposes, the copies or phonorecords are 
destroyed within seven years from the date the transmission pro-
gram was first transmitted to the public. 
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, it is not an 
infringment of copyright for a governmental body or other nonprofit 
organization to make for distribution no more than one copy or phono-
record, for each transmitting organization specified in clause (2) of 
this subsection, of a particular transmission program embodying a 
i- :
>
?
.
< i 
performance of a nondramatic musical work of a religious nature, or 
' 
of a sound recording of such a musical work, if— 
(1) there is no direct or indirect charge for making or 
distributing any such copies or phonorecords; and 
(2) none of such copies or phonorecords is used for any 
performance other than a single transmission to the public by a 
transmitting organization entitled to transmit to the public a 
performance of the work under a license or transfer of the copy-
right; and 
(3) except for one copy or phonorecord that may be pi-eserved 
exclusively for archival purposes, the copies or phonorecords are 
all destroyed within one year from the date the transmission pro-
gram was first transmitted to the public. 
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, it is not an 
infringement of copyright for a governmental body or other nonprofit 
organization entitled to transmit a performance of a work under 
section 110(8) to make no more than ten copies or phonorecords 
embodying the performance, or to permit the use of any such copy or 
phonorecord by any governmental body or nonprofit organization 
entitled to transmit a performance of a work under section 110 (8), if— 
(1) any such copy or phonorecord is retained and used solely 
by the organization that made it, or by a governmental body or 
nonprofit organization entitled to transmit a performance of a 
work under section 110(8), and no further copies or phonorecords 
are reproduced from it; and 
(2) any such copy or phonorecord is used solely for transmis-
sions authorized under section 110 (8), or for purposes of archival 
preservation or security; and 
(3) the governmental body or nonprofit organization permit- 
' =-
ting any use of any such copy or phonorecord by any govern-
mental body or nonprofit organization under this subsection does 
not make any charge for such use. 
(e) The transmission program embodied in a copy or phonorecord 
made under this section is not subject to protection as a derivatiA-e 
90 STAT. 2560 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
work under this title except with the express consent of the owners 
of copyright in the preexisting works employed in the program. 
17 use 113. 
§ 113. Scope of exclusive rights in pictorial, graphic, and sculp-
tural works 
(a) Subject to the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this sec-
tion, the exclusive right to reproduce a copyrighted pictorial, graphic, 
or sculptural work in copies under section 106 includes the right to 
reproduce the work in or on any kind of article, whether useful or 
otherwise. 
(b) This title does not afford, to the owner of copyright in a work 
that portrays a useful article as such, any greater or lesser rights with 
respect to the making, distribution, or display of the useful article so 
portrayed than those afforded to such works under the law^, whether 
17 use 1 et seq. title i t or the common law or statutes of a State, in effect on Decem-
ber 31, 1977, as held applicable and construed by a court in an action 
brought under this title. 
(c) In the case of a work lawfully reproduced in useful articles that 
have been offered for sale or other distribution to the public, copyright 
does not include any right to prevent the making, distribution, or dis-
play of pictures or photographs of such articles in connection with 
advertisements or commentaries related to the distribution or display 
of such articles, or in connection with news reports. 
17 use 114. 
§ 114. Scope of exclusive rights in sound recordings 
(a) The exclusive rights of the owner of copyright in a sound record-
ing are limited to the rights specified by clauses (1), (2), and (3) of 
section 106, and do not include any right of performance under sec-
tion 106(4). 
(b) The exclusive right of the owner of copyright in a sound record-
ing under clause (1) of section 106 is limited to the right to duplicate 
the sound recording in the form of phonorecords, or of copies of motion 
pictures and other audiovisual works, that directly or indirectly recap-
ture the actual sounds fixed in the recording. The exclusive right of 
the owner of copyright in a sound recording under clause (2) of sec-
tion 106 is limited to the right to prepare a derivative work in which 
the actual sounds fixed in the sound recording are rearranged, remixed, 
or otherwise altered in sequence or quality. The exclusive rights of the 
owner of copyright in a sound recording under clauses (1) and (2) of 
section 106 do not extend to the making or duplication of another 
sound recording that consists entirely of an independent fixation of 
other sounds, even though such sounds imitate or simulate those in the 
copyrighted sound recording. The exclusive rights of the owner of 
copyright in a sound recording under clauses (1), (2), and (3) of 
section 106 do not apply to sound recordings included in educational 
47 use 397. 
television and radio programs (as defined in section 397 of title 47) 
distributed or transmitted by or through public broadcasting entities 
(as defined by section 118(g)) : Provided, That copies or phonorecords 
of said programs are not commercially distributed by or through 
public broadcasting entities to the general public. 
(c) This section does not limit or impair the exclusive right to per-
form publicly, by means of a phonorecord, any of the works specified 
by section 106(4). 
Report to 
' (d) On January 3, 1978, the Register of Copyrights, after consult-
eongress. 
j^g with representatives of owners of copyrighted materials, represent-
atives of the broadcasting, recording, motion picture, entertainment 
industries, and arts organizations, representatives of organized labor 
and performers of copyrighted materials, shall submit to the Congress 
a report setting forth recommendations as to whether this section 
should be amended to provide for performers and copyright owners of 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2561 
copyrighted material any performance rights in such material. The 
report should describe the status of such rights in foreign countries, 
the views of major interested parties, and specific legislative or other 
recommendations, if any. 
§115. Scope of exclusive rights in nondramatic musical works: 
17 USC 115. 
Compulsory license for making and distributing phono-
records 
In the case of nondramatic musical works, the exclusive rights pro-
vided by clauses (1) and (3) of section 106, to make and to distribute 
phonorecords of such works, are subject to compulsory licensing under 
the conditions specified by this section. 
(a) 
AVAILABILITY AND SCOPE OF COMPULSORY LICENSE.— 
• 
. , 
(1) When phonorecords of a nondramatic musical work have 
' 
been distributed to the public in the United States under the 
authority of the copyright owner, any other person may, by com-
plying with the provisions o,f this section, obtain a compulsory 
license to make and distribute phonorecords of the work. A 
person may obtain a compulsory license only if his or her pri-
mary purpose in making phonorecords is to distribute them to 
the public for private use. A person may not obtain a compulsory 
license for use of the work in the making of phonorecords dupli-
cating a sound recording fixed by another, unless: (i) such sound 
recording was fixed lawfully; and (ii) the making of the phono-
records was authorized by the owner of copyright in the sound 
recording or, if the sound recording was fixed before February 15, 
1972, by any person who fixed the sound recording pursuant 
to an express license from the owner of the copyright in the 
musical work or pursuant to a valid compulsory license for use 
of such w^ork in a sound recording. 
(2) A compulsory license includes the privilege of making a 
musical arrangement of the work to the extent necessary to con-
form it to the style or manner of interpretation o,f the perform-
ance involved, but the arrangement shall not change the basic 
melody or fundamental character of the work, and shall not be 
Mi 'J^'J i 
subject to protection as a derivative work under this title, except 
with the express consent of the copyright owner. 
(b) 
NOTICE OF INTENTION To OBTAIN COMPULSORY LICENSE.— 
(1) Any person who wishes to obtain a compulsory license 
under this section shall, before or within thirty days after mak-
ing, and before distributing any phonorecords of the work, serve 
notice of intention to do so on the copyright owner. If the regis-
tration or other public records of the Copyright Office do not 
identify the copyright owner and include an address at which 
notice can be served, it shall be sufficient to file the notice of inten-
tion in the Copyright Office. The notice shall comply, in form, 
content, and manner of service, with requirements that the Regis-
ter of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation. 
(2) Failure to serve or file the notice required by clause (1) 
Failure to serve 
forecloses the possibility o,f a compulsory license and, in the 
or file notice, 
absence of a negotiated license, renders the making and distribu- 
penalty. 
tion of phonorecords actionable as acts of infringement under 
section 501 and fully subject to the remedies provided by sections 
502 through 506 and 509. 
(c) 
ROYALTY PAYABLE UNDER COMPULSORY LICENSE.— 
(1) To be entitled to receive royalties under a compulsory 
license, the copyright owner must be identified in the registration 
or other public records of the Copyright Office. The owner is 
entitled to royalties for phonorecords made and distributed after 
90 STAT. 2562 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
being so identified, but is not entitled to recover for any phono-
records previously made and distributed. 
(2) Except as provided by clause (1), the royalty under a 
compulsory license shall be payable for every phonorecord made 
S. n 
and distributed in accordance with the license. For this purpose, 
a phonorecord is considered "distributed" if the person exercising 
the compulsory license has voluntarily and permanently parted 
with its possession. With respect to each work embodied in the 
phonorecord, the royalty shall be either two and three-fourths 
cents, or one-half of one cent per minute of playing time or frac-
tion thereof, whichever amount is larger. 
Royalty 
(3) Koyalty payments shall be made on or before the twentieth 
payments. 
day of each month and shall include all royalties for the month 
Regulations. 
next preceding. Each monthly payment shall be made under oath 
and shall comply with requirements that the Register of Copy-
rights shall prescribe by regulation. The Register shall also 
prescribe regulations under which detailed cumulative annual 
statements of account, certified by a certified public accountant, 
shall be filed for every compulsory license under this section. The 
regulations covering both the monthly and the annual statements 
of account shall prescribe the form, content, and manner of cer-
tification with respect to the number of records made and the 
number of records distributed. 
(4) If the copyright owner does not receive the monthly pay-
ment and the monthly and annual statements of account when 
due, the owner may give written notice to the licensee that, unless 
the default is remedied within thirty days from the date of the 
notice, the compulsory license will be automatically terminated. 
Such termination renders either the making or the distribution, 
or both, of all phonorecords for which the royalty has not been 
paid, actionable as acts of infringement under section 501 and 
fully subject to the remedies provided by sections 502 through 
506 and 509. 
17 use 116. 
§116. Scope of exclusive rights in nondramatic musical works: 
Public performances by means of coin-operated phono-
record players 
(a) LIMITATION ON EXCLUSIVE RIGHT.—In the case of a nondra-
matic musical work embodied in a phonorecord, the exclusive right 
under clause (4) of section 106 to perform the work publicly by means 
of a coin-operated phonorecord player is limited as follows: 
(1) The proprietor of the establishment in which the public 
performance takes place is not liable for infringement 
with 
respect to such public performance unless— 
(A) such proprietor is the operator of the phonorecord 
player; or 
(B) such proprietor refuses or fails, within one month 
after receipt by registered or certified mail of a request, at a 
' ' 
time during which the certificate required by clause (1) (C) 
of subsection (b) is not affixed to the phonorecord player, 
by the copyright owner, to make full disclosure, by registered 
or certified mail, of the identity of the operator of the phono-
record player. 
(2) The operator of the coin-operated phonorecord player may 
obtain a compulsory license to perform the work publicly on that 
phonorecord player by filing the application, affixing the certifi-
cate, a^d paying the royalties provided by subsection (b). 
(b) RECORDATION OF COIN-OPERATED PHONORECORD PLAYER, AFFIXA-
^ 
TiON OF CERTIFICATE, AND ROYALTY PAYABLE UNDER COMPULSORY 
LICENSE.— 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2563 
(1) Any operator who wishes to obtain a compulsory license 
for the public performance of works on a coin-operated phono-
record player shall fulfill the following requirements: 
(A) Before or within one month after such performances 
are made available on a particular phonorecord player, and 
during the month of January in each succeeding year that 
such performances are made available on that particular 
phonorecord player, the operator shall file in the Copyright 
Office, in accordance with requirements that the Register of 
Copyrights, after consultation with the Copyright Koyalty 
Tribunal (if and when the Tribunal has been constituted), 
shall prescribe by regulation, an application containing the 
name and address of the operator of the phonorecord player 
and the manufacturer and serial number or other explicit 
identification of the phonorecord player, and deposit with 
the Register of Copyrights a royalty fee for the current 
calendar year of $8 for that particular phonorecord player. 
If such performances are made availaole on a particular 
phonorecord player for the first time after July 1 of any year, 
the royalty fee to be deposited for the remainder of that year 
shall be $4. 
(B) Within twenty days of receipt of an application and 
a royalty fee pursuant to subclause (A), the Register of 
Copyrights shall issue to the applicant a certificate for the 
phonorecord player. 
(C) On or before March 1 of the year in which the certifi-
cate prescribed by subclause (B) of this clause is issued, or 
within ten days after the date of issue of the certificate, the 
operator shall affix to the particular phonorecord player, in a 
position where it can be readily examined by the public, the 
certificate, issued by the Register of Copyrights under sub-
clause (B), of the latest application made by such operator 
under subclause (A) of this clause with respect to that 
phonorecord player. 
(2) Failure to file the application, to affix the certificate, or to 
pay the royalty required by clause (1) of this subsection renders 
the public performance actionable as an act of infringement 
under section 501 and fully subject to the remedies provided by 
sections 502 through 506 and 509. 
(c) 
DISTRIBUTION OF ROYALTIES.— 
(1) The Register of Copyrights shall receive all fees deposited 
under this section and, after deducting the reasonable costs 
incurred by the Copyright Office under this section, shall deposit 
the balance in the Treasury of the United States, in such manner 
as the Secretary of the Treasury directs. All funds held by the 
Secretary of the Treasury shall be invested in interest-bearing 
ITnited States securities for later distribution with interest by 
the Copyright Royalty Tribunal as provided by this title. The 
Register shall submit to the Copyright Royalty Tribunal, on an 
annual basis, a detailed statement of account covering all fees 
received for the relevant period provided by subsection (b). 
(2) During the month of January in each year, every person 
claiming to be entitled to compulsory license fees under this sec-
tion for performances during the preceding twelve-month period 
shall file a claim with the Copyright Royalty Tribunal, in accord-
ance with requirements that the Tribunal shall prescribe by regu-
lation. Such claim shall include an agreement to accept as final. 
Statements of 
account, 
submittal to 
Copyright 
Royalty Tribunal. 
Claims. 
90 STAT. 2564 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
Post, p. 2598. 
Post, p. 2594. 
Distribution 
procedures. 
Regulations. 
Civil action. 
Mn-
except as provided in section 810 of this title, the determination 
of the Copyright Royalty Tribunal in any controversy concerning 
the distribution of royalty fees deposited under subclause (A) of 
subsection (b) (1) of this section to which the claimant is a party. 
Notwithstanding any provisions of the antitrust laws, for pur-
poses of this subsection any claimants may agree among them-
selves as to the proportionate division of compulsory licensing 
fees among them, may lump their claims together and file them 
jointly or as a single claim, or may designate a common agent to 
receive payment on their behalf. 
(3) After the first day of October of each year, the Copyright 
Royalty Tribunal shall determine whether there exists a con-
troversy concerning the distribution of royalty fees deposited 
under subclause (A) of subsection (b) (1). If the Tribunal deter-
mines that no such controversy exists, it shall, after deducting its 
reasonable administrative costs under this section, distribute such 
fees to the copyright owners entitled, or to their designated agents. 
If it finds that such a controversy exists, it shall, pursuant to 
chapter 8 of this title, conduct a proceeding to determine the 
distribution of royalty fees. 
(4) The fees to be distributed shall be divided as follows: 
(A) to every copyright owner not affiliated with a per-
forming rights society, the pro rata share of the fees to be 
distributed to which such copyright owner proves entitlement. 
(B) to the performing rights societies, the remainder of 
the fees to be distributed in such pro rata shares as they shall 
by agreement stipulate among themselves, or, if they fail to 
agree, the pro rata share to which such performing rights 
societies prove entitlement. 
(C) during the pendency of any proceeding under this 
section, the Copyright Royalty Tribunal shall withhold from 
distribution an amount sufficient to satisfy all claims with 
respect to which a controversy exists, but shall have discre-
tion to proceed to distribute any amounts that are not in 
controversy. 
(5) The Copyright Royalty Tribunal shall promulgate regula-
tions imder which persons who can reasonably be expected to have 
claims may, during the year in which performances take place, 
without expense to or harassment of operators or proprietors of 
establishments in which phonorecord players are located, have 
such access to such establishments and to the phonorecord players 
located therein and such opportunity to obtain information with 
respect thereto as may be reasonably necessary to determine, by 
sampling procedures or otherwise, the proportion of contribution 
of the musical works of each such person to the earnings of the 
phonorecord players for which fees shall have been deposited. 
Any person who alleges that he or she has been denied the access 
permitted under the regulations prescribed by the Copyright 
Royalty Tribunal may bring an action in the United States Dis-
trict Court for the District of Columbia for the cancellation of 
the compulsory license of the phonorecord player to which such 
access has been denied, and the court shall have the power to 
declare the compulsory license thereof invalid from the date of 
issue thereof. 
(d) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Any person who knowingly makes a 
false representation of a material fact in an application filed under 
clause (1) (A) of subsection (b), or who knowingly alters a certificate 
issued under clause (1) (B) of subsection (b) or knowingly affixes 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2565 
such a certificate to a phonorecord player other than the one it covers, 
shall be fined not more than $2,500. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the following terms and 
their variant forms mean the following: 
(1) A "coin-operated phonorecord player" is a machine or 
device that— 
(A) is employed solely for the performance of non-
dramatic musical works by means of phonorecords upon 
being activated by insertion of coins, currency, tokens, or 
other monetary units or their equivalent; 
(B) is located in an establishment making no direct or 
indirect charge for admission; 
(C) is accompanied by a list of the titles of all the musical 
works available for performance on it, which list is affixed 
to the phonorecord player or posted in the establishment in 
a prominent position where it can be readily examined by 
the public; and 
(D) affords a choice of works available for performance 
and permits the choice to be made by the patrons of the 
establishment in which it is located. 
(2) An "operator" is any person who, alone or jointly with 
others: 
(A) owns a coin-operated phonorecord player; or 
(B) has the power to make a coin-operated phonorecord 
player available for placement in an establishment for pur-
poses of public performance; or 
(C) has the power to exercise primary control over the 
selection of the musical works made available for public 
performance on a coin-operated phonorecord player. 
; 
(3) A "performing rights society" is an association or corpora- 
i 
tion that licenses the public performance of nondramatic musical 
' ' 
works on behalf of the copyright owners, such as the American 
Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Broadcast Music, 
Inc., and SESAC, Inc. 
§117. Scope of exclusive rights: Use in conjunction with com- 17 USC 117. 
puters and similar information systems 
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 through 116 and 
118, this title does not afford to the owner of copyright in a work any 
greater or lesser rights with respect to the use of the work in con-
junction with automatic systems capable of storing, processing, 
retrieving, or transferring information, or in conjunction with any 
similar device, machine, or process, than those afforded to works under 
the law, whether title 17 or the common law or statutes of a State, in 
effect on December 31, 1977, as held applicable and construed by a 
court in an action brought under this title. 
§118. Scope of exclusive rights: Use of certain works in con- 17 USC 118. 
nection with noncommercial broadcasting 
(a) The exclusive rights provided by section 106 shall, with respect 
to the works specified by subsection (b) and the activities specified by 
subsection (d), be subject to the conditions and limitations prescribed 
by this section. 
(b) Not later than thirty days after the Copyright Royalty Tri- 
Publication in 
bunal has been constituted in accordance with section 802, the Chair- 
Federal Register, 
man of the Tribunal shall cause notice to be published in the Federal 
Register of the initiation of proceedings for the purpose of determin-
ing reasonable terms and rates of royalty payments for the activities 
specified by subsection (d) with respect to published nondramatic 
90 STAT. 2566 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
musical works and published pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works 
during a period beginning as provided in clause (3) of this sub-
section and ending on December 31, 1982. Copyright owners and 
public broadcasting entities shall negotiate in good faith and cooper-
ate fully with the Tribunal in an effort to reach reasonable and 
expeditious results. Notwithstanding any provision of the antitrust 
laws, any owners of copyright in works specified by this subsection 
and any public broadcasting entities, respectively, may negotiate and 
agree upon the terms and rates of royalty payments and the propor-
tionate division of fees paid among various copyright owners, and 
may designate common agents to negotiate, agree to, pay, or receive 
payments. 
(1) Any owner of copyright in a work specified in this sub-
section or any public broadcasting entity may, within one hundred 
^ 
and twenty days after publication of the notice specified in this 
subsection, submit to the Copyright Royalty Tribunal proposed 
licenses covering such activities with respect to such works. The 
Copyright Royalty Tribunal shall proceed on the basis of the 
j)roposals submitted to it as well as any other relevant informa-
tion. The Copyright Royalty Tribunal shall permit any interested 
party to submit information relevant to such proceedings. 
; 
(2) License agreements voluntarily negotiated at any time 
between one or more copyright owners and one or more public 
broadcasting entities shall be given effect in lieu of any determina-
i 
tion by the Tribunal: Provided^ That copies of such agreements 
are filed in the Copyright Office within thirty days of execution 
in accordance with regulations that the Register of Copyrights 
shall prescribe. 
Rates and terms, 
(3) Within six months, but not earlier than one hundred and 
publication in 
twenty days, from the date of publication of the notice specified 
Federal Register. 
jj^ \\{^^ subsection the Copyright Royalty Tribunal shall make a 
determination and publish in the Federal Register a schedule of 
rates and terms which, subject to clause (2) of this subsection, 
shall be binding on all owners of copyright in works specified by 
this subsection and public broadcasting entities, regardless of 
\ 
whether or not such copyright owners and public broadcasting 
entities have submitted proposals to the Tribunal. In establishing 
such rates and terms the Copyright Royalty Tribunal may con-
sider the rates for comparable circumstances under voluntary 
license agreements negotiated as provided in clause (2) of this 
subsection. The Copyright Royalty Tribunal shall also establish 
requirements by which copyright owners may receive reasonable 
notice of the use of their works under this section, and under 
which records of such use shall be kept by public broadcasting 
entities. 
(4) With respect to the period beginning on the effective date 
of this title and ending on the date of publication of such rates 
and terms, this title shall not afford to owners of copyright or 
public broadcasting entities any greater or lesser rights with 
respect to the activities specified in subsection (d) as applied to 
works specified in this subsection than those afforded under the 
law in effect on December 31, 1977, as held applicable and con-
strued by a court in an action brought under this title, 
(c) The initial procedure specified in subsection (b) shall be repeated 
and concluded between June 30 and December 31, 1982, and at five-
year intervals thereafter, in accordance with regulations that the Copy-
right Royalty Tribunal shall prescribe. 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2567 
(d) Subject to the transitional provisions of subsection (b) (4), and 
to the terms of any voluntary license agreements that have been nego-
tiated as provided by subsection (b) (2), a public broadcasting entity 
may, upon compliance with the provisions of this section, including the 
rates and terms establislied by the Copyright Royalty Tribunal under 
subsection (b) (3), engage in the following activities with respect to 
published nondramatic musical works and published pictorial, 
graphic, and sculptural works: 
(1) performance or display of a work by or in the course of a 
transmission made by a noncommercial educational broadcast sta-
tion referred to in subsection (g) ; and 
(2) production of a transmission program, reproduction of 
copies or phonorecords of such a transmission program, and dis-
tribution of such copies or phonorecords, where such production, 
(ii; 'M\i: i 
reproduction, or distribution is made by a nonprofit institution 
or organization solely for the purpose of transmissions specified 
in clause (1); and 
(3) the making of reproductions by a governmental body or a 
nonprofit institution of a transmission program simultaneously 
with its transmission as specified in clause (1), and the perform-
ance or display of the contents of such program under the condi-
tions specified by clause (1) of section 110, but only if the 
reproductions are used for performances or displays for a period 
of no more than seven days from the date of the transmission 
specified in clause (1), and are destroyed before or at the end of 
such period. No person supplying, in accordance with clause (2), 
a reproduction of a transmission program to governmental bodies 
or nonprofit institutions under this clause shall have any liability 
as a result of failure of such body or institution to destroy sucn 
reproduction: Provided, That it shall have notified such body or 
institution of the requirement for such destruction pursuant to 
this clause: And provided further, That if such body or institu- 
j 
tion itself fails to destroy such reproduction it shall be deemed to 
' 
have infringed. 
i 
(e) Except as expressly provided in this subsection, this section 
| 
shall have no applicability to works other than those specified in 
subsection (b). 
(1) Owners of copyright in nondramatic literary works and 
public broadcasting entities may, during the course of voluntary 
negotiations, agree among themselves, respectively, as to the terms 
and rates of royalty payments without liability under the anti- 
: . 
trust laws. Any such terms and rates of royalty payments shall be 
effective upon filing in the Copyright Office, in accordance with 
regulations that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe. 
(2) On January 3,1980, the Register of Copyrights, after con- 
RepM to 
suiting with authors and other owners of copyright in non- Congress, 
dramatic literary works and their representatives, and with public 
i 
broadcasting entities and their representatives, shall submit to the 
| 
Congress a report setting forth the extent to which voluntary 
i 
licensing arrangements have been reached with respect to the 
use of nondramatic literary works by such broadcast stations. The 
report should also describe any problems that may have arisen, 
' - ' '"^ 
and present legislative or other recommendations, if warranted. 
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit, beyond the 
limits of fair use as provided by section 107, the unauthorized drama-
tization of a nondramatic musical work, the production of a transmis-
sion program drawn to any substantial extent from a published 
90 STAT. 2568 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
compilation of pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, or the unau-
thorized use of any portion of an audiovisual work. 
"Public 
(g) As used in this section, the term "public broadcasting entity" 
broadcasting. 
means a noncommercial educational broadcast station as defined in 
entity." 
section 397 of title 47 and any nonprofit institution or organization 
47 use 397. 
engaged in the activities described in clause (2) of subsection (d). 
Chapter 2.—COPYRIGHT OWNERSHIP A N D TRANSFER 
Sec. 
201. Ownership of copyright. 
202. Ownership of copyright as distinct from ownership of material object. 
203. Termination of transfers and licenses granted by the author. 
204. Execution of transfers of copyright ownership. 
205. Recordation of transfers and other documents. 
17 use 201. 
§ 201. Ownership of copyright 
(a) INITIAL OWNERSHIP.—Copyright in a work protected under this 
title vests initially in the author or authors of the work. The authors 
of a joint work are coowners of copyright in the work. 
(b) WORKS MADE FOR H I R E . — I n the case of a work made for hire, 
the employer or other person for whom the work was prepared is 
considered the author for purposes of this title, and, unless the parties 
have expressly agreed otherwise in a written instrument signed by 
them, owns all of the rights comprised in the copyright. 
(c) 
CONTRIBUTIONS TO COLLECTIVE WORKS.—Copyright in each 
separate contribution to a collective work is distinct from copyright 
in the collective work as a whole, and vests initially in the author of 
the contribution. In the absence of an express transfer of the copyright 
or of any rights under it, the owner of copyright in the collective work 
, 
is presumed to have acquired only the privilege of reproducing and 
1 
distributing the contribution as part of that particular collective work, 
' 
any revision of that collective work, and any later collective work 
in the same series. 
(d) 
TPVANSFER or 
OWNERSHIP.— 
(1) The ownership of a copyright may be transferred in whole 
or in part by any means of conveyance or by operation of law, 
and may be bequeathed by will or pass as personal property by 
the applicable laws of intestate succession. 
(2) Any of the exclusive rights comprised in a copyright, 
including any subdivision of any of the rights specified by section 
106, may be transferred as provided by clause (1) and owned 
separately. The owner of any particular exclusive right is enti-
tled, to the extent of that right, to all of the protection and 
remedies accorded to the copyright owner by this title. 
(e) INVOLUNTARY TRANSFER.—When an individual author's owner-
ship of a copyright, or of any of the exclusive rights under a copy-
right, has not previously been transferred 
voluntarily by that 
individual author, no action by any governmental body or other 
official or organization purporting to seize, expropriate, transfer, or 
exercise rights of ownership with respect to the copyright, or any of 
the exclusive rights under a copyright, shall be given effect under this 
title. 
17 use 202. 
§ 202. Ownership of copyright as distinct from ownership of mate-
rial object 
Ownership of a copyright, or of any of the exclusive rights under a 
copyright, is distinct from ownership of any material object in which 
the work is embodied. Transfer of ownership of any material object, 
including the copy or phonorecord in which the work is first fixed, 
does not of itself convey any rights in the copyrighted work embodied 
in the object; nor, in the absence of an agreement, does transfer of 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2569 
ownership of a copyright or of any exclusive rights under a copyright 
convey property rights in any material object. 
§ 203. Termination of transfers and licenses granted by the 17 USC 203. 
author 
(a) CONDITIONS FOR TERMINATION.—In the case of any work other 
than a work made for hire, the exclusive or nonexclusive grant of a 
transfer or license of copyright or of any right under a copyright, 
executed by the author on or after January 1, 1978, otherwise than 
by will, is subject to termination under the following conditions: 
(1) In the case of a grant executed by one author, termination 
of the grant may be effected by that author or, if the author is 
dead, by the person or persons who, under clause (2) of this 
^ 
subsection, own and are entitled to exercise a total of more than 
one-half of that author's termination interest. In the case of a 
grant executed by two or more authors of a joint work, termina-
tion of the grant may be effected by a majority of the authors 
who executed it; if any of such authors is dead, the termination 
interest of any such author may be exercised as a unit by the 
person or persons who, under clause (2) of this subsection, own 
and are entitled to exercise a total of more than one-half of that 
author's interest. 
(2) Where an author is dead, his or her termination interest is 
owned, and may be exercised, by his widow or her widower and 
his or her children or grandchildren as follows: 
(A) the widow or widower owns the author's entire termi-
nation interest unless there are any surviving children or 
grandchildren of the author, in which case the widow or 
Vvudower owns one-half of the author's interest; 
(B) the author's surviving children, and the surviving 
cliildren of any dead child of the author, own the author's 
entire termination interest unless there is a widow or 
widower, in which case the ownership of one-half of the 
author's interest is divided among them; 
(C) the rights of the author's children and grandchildren 
are in all cases divided among them and exercised on a per 
stirpes basis according to the number of such author's chil-
dren represented; the share of the children of a dead child 
in a termination interest can be exercised only by the action 
of a majority of them. 
(3) Termination of the grant may be effected at any time dur-
ing a period of five years beginning at the end of thirty-five 
years from the date of execution of the grant; or, if the grant 
covers the right of publication of the work, the period begins 
at the end of thirty-five years from the date of publication of 
the work under the grant or at the end of forty years from the 
date of execution of the grant, whichever term ends earlier. 
(4) The termination shall be effected by serving an advance Notice, 
notice in writing, signed by the number and proportion of owners 
of termination interests required under clauses (1) and (2) of 
this subsection, or by their duly authorized agents, upon the 
grantee or the grantee's successor in title. 
(A) The notice shall state the effective date of the termi-
nation, which shall fall within the five-year period specified 
by clause (3) of this subsection, and the notice shall be served 
not less than two or more than ten years before that date. A 
copy of the notice shall be recorded in the Copyright Office 
before the effective date of termination, as a condition to its 
taking effect. 
90 STAT. 2570 
^ 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
ia;'! < 
(g) The notice shall comply, in form, content, and man-
ner of service, with requirements that the Register of Copy-
- 
rights shall prescribe by regulation. 
(5) Termination of the grant may be effected notwithstanding 
any agreement to the contrary, including an agreement to make 
a will or to make any future grant, 
(b) EFFECT OF TERMINATION.—Upon the effective date of termi-
nation, all rights under this title that were covered by the terminated 
grants revert to the author, authors, and other persons owning termina-
tion interests under clauses (1) and (2) of subsection (a), including 
those owners who did not join in signing the notice of termination 
Limitations. 
under clause (4) of subsection (a), but with the following limitations: 
(1) A derivative work prepared under authority of the grant 
before its termination may continue to be utilized under the terms 
of the grant after its termination, but this privilege does not 
extend to the preparation after the termination of other deriva-
tive works based upon the copyrighted work covered by the termi-
nated grant. 
(2) The future rights that will revert upon termination of the 
grant become vested on the date the notice of termination has 
been served as provided by clause (4) of subsection (a). The 
rights vest in the author, authors, and other persons named in, 
and in the proportionate shares provided by, clauses (1) and (2) 
of subsection (a). 
(3) Subject to the provisions of clause (4) of this subsection, 
a further grant, or agreement to make a further grant, of any 
right covered by a terminated grant is valid only if it is signed 
by the same number and proportion of the owners, in whom the 
right has vested under clause (2) of this subsection, as are 
required to terminate the grant under clauses (1) and (2) of 
subsection (a). Such further grant or agreement is effective with 
respect to all of the persons in whom the right it covers has 
vested under clause (2) of this subsection, including those who 
did not join in signing it. If any person dies after rights under 
a terminated grant have vested in him or her, that person's legal 
representatives, legatees, or heirs at law^ represent him or her for 
purposes of this clause. 
(4) A further grant, or agreement to make a further grant, of 
any right covered by a terminated grant is valid only if it is 
made after the effective date of the termination. As an exception, 
however, an agreement for such a further grant may be made 
between the persons provided by clause (3) of this subsection 
and the original grantee or such grantee's successor in title, after 
the notice of termination has been served as provided by clause 
(4) of subsection (a). 
(5) Termination of a grant under this section affects only 
those rights covered by the grants that arise under this title, and 
in no way affects rights arising under any other Federal, State, 
or foreign laws. 
(6) Unless and until termination is effected under this section, 
the grant, if it does not provide otherwise, continues in effect for 
the term of copyright provided by this title. 
17 use 204. 
§ 204. Execution of transfers of copyright ownership 
(a) A transfer of copyright ownership, other than by operation of 
law, is not valid unless an instrument of conveyance, or a note or 
memorandum of the transfer, is in writing and signed by the owner 
of the rights conveyed or such owner's duly authorized agent. 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2571 
(b) A certificate of acknowledgement is not required for the valid-
ity of a transfer, but is prima facie evidence of the execution of the 
transfer if— 
(1) in the case of a transfer executed in the United States, the 
certificate is issued by a person authorized to administer oaths 
within the United States; or 
(2) in the case of a transfer executed in a foreign country, the 
certificate is issued by a diplomatic or consular officer of the 
- ' 
United States, or by a person authorized to administer oaths 
whose authority is proved by a certificate of such an officer. 
§ 205. Recordation of transfers and other documents 
17 USC 205. 
(a) CONDITIONS FOR RECORDATION.—Any transfer of copyright own-
ership or other document pertaining to a copyright may be recorded 
in the Copyright Office if the document filed for recordation bears 
the actual signature of the person who executed it, or if it is accom-
panied by a sworn or official certification that it is a true copy of the 
original, signed document. 
(b) 
CERTIFICATE OF RECORDATION.—The Register of Copyrights 
shall, upon receipt of a document as provided by subsection (a) and 
of the fee provided by section 708, record the document and return 
it with a certificate of recordation. 
(c) RECORDATION AS CONSTRUCTIVE NOTICE.—Recordation of a docu-
ment in the Copyright Office gives all persons constructive notice of 
the facts stated in the recorded document, but only if— 
(1) the document, or material attached to it, specifically iden-
tifies the work to which it pertains so that, after the document is 
indexed by the Register of Copyrights, it would be revealed by 
a reasonable search under the title or registration number of the 
work; and 
(2) registration has been made for the work. 
(d) RECORDATION AS PREREQUISITE TO INFRINGEMENT SUIT.—No per-
son claiming by virtue of a transfer to be the owner of copyright or 
of any exclusive right under a copyright is entitled to institute an 
infringement action under this title until the instrument of transfer 
under which such person claims has been recorded in the Copyright 
Office, but suit may be instituted after such recordation on a cause of 
action that arose before recordation. 
(e) PRIORITY BETWEEN CONFLICTING TRANSFERS.—As between two 
conflicting transfers, the one executed first prevails if it is rexK)rded, 
in the manner required to give constructive notice under subsection 
' 
(c), within one month after its execution in the United States or 
within two months after its execution outside the United States, or 
at any time before recordation in such manner of the later transfer. 
Otherwise the later transfer prevails if recorded first in such manner, 
and if taken in good faith, for valuable consideration or on the basis 
of a binding promise to pay royalties, and without notice of the ear-
lier transfer. 
(f) PRIORITY BETWEEN CONFLICTING TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP AND 
NONEXCLUSIVE LICENSE.—A nonexclusive license, whether recorded 
or not, prevails over a conflicting transfer of copyright ownership if 
the license is evidenced by a written instrument signed by the owner 
of the rights licensed or such owner's duly authorized agent, and if— 
(1) the license was taken before execution of the transfer; or 
(2) the license was taken in good faith before recordation of 
the transfer and without notice of it. 
90 STAT. 2572 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
Chapter 3.--DURATI0N OF COPYRIGHT 
Sec. 
301. 
Preemption with respect to other laws. 
302. 
Duration of copyright: Works created on or after January 1, 1978. 
303. 
Duration of copyright: Works created but not published or copyrighted 
before January 1, 1978. 
304. 
Duration of copyright: Subsisting copyrights. 
305. 
Duration of copyright: Terminal date. 
17 use 301, 
§ 301. Preemption with respect to other laws 
(a) On and after January 1, 1978, all legal or equitable rights that 
are equivalent to any of the exclusive rights within the general scope 
of copyright as specified by section 106 in works of authorship that 
are fixed in a tangible medium of expression and come within the sub-
ject matter of copyright as specified by sections 102 and 103, whether 
created before or after that date and whether published or unpub-
lished, are governed exclusively by this title. Thereafter, no person is 
entitled to any such right or equivalent right in any such work under 
the common law or statutes of any State. 
(b) Nothing in this title annuls or limits any rights or remedies 
under the common law or statutes of any State with respect to— 
(1) subject matter that does not come within the subject mat-
ter of copyright as specified by sections 102 and 103, including 
works of authorship not fixed in any tangible medium of expres-
sion; or 
(2) any cause of action arising from undertakings commenced 
before January 1, 1978; or 
(3) activities violating legal or equitable rights that are not 
equivalent to any of the exclusive rights within the general scope 
of copyright as specified by section 106. 
(c) With respect to sound recordings fixed before February 15, 
1972, any rights or remedies under the common law or statutes of any 
State shall not be annulled or limited by this title until February 15, 
2047. The preemptive provisions of subsection (a) shall apply to any 
such rights and remedies pertaining to any cause of action arising 
from undertakings commenced on and after February 15, 2047. Not-
withstanding the provisions of section 303, no sound recording fixed 
before February 15, 1972, shall be subject to copyright under this 
title before, on, or after February 15,2047. 
(d) Nothing in this title annuls or limits any rights or remedies 
under any other Federal statute. 
17 use 302. 
§ 302. Duration of copyright: Works created on or after Jan-
uary 1,1978 
(a) I N GENERAL.—Copyright in a work created on or after Janu-
ary 1, 1978, subsists from its creation and, except as provided by the 
following subsections, endures for a term consisting of the life of the 
author and fifty years after the author's death. 
(b) JOINT WORKS.—In the case of a joint work prepared by two 
or moi'e authors who did not work for hire, the copyright endures for 
a term consisting of the life of the last surviving author and fifty 
years after such last surviving author's death. 
(c) ANONYMOUS WORKS, PSEUDONYMOUS WORKS, AND WORKS MADE 
FOR HIRE.—In the case of an anonymous work, a pseudonymous work, 
or a work made for hire, the copyright endures for a term of seventy-
five years from the year of its first publication, or a term of one hun-
dred years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first. If, 
before the end of such term, the identity of one or more of the 
authors of an anonymous or pseudonymous work is revealed in the 
records of a registration made for that work under subsections (a) 
or (d) of section 408, or in the records provided by this subsection, 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2573 
the copyright in the work endures for the term specified by subsection 
(a) or (b), based on the life of the author or authors whose identity 
has been revealed. Any person having an interest in the copyright 
in an anonymous or pseudonymous work may at any time record, in 
records to be maintained by the Copyright Office for that purpose, a 
statement identifying one or more authors of the work; the statement 
shall also identify the person filing it, the nature of that person's 
interest, the source of the information recorded, and the particular 
work affected, and shall comply in form and content with require-
ments that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation. 
(d) RECORDS RELATING TO DEATH OF AUTHORS.—Any person having 
an interest in a copyright may at any time record in the Copyright 
Office a statement of the date of death of the author of the copy-
righted work, or a statement that the author is still living on a par-
ticular date. The statement shall identify the person filing it, the 
nature of that person's interest, and the source of the information 
recorded, and shall comply in form and content with requirements 
that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation. The Recordkeeping. 
Register shall maintain current records of information relating to the 
death of authors of copyrighted works, based on such recorded state-
ments and, to the extent the Register considers practicable, on data 
contained in any of the records of the Copyright Office or in other 
reference sources. 
(e) PRESUMPTION AS TO AUTHOR'S DEATH.—After a period of 
seventy-five years from the year of first publication of a work, or a 
period of one hundred years from the year of its creation, whichever 
expires first, any person who obtains from the Copyright Office a certi-
fied report that the records provided by subsection (d) disclose nothing 
to indicate that the author of the work is living, or died less than fifty 
je&rs before, is entitled to the benefit of a presumption that the author 
has been dead for at least fifty years. Reliance in good faith upon this 
presumption shall be a complete defense to any action for infringe-
ment under this title. 
§ 303. Duration of copyright: Works created but not published or 17 USC 303. 
copyrighted before January 1,1978 
Copyright in a work created before January 1,1978, but not thereto-
fore in the public domain or copyrighted, subsists from January 1, 
1978, and endures for the term provided by section 302. In no case, 
however, shall the term of copyright in such a work expire before 
December 31, 2002; and, if the work is published on or before Decem-
ber 31, 2002, the term of copyright 
shall not expire 
before 
December 31, 2027. 
§ 304. Duration of copyright: Subsisting copyrights 
17 USC 304. 
(a) COPYRIGHTS IN THEIR FIRST TERM ON JANUARY 1, 1978.—Any 
copyright, the first term of which is subsisting on January 1,1978, shall 
endure for twenty-eight years from the date it was originally secured: 
Provided, 
That in the case of any posthumous work or of any periodi-
cal, cyclopedic, or other composite work upon which the copyright was 
originally secured by the proprietor thereof, or of any work copy-
righted by a corporate body (otherwise than as assignee or licensee of 
the individual author) or by an employer for whom such work is made 
for hire, the proprietor of such copyright shall be entitled to a renewal 
and extension of the copyright in such work for the further term of 
forty-seven years when application for such renewal and extension 
shall have been made to the Copyright Office and duly registered 
therein within one year prior to the expiration of the original term 
of copyright: And provided 
further, 
That in the case of any other 
90 STAT. 2574 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
copyrighted work, including a contribution by an individual author to 
a periodical or to a cyclopedic or other composite work, the autlior of 
such work, if still living, or the widow, widower, or children of the 
author, if the author be not living, or if such author, widow, widower, 
or children be not living, then the author's executors, or in the absence 
of a will, his or her next of kin shall be entitled to a renewal and exten-
sion of the copyright in such work for a further term of forty-seven 
years when application for such renewal and extension shall have been 
made to the Copyright Office and duly registered therein within one 
year prior to the expiration of the original term of copyright: And 
provided 
further, 
That in default of the registration of such applica-
tion for renewal and extension, the copyright in any work shall termi-
nate at the expiration of twenty-eight years from the date copyright 
was originally secured. 
(b) 
COPYRIGHTS IN 
THEIR RENEWAL TERM OR REGISTERED FOR 
RENEWAL BEFORE JANUARY 1, 1978.—The duration of any copyright, 
the renewal term of which is subsisting at any time between Decem-
x,y 
ber 31, 1976, and December 31, 1977, inclusive, or for which renewal 
registration is made between December 31, 1976, and December 31, 
1977, inclusive, is extended to endure for a term of seventy-five years 
from the date copyright was originally secured. 
(c) TERMINATION OF TRANSFERS AND LICENSES COVERING EXTENDED 
RENEWAL TERM.—In the case of any copyright subsisting in either its 
first or renewal term on January 1, 1978, other than a copyright in a 
work made for hire, the exclusive or nonexclusive grant of a transfer 
or license of the renewal copyright or any right under it, executed 
before January 1,1978, by any of the persons designated by the second 
proviso of subsection (a) of this section, otherwise than by will, is sub-
ject to termination under the following conditions: 
(1) In the case of a grant executed by a person or persons other 
than the author, termination of the grant may be effected by the 
surviving person or persons who executed it. In the case of a grant 
executed by one or more of the authors of the work, termination 
^...^.^ 
of the grant may be effected, to the extent of a particular author's 
' ' 
share in the ownership of the renewal copyright, by the author 
who executed it or, if such author is dead, by the person or persons 
who, under clause (2) of this subsection, own and are entitled to 
exercise a total of more than one-half of that author's termination 
interest. 
(2) Where an author is dead, his or her termination interest is 
owned, and may be exercised, by his widow or her widower and 
his or her children or grandchildren as follows: 
(A) the widow or widower owns the author's entire termi-
jii-r ;. ; : 
nation interest unless there are any surviving children or 
grandchildren of the author, in which case the widow or 
widower owns one-half of the author's interest; 
(B) the author's surviving children, and the surviving 
children of any dead child of the author, own the author's 
entire termination interest unless there is a widow or widower, 
in which case the ownership of one-half of the author's 
interest is divided among them; 
(C) the rights of the author's children and grandchildren 
are in all cases divided among them and exercised on a per 
stirpes basis according to the number of such author's chil-
dren represented; the share of the children of a dead child in 
. a termination interest can be exercised only by the action of a 
majority of them. 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2575 
Advance notice. 
(3) Termination of the grant may be effected at any time during 
a period of five years beginning at the end of fifty-six years from 
the date copyright was originally secured, or beginning on Janu-
ary 1,1978, whichever is later. 
(4) The termination shall be effected by serving an advance 
notice in writing upon the grantee or the grantee's successor in 
title. In the case of a grant executed by a person or persons other 
than the author, the notice shall be signed by all of those entitled 
to terminate the grant under clause (1) of this subsection, or by 
their duly authorized agents. In the case of a grant executed by 
one or more of the authors of the work, the notice as to any one 
author's share shall be signed by that author or his or her duly 
authorized agent or, if that author is dead, by the number and 
proportion of the owners of his or her termination interest 
required under clauses (1) and (2) of this subsection, or by their 
duly authorized agents. 
(A) The notice shall state the effective date of the ter-
mination, which shall fall within the five-year period speci-
fied by clause (3) of this subsection, and the notice shall be 
served not less than two or more than ten years before that 
date. A copy of the notice shall be recorded in the Copyright 
Office before the effective date of termination, as a condition 
to its taking effect. 
(B) The notice shall comply, in form, content, and man-
ner of service, with requirements that the Register of Copy-
rights shall prescribe by regulation. 
(5) Termination of the grant may be effected notwithstanding 
any agreement to the contrary, including an agreement to make a 
will or to make any future grant. 
(6) In the case of a grant executed by a person or persons other Reversion, 
than the author, all rights under this title that were covered by 
the terminated grant revert, upon the effective date of termina-
tion, to all of those entitled to terminate the grant under clause 
(1) of this subsection. In the case of a grant executed by one or 
more of the authors of the work, all of a particular author's rights 
under this title that were covered by the terminated grant revert, 
upon the effective date of termination, to that author or, if that 
author is dead, to the persons owning his or her termination inter-
est under clause (2) of this subsection, including those owners 
who did not join in signing the notice of termination under clause 
(4) of this subsection. In all cases the reversion of rights is subject 
Limitations, 
to the following limitations: 
(A) A derivative work prepared under authority of the 
grant before its termination may continue to be utilized 
under the terms of the grant after its termination, but this 
privilege does not extend to the preparation after the termi-
nation of other derivative works based upon the copyrighted 
* , 
work covered by the terminated grant. 
(B) The future rights that will revert upon termination 
of the grant become vested on the date the notice of termina-
tion has been served as provided by clause (4) of this 
subsection. 
(C) Where the author's rights revert to two or more per-
sons under clause (2) of this subsection, they shall vest in 
those persons in the proportionate shares provided by that 
clause. In such a case, and subject to the provisions of sub-
clause (D) of this clause, a further grant, or agreement to 
make a further grant, of a particular author's share with 
90 STAT. 2576 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
respect to any right covered by a terminated grant is valid 
only if it is signed by the same number and proportion of the 
owners, in whom the right has vested under this clause, as are 
required to terminate the grant under clause (2) of this sub-
section. Such further grant or agreement is effective with 
respect to all of the persons in whom the right it covers has 
vested under this subclause, including those who did not join 
in signing it. If any person dies after rights under a ter-
minated grant have vested in him or her, that person's legal 
representatives, legatees, or heirs at law represent him or her 
for purposes of this subclause. 
(D) A further grant, or agreement to make a further 
grant, of any right covered by a terminated grant is valid 
only if it is made after the effective date of the termination. 
As an exception, however, an agreement for such a further 
grant may be made between the author or any of the persons 
provided by the first sentence of clause (6) of this subsection, 
or between the persons provided by subclause (C) of this 
clause, and the original grantee or such grantee's successor 
in title, after the notice of termination has been served as 
provided by clause (4) of this subsection. 
(E) Termination of a grant under this subsection affects 
only those rights covered by the grant that arise under this 
title, and in no way affects rights arising under any other 
Federal, State, or foreign laws. 
(F) Unless and until termination is effected under this sub-
section, the grant, if it does not provide otherwise, continues 
in effect for the remainder of the extended renewal term. 
17 use 305. 
§ 305. Duration of copyright: Terminal date 
All terms of copyright provided by sections 302 through 304 run 
to the end of the calendar year in which they would otherwise expire. 
Chapter 4.—COPYRIGHT NOTICE, DEPOSIT, A N D 
REGISTRATION 
See. 
401. Xotice of copyright: Visually perceptible copies. 
402. 
Notice of copyright: Phonorecords of sound recordings. 
403. 
Notice of copyright: Publications incorporating United States Government 
works. 
404. 
Notice of copyright: Contributions to collective works. 
405. Notice of copyright: Omission of notice. 
406. 
Notice of copyright: Error in name or date. 
407. 
Deposit of copies or phonorecords for Library of Congress. 
408. 
Copyright registration in general. 
409. 
Application for copyright registration. 
410. 
Registration of claim and issuance of certificate. 
411. Registration as prerequisite to infringement suit. 
412. 
Registration as prerequisite to certain remedies for infringement. 
17 use 401. 
§ 401. Notice of copyright: Visually perceptible copies 
(a) GENERAL REQUIREMENT.—Whenever a work protected under 
this title is published in the United States or elsewhere by authority 
of the copyright owner, a notice of copyright as provided by this 
section shall be placed on all publicly distributed copies from which 
the work can be visually perceived, either directly or with the aid 
of a machine or device. 
(b) FORM OF NOTICE.—The notice appearing on the copies shall 
consist of the following three elements: 
(1) the symbol © (the letter C in a circle), or the word "Copy-
right", or the abbreviation "Copr."; and 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2577 
(2) the year of first publication of the work; in the case of 
compilations or derivative works incorporating previously pub-
lished material, the year date of first publication of the compila-
tion or derivative work is sufficient. The year date may be omitted 
where a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work, with accompanying 
text matter, if any, is reproduced in or on greeting cards, post-
cards, stationery, jewelry, dolls, toys, or any useful articles; and 
(3) the name of the owner of copyright in the work, or an 
abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally 
known alternative designation of the owner. 
(c) POSITION or NOTICE.—The notice shall be affixed to the copies 
in such manner and location as to give reasonable notice of the claim 
of copyright. The Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regula-
tion, as examples, specific methods of affixation and j)ositions of the 
notice on various types of works that will satisfy this requirement, 
but these specifications shall not be considered exhaustive. 
§ 402. Notice of copyright: Phonorecords of sound recordings 
17 USC 402. 
(a) 
GENERAL REQUIREMENT.—Whenever a sound recording pro-
tected under this title is published in the United States or elsewhere 
by authority of the copyright owner, a notice of copyright as provided 
by this section shall be placed on all publicly distributed phono-
records of the sound recording. 
(b) FORM OF NOTICE.—The notice appearing on the phonorecords 
shall consist of the following three elements: 
(1) the symbol © (the letter P in a circle); and 
(2) the year of first publication of the sound recording; and 
(3) the name of the owner of copyright in the sound recording, 
or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a 
generally known alternative designation of the owner; if the pro-
ducer of the sound recording is named on the phonorecord labels 
or containers, and if no other name appears in conjunction with 
the notice, the producer's name shall be considered a part of the 
notice. 
(c) POSITION or NOTICE.—The notice shall be placed on the surface 
of the phonorecord, or on the phonorecord label or container, in such 
manner and location as to give reasonable notice of the claim of 
copyright. 
-; 
§ 403. Notice of copyright: Publications incorporating United 
17 USC 403. 
States Government works 
Whenever a work is published in copies or phonorecords consisting 
preponderantly of one or more works of the United States Govern-
ment, the notice of copyright provided by sections 401 or 402 shall 
also include a statement identifying, either affirmatively or negatively, 
those portions of the copies or phonorecords embodying any work or 
works protected under this title. 
§404. Notice of copyright: Contributions to collective works 
17 USC 404. 
(a) A separate contribution to a collective work may bear its own 
notice of copyright, as provided by sections 401 through 403. However, 
a single notice applicable to the collective work as a whole is sufficient 
to satisfy the requirements of sections 401 through 403 with respect to 
the separate contributions it contains (not including advertisements 
inserted on behalf of persons other than the owner of copyright in 
the collective work), regardless of the ownership of copyright in the 
contributions and whether or not they have been previously published. 
(b) Where the person named in a single notice applicable to a 
collective work as a whole is not the owner of copyright in a separate 
90 STAT. 2578 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
contribution that does not bear its own notice, the case is governed by 
the provisions of section 406(a). 
17 use 405. 
§ 405. Notice of copyright: Omission of notice 
(a) EFFECT or OMISSION ON COPYRIGHT.—The omission of the copy-
right notice prescribed by sections 401 through 403 from copies or 
phonorecords publicly distributed by authority of the copyright owner 
does not invalidate the copyright in a work if— 
(1) the notice has been omitted from no more than a relatively 
small number of copies or phonorecords distributed to the public; 
or 
(2) registration for the work has been made before or is made 
within five years after the publication without notice, and a 
reasonable effort is made to add notice to all copies or phono-
records that are distributed to the public in the United States 
after the omission has been discovered; or 
(3) the notice has been omitted in violation of an express 
requirement in writing that, as a condition of the copyright 
owner's authorization of the public distribution of copies or 
phonorecords, they bear the prescribed notice. 
(b) EFFECT OF OMISSION ON INNOCENT INFRINGERS.—Any person 
who innocently infringes a copyright, in reliance upon an authorized 
copy or phonorecord from which the copyright notice has been omitted, 
incurs no liability for actual or statutory damages under section 504 
for any infringing acts committed before receiving actual notice that 
registration for the work has been made under section 408, if such 
person proves that he or she was misled by the omission of notice. I n 
a suit for infringement in such a case the court mav allow or disallow 
recovery of any of the infringer's profits attributable to the infringe-
ment, and may enjoin the continuation of the infringing undertaking 
or may require, as a condition or permitting the continuation of the 
infringing undertaking, that the infringer pay the copyright owner a 
reasonable license fee in an amount and on terms fixed by the court. 
(c) REMOVAL OF NOTICE.—Protection under this title is not affected 
by the removal, destruction, or obliteration of the notice, without the 
authorization of the copyright owner, from any publicly distributed 
copies or phonorecords. 
17 use 406. 
§ 406. Notice of copyright: Error in name or date 
(a) ERROR IN NAME.—^Where the person named in the copyright 
notice on copies or phonorecords publicly distributed by authority of 
the copyright owner is not the owner of copyright, the validity and 
ownership of the copyright are not affected. In such a case, however, 
any person who innocently begins an undertaking that infringes the 
copyright has a complete defense to any action for such infringement 
if such person proves that he or she was misled by the notice and 
began the undertaking in good faith under a purported transfer or 
license from the person named therein, unless before the undertaking 
was begun— 
(1) registration for the work had been made in the name of 
the owner of copyright; or 
(2) a document executed by the person named in the notice 
and showing the ownership ot the copyright had been recorded. 
The person named in the notice is liable to account to the copyright 
owner for all receipts from transfers or licenses purportedly made 
under the copyright by the person named in the notice. 
(b) ERROR IN DATE.—^When the year date in the notice on copies or 
phonorecords distributed by authority of the copyright owner is 
earlier than the year in which publication first occurred, any period 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2579 
computed from the year of first publication under section 302 is to be 
computed from the year in the notice. Where the year date is more 
than one year later than the year in which publication first occurred, 
the work is considered to have been published without any notice and 
is governed by the provisions of section 405. 
(c) OMISSION OF NAME OR DATE.—Where copies or phonorecords 
publicly distributed by authority of the copyright owner contain no 
name or no date that could reasonably be considered a j)art of the 
notice, the work is considered to have been published without any 
notice and is governed by the provisions of section 405. 
§ 407. Deposit of copies or phonorecords for Library of Congress 17 USC 407. 
(a) Except as provided by subsection (c), and subject to the pro-
visions of subsection (e), the owner of copyright or of the exclusive 
right of publication in a work published with notice of copyright in 
the United States shall deposit, within three months after the date of 
such publication— 
(1) two complete copies of the best edition; or 
(2) if the work is a sound recording, two complete phono-
records of the best edition, together with any printed or other 
visually perceptible material published with such phonorecords. 
Neither the deposit requirements of this subsection nor the acquisition 
provisions of subsection (e) are conditions of copyright protection. 
(b) The required copies or phonorecords shall be deposited in the 
Copyright Office for the use or disposition of the Library of Congress. 
The Register of Copyrights shall, when requested by the depositor 
and upon payment of the fee prescribed by section 708, issue a receipt 
for the deposit. 
(c) The Register of Copyrights may by regulation exempt any Exemption, 
categories of material from the deposit requirements of this section, 
or require deposit of only one copy or phonorecord with respect to any 
categories. Such regulations shall provide either for complete exemp-
tion from the deposit requirements of this section, or for alternative 
forms of deposit aimed at providing a satisfactory archival record of 
a work without imposing practical or financial hardships on the 
depositor, where the individual author is the owner of copyright in 
a pictorial, grapliic, or sculptural work and (i) less than five copies 
, 
of the work have been published, or (ii) the work has been published 
' ' 
in a limited edition consisting of numbered copies, the monetary value 
of which would make the mandatory deposit of two copies of the best 
edition of the work burdensome, unfair, or unreasonable. 
(d) At any time after publication of a work as provided by subsec-
tion (a), the Register of Copyrights may make written demand for 
the required deposit on any of the persons obligated to make the 
deposit under subsection (a). Unless deposit is made within three Penalties, 
months after the demand is received, the person or persons on whom 
the demand was made are liable— 
(1) to a fine of not more than $250 for each work; and 
(2) to pay into a specially designated fund in the Library of 
Congress the total retail price of the copies or phonorecords 
demanded, or, if no retail price has been fixed, the reasonable 
cost of the Library of Congress of acquiring them; and 
(3) to pay a fine of $2,500, in addition to any fine or liability 
imposed under clauses (1) and (2), if such person willfully or 
repeatedly fails or refuses to comply with such a demand. 
(e) With respect to transmission programs that have been fixed and Regulations, 
transmitted to the public in the United States but have not been pub-
lished, the Register of Copyrights shall, after consulting with the 
Librarian of Congress and other interested organizations and officials, 
90 STAT. 2580 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
establish regulations governing the acquisition, through deposit or 
otherwise, of copies or phonorecords of such programs for the collec-
tions of the Library of Congress. 
(1) The Librarian of Congress shall be permitted, under the 
standards and conditions set forth in such regulations, to make 
a fixation of a transmission program directly from a transmission 
to the public, and to reproduce one copy or phonorecord from such 
fixation for archival purposes. 
(2) Such regulations shall also provide standards and proce-
dures by which the Eegister of Copyrights may make written 
demand, upon the owner of the right of transmission in the United 
States, for the deposit of a copy or phonorecord of a specific trans-
mission program. Such deposit may, at the option of the owner 
of the right of transmission in the United States, be accomplished 
by gift, by loan for purposes of reproduction, or by sale at a price 
not to exceed the cost of reproducing and supplying the copy or 
phonorecord. The regulations established under this clause shall 
provide reasonable periods of not less than three months for com-
pliance with a demand, and shall allow for extensions of such 
periods and adjustments in the scope of the demand or the meth-
ods for fulfilling it, as reasonably warranted by the circumstances. 
Willful failure or refusal to comply with the conditions pre-
scribed by such regulations shall subject the owner of the right 
of transmission in the United States to liability for an amount, 
not to exceed the cost of reproducing and supplying the copy or 
phonorecord in question, to be paid into a specially designated 
fund in the Library of Congress. 
(3) Nothing in this suibsection shall be construed to require 
the making or retention, for purposes of deposit, of any copy or 
phonorecord of an unpublished transmission program, the trans-
mission of which occurs before the receipt of a specific written 
demand as provided by clause (2). 
(4) No activity undertaken in compliance with regulations 
prescribed under clauses (1) or (2) of this subsection shall result 
in liability if intended solely to assist in the acquisition of copies 
or phonorecords under this subsection. 
17 use 408. 
§ 408. Copyright registration in general 
(a) REGISTRATION PERMISSIVE.—At any time during the subsistence 
of copyright in any published or unpublished work, the owner of copy-
right or of any exclusive right in the work may obtain registra-
tion of the copyright claim by delivering to the Copyright Office the 
deposit specified by this section, together with the application and fee 
specified by sections 409 and 708. Subject to the provisions of section 
405(a), such registration is not a condition of copyright protection. 
(b) DEPOSIT FOR COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION.—Except as provided by 
subsection (c), the material deposited for registration shall include— 
(1) in the case of an unpublished work, one complete copy or 
phonorecord; 
(2) in the case of a published work, two complete copies or 
phonorecords of the best edition; 
(3) in the case of a work first published outside the United 
States, one complete copy or phonorecord as so published; 
(4) in the case of a contribution to a collective work, one com-
plete copy or phonorecord of the best edition of the collective 
work. 
Copies or phonorecords deposited for the Library of Congress under 
section 407 may be used to satisfy the deposit provisions of this section, 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2581 
if they are accompanied by the prescribed application and fee, and by 
any additional identifying material that the Register may, by regula-
tion, require. The Register shall also prescribe regulations establish- 
Regulations, 
ing requirements under which copies or phonorecords acquired for the 
Library of Congress under subsection (e) of section 407, otherwise 
than by deposit, may be used to satisfy the deposit provisions of this 
section. 
(c) 
ADMINISTRATIVE CLASSIFICATION AND OPTIONAL DEPOSIT.— 
(1) The Register of Copyrights is authorized to specify by 
regulation the administrative classes into which works are to be 
placed for purposes of deposit and registration, and the nature of 
the copies or phonorecords to be deposited in the various classes 
specified. The regulations may require or permit, for particular 
classes, the deposit of identifying material instead of copies or 
, j , ,^ 
phonorecords, the deposit of only one copy or phonorecord where 
two would normally be required, or a single registration for a 
group of related works. This administrative classification of 
works has no significance with respect to the subject matter of 
copyright or the exclusive rights provided by this title. 
(2) Without prejudice to the general authority provided under 
Regulations, 
clause (1), the Register of Copyrights shall establish regulations 
specifically permitting a single registration for a group of works 
by the same individual author, all first published as contributions 
to periodicals, including newspapers, within a twelve-month 
period, on the basis of a single deposit, application, and registra-
tion fee, under all of the following conditions— 
(A) if each of the works as first published bore a separate 
copyright notice, and the name of the owner of copyright in 
the work, or an abbreviation by which the name can be recog-
nized, or a generally known alternative designation of the 
owner was the same in each notice; and 
(B) if the deposit consists of one copy of the entire issue 
of the periodical, or of the entire section in the case of a 
newspaper, in which each contribution was first published; 
and 
(C) if the application identifies each work separately, 
including the periodical containing it and its date of first 
publication. 
(3) As an alternative to separate renewal registrations under 
subsection (a) of section 304, a single renewal registration may 
be made for a group of works by the same individual author, all 
first published as contributions to periodicals, including news-
papers, upon the filing of a single application and fee, under all 
of the following conditions: 
(A) the renewal claimant or claimants, and the basis of 
claim or claims under section 304(a), is the same for each of 
the works; and 
(B) the works were all copyrighted upon their first pub-
lication, either through separate copyright notice and regis-
tration or by virtue of a general copyright notice in the 
periodical issue as a whole; and 
(C) the renewal application and fee are received not more 
than twenty-eight or less than twenty-seven years after the 
thirty-first day of December of the calendar year in which 
all of the works were first published: and 
(D) the renewal application identifies each work sepa-
rately, including the periodical containing it and its date 
of first publication. 
90 STAT. 2582 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
(d) CORRECTIONS AND AMPLIFICATIONS.—The Register may also 
establish, by regulation, formal procedures for the filing of an appli-
,
«
=
R
3
£
i
6
t
, I 
cation for supplementary registration, to correct an error in a copy-
right registration or to amplify the information given in a regis-
tration. Such application shall be accompanied by the fee provided 
by section 708, and shall clearly identify the registration to be cor-
rected or amplified. The information contained in a supplementary 
registration augments but does not supersede that contained in the 
earlier registration. 
(e) PUBLISHED EDITION OF PREVIOUSLY REGISTERED WORK.—Regis-
tration for the first published edition of a work previously registered 
in unpublished form may be made even though the work as published 
is substantially the same as the unpublished version. 
17 use 409. 
§ 409. Application for copyright registration 
The application for copyright registration shall be made on a 
form prescribed by the Register of Copyrights and shall include— 
^1^ the name and address of the copyright claimant; 
(2) in the case of a work other than an anonymous or pseudon-
,-, ,1, ., 
ymous work, the name and nationality or domicile of the author 
or authors, and, if one or more of the authors is dead, the dates 
of their deaths; 
(3) if the work is anonymous or pseudonymous, the nationality 
or domicile of the author or authors; 
(4) in the case of a work made for hire, a statement to this 
effect; 
(5) if the copyright claimant is not the author, a brief state-
ment of how the claimant obtained ownership of the copyright; 
(6) the title of the work, together with any previous or alterna-
tive titles under which the work can be identified; 
(7) the year in which creation of the work was completed; 
(8) if the work has been published, the date and nation of its 
first publication; 
(9) in the case of a compilation or derivative work, an identifi-
cation of any preexisting work or works that it is based on or 
incorporates, and a brief, general statement of the additional 
material covered by the copyright claim being registered; 
(10) in the case of a published work containing material of 
which copies are required by section 601 to be manufactured in 
the United States, the names of the persons or organizations who 
performed the processes specified by subsection (c) of section 601 
with respect to that material, and the places where those processes 
H 
were performed; and 
(11) any other information regarded by the Register of Copy-
rights as bearing upon the preparation or identification of the 
work or the existence, ownership, or duration of the copyright. 
17 use 410. 
§ 410. Registration of claim and issuance of certificate 
(a) When, after examination, the Register of Copyrights deter-
mines that, in accordance with the provisions of this title, the material 
deposited constitutes copyrightable subject matter and that the other 
legal and formal requirements of this title have been met, the Register 
shall register the claim and issue to the applicant a certificate of reg-
istration under the seal of the Copyright Office. The certificate shall 
contain the information given in the application, together with the 
number and effective date of the registration. 
(b) In any case in which the Register of Copyrights determines 
that, in accordance with the provisions of this title, the material 
deposited does not constitute copyrightable subject matter or that 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2583 
Prima facie 
evidence. 
Effective date. 
17 use 411. 
the claim is invalid for any other reason, the Register shall refuse 
registration and shall notify the applicant in writing of the reasons 
for such refusal. 
(c) In any judicial proceedings the certii&cate of a registration 
made before or within five years after first publication of the work 
shall constitute prima facie evidence of the validity of the copyright 
and of the facts stated in the certificate. The evidentiary weight to 
be accorded the certificate of a registration made thereafter shall be 
within the discretion of the court. 
(d) The effective date of a copyright registration is the day on 
which an application, deposit, and fee, which are later determined 
by the Register of Copyrights or by a court of competent jurisdiction 
to be acceptable for registration, have all been received in the Copy-
right Office. 
§ 411. Registration as prerequisite to infringement suit 
(a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b), no action for 
infringement of the copyright in any work shall be instituted until 
registration of the copyright claim has been made in accordance with 
this title. In any case, however, where the deposit, application, and 
fee required for registration have been delivered to the Copyright 
Office in proper form and registration has been refused, the applicant 
is entitled to institute an action for infringement if notice thereof, 
with a copy of the complaint, is served on the Register of Copyrights. 
The Register may, at his or her option, become a party to the action 
with respect to the issue of registrability of the copyright claim by 
entering an appearance within sixty days after such service, but the 
Register's failure to become a party shall not deprive the court of 
jurisdiction to determine that issue. 
(b) In the case of a work consisting of sounds, images, or both, 
the first fixation of which is made simultaneously with its transmis-
sion, the copyright owner may, either before or after such fixation 
takes place, institute an action for infringement under section 501, 
" 
fully subject to the remedies provided by sections 502 through 506 
and sections 509 and 510, if, in accordance with requirements that the 
Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation, the copyright 
owner— 
(1) serves notice upon the infringer, not less than ten or more 
than thirty days before such fixation, identifying the work and 
the specific time and source of its first transmission, and declaring 
an intention to secure copyright in the work; and 
(2) makes registration for the work within three months after 
its first transmission. 
• -' 
§ 412. Registration 
as prerequisite to certain remedies for 17 USC 412. 
infringement 
In any action under this title, other than an action instituted under 
section 411(b), no award of statutory damages or of attorney's fees, 
as provided by sections 504 and 505, shall be made for— 
(1) any infringement of copyright in an unpublished work 
commenced before the effective date of its registration; or 
(2) any infringement of copyright commenced after first 
publication of the work and before the effective date of its 
registration, unless such registration is made within three months 
after the first publication of the work. 
90 STAT. 2584 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
Chapter 5.—COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AND REMEDIES 
Sec. 
,, . 
: , .., 
501. Infringement of copyright. 
502. Remedies for infringement: Injunctions. 
503. Remedies for infringement: Impounding and disposition of infringing 
articles. 
504. Remedies for infringement: Damage and profits. 
505. Remedies for infringement: Costs and attorney's fees. 
506. Criminal offenses. 
507. Limitations on actions. 
508. Notification of filing and determination of actions. 
>'' 
!
>
: ; 
509. Seizure and forfeiture. 
510. Remedies for alteration of programing by cable systems. 
17 use 501. 
§ 501. Infringement of copyright 
(a) Anyone who violates any of the exclusive rights of the copy-
right owner as provided by sections 106 through 118, or who imports 
iir ?.' 
copies or phonorecords into the United States in violation of section 
602, is an infringer of the copyright. 
(b) The legal or beneficial owner of an exclusive right under a 
copyright is entitled, subject to the requirements of sections 205(d) 
and 411, to institute an action for any infringement of that particular 
right committed while he or she is the owner of it. The court may 
require such owner to serve written notice of the action with a copy 
of the complaint upon any person shown, by the records of the Copy-
right Office or otherwise, to have or claim an interest in the copyright, 
and shall require that such notice be served upon any person whose 
interest is likely to be affected by a decision in the case. The court 
may require the joinder, and shall permit the intervention, of any 
person having or claiming an interest in the copyright. 
(c) For any secondary transmission by a cable system that embodies 
a performance or a display of a work which is actionable as an 
act of infringement under subsection (c) of section 111, a television 
broadcast station holding a copyright or other license to transmit or 
jjerform the same version of that work shall, for purposes of subsec-
tion (b) of this section, be treated as a legal or beneficial owner if such 
secondary transmission occurs within the local service area of that 
television station. 
(d) For any secondary transmission by a cable system that is action-
able as an act of infringement pursuant to section 111(c)(3), the 
following shall also have standing to sue: (i) the primary transmitter 
whose transmission has been altered by the cable system; and (ii) any 
broadcast station within whose local service area the secondary trans-
mission occurs. 
17 use 502. 
§ 502. Remedies for infringement: In 
junctions 
(a) Any court having jurisdiction of a civil action arising under 
this title may, subject to the provisions of section 1498 of title 28, grant 
temporary and final injunctions on such terms as it may deem reason-
able to prevent or restrain infringement of a copyright. 
(b) Any such injunction may be served anywhere in the United 
States on the person enjoined; it shall be operative throughout the 
United States and shall be enforceable, by proceedings in contempt or 
otherwise, by any United States court having jurisdiction of that per-
son. The clerk of the court granting the injunction shall, when 
requested by any other court in which enforcement of the injunction 
is sought, transmit promptly to the other court a certified copy of all 
the papers in the case on file in such clerk's office. 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2585 
§ 503. Remedies for infringement: Impounding and disposition of 17 USC 503. 
infringing articles 
(a) At any time while an action under this title is pending, the court 
may order the impounding, on such terms as it may deem reasonable, 
of all copies or phonorecords claimed to have been made or used in 
i: 
violation of the copyright owner's exclusive rights, and of all plates, 
molds, matrices, masters, tapes, film negatives, or other articles by 
means of which such copies or phonorecords may be reproduced. 
(b) As part of a final judgment or decree, the court may order the 
destruction or other reasonable disposition of all copies or phono-
records found to have been made or used in violation of the copyright 
, 
owner's exclusive rights, and of all plates, molds, matrices, masters, 
* 
tapes, film negatives, or other articles by means of which such copies 
or phonorecords may be reproduced. 
§ 504. Remedies for infringement: Damages and profits 
17 USC 504, 
(a) I N GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided by this title, an 
infringer of copyright is liable for either— 
(1) the copyright owner's actual damages and any additional 
profits of the infringer, as provided by subsection ( b ) ; or 
(2) statutory damages, as provided by subsection (c). 
(b) ACTUAL DAMAGES AND PROFITS.—The copyright owner is entitled 
to recover the actual damages suffered by him or her as a result of 
the infringement, and any profits of the infringer that are attributable 
to the infringement and are not taken into account in computing the 
actual damages. In establishing the infringer's profits, the copyright 
owner is required to present proof only of the infringer's gross reve-
nue, and the infringer is required to prove his or her deductible 
expenses and the elements of profit attributable to factors other than 
the copyrighted work. 
(c) 
STATUTORY DAMAGES.— 
(1) Except as provided by clause (2) of this subsection, the 
copyright owner may elect, at any time before final judgment is 
rendered, to recover, instead of actual damages and profits, an 
award of statutory damages for all infringements involved in the 
action, with respect to any one work, for which any one infringer 
is liable individually, or for which any two or more infringers are 
liable jointly and severally, in a sum of not less than $250 or more 
than $10,000 as the court considers just. For the purposes of this 
subsection, all the parts of a compilation or derivative work con-
stitute one work. 
(2) I n a case where the copyright owner sustains the burden 
of proving, and the court finds, that infringement was committed 
willfully, the court in its discretion may increase the award of 
statutory damages to a sum of not more than $50,000. I n a case 
where the infringer sustains the burden of proving, and the court 
finds, that such infringer was not aw^are and had no reason to 
believe that his or her acts constituted an infringement of copy-
right, the court it its discretion may reduce the award of statutory 
damages to a sum of not less than $100. The court shall remit 
statutory damages in any case where an infringer believed and 
had reasonable grounds for believing that his or her use of the 
copyrighted work was a fair use under section 107, if the infringer 
was: (i) an employee or agent of a nonprofit educational institu-
tion, library, or archives acting within the scope of his or her 
employment who, or such institution, library, or archives itself, 
which infringed by reproducing the work in copies or phono-
records; or (ii) a public broadcasting entity which or a person 
who, as a regular part of the nonprofit activities of a public 
3'.J "1 
90 STAT. 2586 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
b<. r j 
! :
f 
broadcasting entity (as defined in subsection (g) of section 118) 
infringed by performing a published nondramatic literary work 
or by reproducing a transmission program embodying a perform-
ance of such a work. 
17 use 505. 
§ 505. Remedies for infringement: Costs and attorney's fees 
In any civil action under this title, the court in its discretion may 
allow the recovery of full costs by or against any party other than the 
United States or an officer thereof. Except as otherwise provided by 
this title, the court may also award a reasonable attorney's fee to the 
prevailing party as part of the costs. 
17 use 506. 
§ 506. Criminal offenses 
(a) CRIMINAL INFRINGEMENT.—Any person who infringes a copy-
right willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or private 
^
^ 
^ 
financial 
gain shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for 
not more than one year, or both: Provided, 
however, That any person 
who infringes willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or 
private financial gain the copyright in a sound recording afforded by 
subsections (1), (2), or (3) of section 106 or the copyright in a motion 
picture afforded by subsections (1), (3), or (4) of section 106 shall 
be fined not more than $25,000 or imprisoned for not more than one 
year, or both, for the first such offense and shall be fined not more than 
$50,000 or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both, for any 
subsequent offense. 
(b) FORFEITURE AND DESTRUCTION.—When any person is convicted 
of any violation of subsection (a), the court in its judgment of con-
viction shall, in addition to the penalty therein prescribed, order the 
forfeiture and destruction or other disposition of all infringing copies 
or phonorecords and all implements, devices, or equipment used in the 
manufacture of such infringing copies or phonorecords. 
(c) 
FRAUDULENT COPYRIGHT NOTICE.—Any person 
who, 
with 
fraudulent intent, places on any article a notice of copyright or words 
of the same purport that such person knows to be false, or who, with 
fraudulent intent, publicly distributes or imports for public distribu-
Iion any aiticle beaiing such notice or words that such person knows 
to be false, shall be fined not more than $2,500. 
(d) FRAUDULENT REMOVAL or COPYRIGHT NOTICE.—Any person who, 
with fraudulent intent, removes or alters any notice of copyright 
appearing on a copy of a copyrighted work shall be fined not more 
than $2,500. 
(e) FALSE REPRESENTATION.—Any person who knowingly makes 
a false representation of a material fact in the application for copy-
right registration provided for by section 409, or in any written state-
ment filed in connection with the application, shall be fined not more 
than $2,500. 
17 use 507. 
§ 507. Limitations on actions 
(a) 
CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS.—No criminal proceeding shall be 
maintained under the provisions of this title unless it is commenced 
within three years after the cause of action arose. 
(b) CIVIL ACTIONS.—No civil action shall be maintained under the 
provisions of this title unless it is commenced within three years after 
the claim accrued. 
17 use 508. 
§ 508. Notification of filing a n d determination of actions 
(a) Within one month after the filing of any action under this 
title, the clerks of the courts of the United States shall send written 
notification to the Register of Copyrights setting forth, as far as is 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2587 
shown by the papers filed in the court, the names and addresses of the 
parties and the title, author, and registration number of each work 
involved in the action. If any other copyrighted work is later included 
in the action by amendment, answer, or other pleading, the clerk shall 
also send a notification concerning it to the Kegister within one month 
after the pleading is filed. 
(b) Within one month after any final order or judgment is issued 
in the case, the clerk of the court shall notify the Register of it, 
sending with the notification a copy of the order or judgment together 
with the written opinion, if any, of the court. 
(c) Upon receiving the notifications specified in this section, the 
Register shall make them a part of the public records of the Copy-
right Office. 
§ 509. Seizure and forfeiture 
17 USC 509. 
(a) All copies or phonorecords manufactured, reproduced, distrib-
uted, sold, or otherwise used, intended for use, or possessed with intent 
to use in violation of section 506(a), and all plates, molds, matrices, 
masters, tapes, film negatives, or other articles by means of which such 
copies or phonorecords may be reproduced, and all electronic, mechan-
ical, or other devices for manufacturing, reproducing, or assembling 
such copies or phonorecords may be seized and forfeited to the United 
States. 
(b) The applicable procedures relating to (i) the seizure, summary 
and judicial forfeiture, and condemnation of vessels, vehicles, mer-
chandise, and baggage for violations of the customs laws contained 
in title 19, (ii) the disposition of such vessels, vehicles, merchandise, 19 USC 1 et seq. 
and baggage or the proceeds from the sale thereof, (iii) the remission 
or mitigation of such forfeiture, (iv) the compromise of claims, and 
(v) the award of compensation to informers in respect of such for-
feitures, shall apply to seizures and forfeitures incurred, or alleged 
to have been incurred, under the provisions of this section, insofar as 
applicable and not inconsistent with the provisions of this section; 
except that such duties as are imposed upon any officer or employee of 
the Treasury Department or any other person with respect to the 
seizure and forfeiture of vessels, vehicles, merchandise; and baggage 
under the provisions of the customs laws contained in title 19 shall be 
performed with respect to seizure and forfeiture of all articles 
described in subsection (a) by such officers, agents, or other persons 
as may be authorized or designated for that purpose by the Attorney 
General. 
§ 510. Remedies for alteration of programing by cable systems 
17 USC 510. 
(a) In any action filed pursuant to section 111(c) (3), the following 
remedies shall be available: 
(1) Wliere an action is brought by a party identified in subsec-
tions (b) or (c) of section 501, the remedies provided by sections 
502 through 505, and the remedy provided by subsection (b) of 
this section; and 
(2) When an action is brought by a party identified in subsec-
tion (d) of section 501, the remedies provided by sections 502 and 
505, together with any actual damages suffered by such party as 
a result of the infringement, and the remedy provided by sub-
section (b) of this section. 
(b) In any action filed pursuant to section 111 (c) (3), the court may 
decree that, for a period not to exceed thirty days, the cable system 
shall be deprived of the benefit of a compulsory license for one or 
more distant signals carried by such cable system. 
90 STAT. 2588 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
Chapter 6.—MANUFACTURING REQUIREMENTS AND 
IMPORTATION 
Sec. 
601. Manufacture, importation, and public distribution of certain copies. 
602. Infringing importation of copies or plionorecords. 
603. Importation prohibitions: Enforcement and disposition of excluded articles. 
17 use 601. 
§ 601. Manufacture, importation, and public distribution of cer-
tain copies 
(a) Prior to July 1,1982, and except as provided by subsection (b), 
the importation into or public distribution in the United States of 
copies of a work consisting preponderantly of nondramtic literary 
material that is in the English language and is protected under this 
title is prohibited unless the portions consisting of such material have 
been manufactured in the United States or Canada. 
(b) The provisions of subsection (a) do not apply— 
(1) where, on the date when importation is sought or public 
distribution in the United States is made, the author of any sub-
stantial part of such material is neither a national nor a 
domiciliary of the United States or, if such author is a national of 
the United States, he or she has been domiciled outside the United 
States for a continuous period of at least one year immediately 
preceding that date; in the case of a work made for hire, 
the exemption provided by this clause does not apply unless a sub-
sustantial part of the work was prepared for an employer or other 
person who is not a national or domiciliary of the United States 
,^ J 
u 5 . 
or a domestic corporation or enterprise; 
(2) where the United States Customs Service is presented with 
an import statement issued under the seal of the Copyright Office, 
in which case a total of no more than two thousand copies of any 
one such work shall be allowed entry; the import statement shall 
be issued upon request to the copyright owner or to a person 
designated by such owner at the time of registration for the work 
under section 408 or at any time thereafter; 
(3) where importation is sought under the authority or for the 
use, other than in schools, of the Government of the United States 
or of any State or political subdivision of a State; 
(4) where importation, for use and not for sale, is sought— 
(A) by any person with respect to no more than one copy 
of any work at any one time; 
(B) by any person arriving from outside the United 
States, with respect to copies forming part of such person's 
personal baggage; or 
• 
(C) by an organization operated for scholarly, educational, 
or religious purposes and not for private gain, with respect 
to copies intended to form a part of its library; 
(5) where the copies are reproduced in raised characters for 
the use of the blind; or 
(6) where, in addition to copies imported under clauses (3) and 
(4) of this subsection, no more than two thousand copies of any 
' 
one such work, which have not been manufactured in the United 
' 
States or Canada, are publicly distributed in the United States; 
or 
(7) where, on the date when importation is sought or public 
t 
distribution in the United States is made— 
(A) the author of any substantial part of such material is 
an individual and receives compensation for the transfer or 
license of the right to distribute the work in the United 
States; and 
:>8l 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2589 
(B) the first publication of the work has previously taken 
place outside the United States under a transfer or license 
granted by such author to a transferee or licensee who was 
not a national or domiciliary of the United States or a 
domestic corporation or enterprise; and 
(C) there has been no publication of an authorized edition 
of the work of which the copies were manufactured in the 
United States; and 
(D) the copies were reproduced under a transfer or license 
granted by such author or by the transferee or licensee of the 
right of first publication as mentioned in subclause (B), and 
the transferee or the licensee of the right of reproduction was 
not a national or domiciliary' of the United States or a 
domestic corporation or enterprise. 
(c) The requirement of this section that copies be manufactured in 
the United States or Canada is satisfied if— 
(1) in the case where the copies are printed directly from type 
that has been set, or directly from plates made from such type, the 
setting of the type and the making of the plates have been per-
formed in the United States or Canada; or 
(2) in the case where the making of plates by a lithographic 
or photoengraving process is a final or intermediate step preced-
ing the printing of the copies, the making of the plates has been 
performed in the United States or Canada; and 
(3) in any case, the printing or other final process of producing 
multiple copies and any binding of the copies have been per-
formed in the United States or Canada. 
(d) Importation or public distribution of copies in violation of this 
= v •
*
' 
section does not invalidate protection for a work under this title. 
However, in any civil action or criminal proceeding for infringement 
of the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute copies of the work, 
the infrinsfer has a complete defense with respect to all of the non- 
, 
dramatic literary material comprised in the work and any other parts 
of the work in which the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute 
copies are owned by the same person who owns such exclusive rights 
in the nondramatic literary material, if the infringer proves— 
(1) that copies of the work have been imported into or publicly 
distributed in the United States in violation of this section by or 
with the authority of the owner of such exclusive rights; and 
(2) that the infringing copies were manufactured in the United 
States or Canada in accordance with the provisions of subsection 
(c); and 
(3) that the infringement w^as commenced before the effective 
date of registration for an authorized edition of the work, the 
copies of which have been manufactured in the United States or 
Canada in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c). 
(e) In any action for infringement of the exclusive rights to repro-
duce and distribute copies of a work containing material required by 
this section to be manufactured in the United States or Canada, the 
copyright owner shall set forth in the complaint the names of the per-
sons or organizations who performed the processes specified by subsec-
tion (c) with respect to that material, and the places where those 
processes were performed. 
§ 602. Infringing importation of copies or phonorecords 
17 U
S
C 602. 
(a) Importation into the United States, without the authority of 
the owner of copyright under this title, of copies or phonorecords of a 
work that have been acquired outside the United States is an infringe-
ment of the exclusive right to distribute copies or phonorecords under 
89-194 O—78—pt. 2 
71 
90 STAT. 2590 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
section 106, actionable under section 501. This subsection does not 
apply to— 
(1) importation of copies or phonorecords under the authority 
or for the use of the Government of the United States or of any 
State or political subdivision of a State, but not including copies 
or phonorecords for use in schools, or copies of any audiovisual 
work imported for purposes other than archival use; 
(2) importation, for the private use of the importer and not for 
distribution, by any person with respect to no more than one copy 
or phonorecord of any one work at any one time, or by any person 
arriving from outside the United States with respect to copies 
or phonorecords forming part of such person's personal baggage; 
or 
(3) importation by or for an organization operated for schol-
arly, educational, or religious purposes and not for private gain, 
with respect to no more than one copy of an audiovisual work 
solely for its archival purposes, and no more than five copies or 
phonorecords of any other work for its library lending or archival 
purposes, unless the importation of such copies or phonorecords is 
part of an activity consisting of systematic reproduction or dis-
tribution, engaged in by such organization in violation of the pro-
visions of section 108(g) (2). 
(b) In a case where the making of the copies or phonorecords would 
have constituted an infringement of copyright if this title had been 
applicable, their importation is prohibited. In a case where the copies 
or phonorecords were lawfully made, the United States Customs Serv-
ice has no authority to prevent their importation unless the provisions 
Regulations. 
of section 601 are applicable. In either case, the Secretary of the 
Treasury is authorized to prescribe, by regulation, a procedure under 
which any person claiming an interest in the copyright in a particular 
work may, upon payment of a specified fee, be entitled to notification 
by the Customs Service of the importation of articles that appear to 
be copies or phonorecords of the work. 
17 use 603. 
§ 603. Importation prohibitions: Enforcement and disposition of 
excluded articles 
Regulations. 
(a) The Secretary of the Treasury and the United States Postal 
Service shall separately or jointly make regulations for the enforce-
ment of the provisions of this title prohibiting importation. 
(b) These regulations may require, as a condition for the exclusion 
of articles under section 602^ 
(1) that the person seeking exclusion obtain a court order 
enjoining importation of the articles; or 
Surety bond. 
(2) that the person seeking exclusion furnish proof, of a speci-
fied nature and in accordance with prescribed procedures, that 
the copyright in which such person claims an interest is valid and 
that the importation would violate the prohibition in section 602 ; 
the person seeking exclusion may also be required to post a surety 
bond for any injury that may result if the detention or exclusion 
of the articles proves to be unjustified. 
(c) Articles imported in violation of the importation prohibitions 
of this title are subject to seizure and forfeiture in the same manner 
as property imported in violation of the customs revenue laws. For-
- 
feited articles shall be destroyed as directed by the Secretary of the 
Treasury or the court, as the case may be; however, the articles may be 
returned to the country of export whenever it is shown to the satisfac-
tion of the Secretary of the Treasury that the importer had no reason-
able grounds for believing that his or her acts constituted a violation 
of law. 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2591 
17 use 701. 
Seal. 
Report to 
Librarian of 
Congress. 
Chapter 7.~C0PYRIGHT OFFICE 
Sec. 
701. The Copyright OfBce: General responsibilities and organization. 
702. Copyright OflSce regulations. 
703. Effective date of actions in Copyright Office. 
704. Retention and disposition of articles deposited in Copyright Office. 
705. Copyright Office records: Preparation, maintenance, public inspection, and 
searching. 
706. Copies of Copyright Office records. 
707. Copyright Office forms and publications. 
708. Copyright Office fees. 
709. Delay in delivery caused by disruption of postal or other services. 
710. Reproductions for use of the blind and physically handicapped: Voluntary 
licensing forms and procedures. 
§701. The Copyright Office: General responsibilities and orga-
nization 
(a) All administrative functions and duties under this title, except 
as otherwise specified, are the responsibility of the Register of Copy-
rights as director of the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress. 
The Register of Copyrights, together with the subordinate officers 
and employees of the Copyright Office, shall be appointed by the 
Librarian of Congress, and shall act under the Librarian's general 
direction and supervision. 
(b) The Register of Copyrights shall adopt a seal to be used on 
and after January 1, 1978, to authenticate all certified documents 
issued by the Copyright Office. 
(c) The Register of Copyrights shall make an annual report to the 
Librarian of Congress of the work and accomplishments of the Copy-
right Office during the previous fiscal year. The annual report o,f the 
Register of Copyrights shall be published separately and as a part 
of the annual report of the Librarian of Congress. 
(d) Except as provided by section 706(b) and the regulations issued 
thereunder, all actions taken by the Register of Copyrights under 
this title are subject to the provisions of the Administrative Procedure 
Act of June 11, 1946, as amended (c. 324, 60 Stat. 237, title 5, United 
States Code, Chapter 5, Subchapter II and Chapter 7). 
§ 702. Copyright Office regulations 
The Register of Copyrights is authorized to establish regulations 
not inconsistent with law for the administration of the functions and 
duties made the responsibility of the Register under this title. All 
regulations established by the Register under this title are subject to 
the approval of the Librarian of Congress. 
§ 703. Effective date of actions in Copyright Office 
In any case in which time limits are prescribed under this title 
for the performance of an action in the Copyright Office, and in which 
the last day of the prescribed period falls on a Saturday, Sunday, 
holiday, or other nonbusiness day within the District o,f Columbia 
or the Federal Government, the action may be taken on the next suc-
ceeding business day, and is effective as oi the date when the period 
expired. 
§ 704. Retention and disposition of articles deposited in Copyright 
Office 
(a) Upon their deposit in the Copyright Office under sections 407 
and 408, all copies, phonorecords, and identifying material, includ-
ing those deposited in connection Avith claims that have been refused 
registration, are the property of the United States Government. 
(b) In the case of published works, all copies, phonorecords, and 
identifvin^ material deposited are available to the Library of Con-
gress for its collections, or for exchange or transfer to any other 
library. In the case of unpublished works, the Library is entitled, Regulations. 
5 use 551, 701. 
17 use 702. 
17 use 703. 
17 use 704. 
90 STAT. 2592 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
under regulations that the Eegister of Copyrights shall prescribe, to 
select any deposits for its collections or for transfer to the National 
Archives of the United States or to a Federal records center, as defined 
in section 2901 of title 44. 
(c) The Register of Copyrights is authorized, for specific or gen-
eral categories of works, to make a facsimile reproduction of all or 
any part of the material deposited under section 408, and to make such 
reproduction a part of the Copyright Office records of the registra-
tion, before transferring such material to the Library of Congress 
as provided by subsection (b), or before destroying or otherwise dis-
posing of such material as provided by subsection (d). 
(d) Deposits not selected by the Library under subsection (b), or 
identifying portions or reproductions of them, shall be retained under 
the control of the Copyright Office, including retention in Govern-
ment storage facilities, for the longest period considered practicable 
and desirable by the Register of Copyrights and the Librarian o,f 
Congress. After that period it is within the joint discretion of the 
Register and the Librarian to order their destruction or other dispo-
sition; but, in the case of unpublished works, no deposit shall be 
knowingly or intentionally destroyed or otherwise disposed of dur-
ing its term of copyright unless a facsimile reproduction of the entire 
deposit has been made a part of the Copyright Office records as pro-
vided by subsection (c). 
(e) The depositor of copies, phonorecords, or identifying material 
under section 408, or the copyright owner of record, may request 
retention, under the control of the Copyright Office, of one or more 
of such articles for the full term o,f copyright in the work. The Regis-
ter of Copyrights shall prescribe, by regulation, the conditions under 
which such requests are to be made and granted, and shall fix the fee 
to be charged under section 708(a) (11) if the request is granted. 
17 use 705. 
§ 705. Copyright Office records: Preparation, maintenance, public 
inspection, and searching 
(a) The Register of Copyrights shall provide and keep in the Copy-
right Office records of all deposits, registrations, recordations, and 
other actions taken under this title, and shall prepare indexes of all 
such records. 
(b) Such records and indexes, as well as the aiticles deposited in 
connection with completed copyright registrations and retained under 
the control of the Copyright Office, shall be open to public inspection. 
Report. 
(c) ITpon request and payment of the fee specified by section 708, 
the Copyright Office shall make a search of its public records, indexes, 
and deposits, and shall furnish a report of the information they dis-
close with respect to any particular deposits, registrations, or recorded 
documents. 
17 use 706. 
§ 706. Copies of Copyright Office records 
(a) Copies may be made of any public records or indexes of the 
Copyright Office; additional certificates of copyright registration and 
copies o.f any public records or indexes may be furnished upon request 
and payment of the fees specified by section 708. 
(b) Copies or reproductions of deposited articles retained under 
the control of the Copyright Office shall be authorized or furnished 
only under the conditions specified by the Copyright Office regulations. 
17 use 707. 
§ 707. Copyright Office forms and publications 
(a) CATALOG OF COPYRIGHT ENTRIES.—The Register of Copyrights 
shall compile and publish at periodic intervals catalogs of all copy-
right registrations. These catalogs shall be divided into parts in 
accordance with the various classes of works, and the Register has 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2593 
discretion to determine, on the basis of practicability and usefulness, 
the form and frequency of publication of each particular part. 
(b) OTHER PUBLICATIONS.—The Register shall furnish, free of 
charge upon request, application forms for copyright registration 
and general informational material in connection with the functions 
of the Copyright Office. The Register also has the authority to publish 
compilations of information, bibliographies, and other material he or 
she considers to be of value to the public. 
(c) DISTRIBUTION OP PUBLICATIONS.—^AU publications of the Copy-
right Office shall be furnished to depository libraries as specified under 
section 1905 of title 44, and, aside from those furnished free of charge, 
shall be offered for sale to the public at prices based on the cost of 
reproduction and distribution. 
§ 708. Copyright Office fees 
17 USC 708. 
(a) The following fees shall be paid to the Register of Copyrights: 
(1) for the registration of a copyright claim or a supplemen-
tary registration under section 408, including the issuance of a 
certificate of registration, $10; 
(2) for the registration of a claim to renewal of a subsisting 
copyright in its first term under section 304(a), including the 
issuance of a certificate of registration, $6; 
(3) for the issuance of a receipt for a deposit under section 
407, $2; 
(4) for the recordation, as provided by section 205, of a trans-
fer of copyright ownership or other document of six pages or 
less, covering no more than one title, $10; for each page over six 
and each title over one, 50 cents additional; 
(5) for the filing, under section 115(b), of a notice of inten-
tion to make phonorecords, $6; 
(6) for the recordation, under section 302(c), of a statement 
revealing the identity of an author of an anonymous or pseudony-
mous work, or for the recordation, under section 302(d), of a 
statement relating to the death of an author, $10 for a document 
of six pages or less, covering no more than one title; for each 
page over six and for each title over one, $1 additional; 
(7) for the issuance, under section 601, of an import state-
ment, $3; 
(8) for the issuance, under section 706, of an additional certifi-
icate of registration, $4; 
(9) for the issuance of any other certification, $4; the Register 
of Copyrights has discretion, on the basis of their cost, to fix the 
fees for preparing copies of Copyright Office records, whether 
they are to be certified or not; 
(10) for the making and reporting of a search as provided by 
section 705, and for any related services, $10 for each hour or 
fraction of an hour consumed; 
(11) for any other special services requiring a substantial 
amount of time or expense, such fees as the Register of Copy-
rights may fix on the basis of the cost of providing the service. 
(b) The fees prescribed by or under this section are applicable to Waiver, 
the United States Government and any of its agencies, employees, or 
officers, but the Register of Copyrights has discretion to waive the 
requirement of this subsection in occasional or isolated cases involv-
ing relatively small amounts. 
(c) The Register of Copyrights shall deposit all fees in the Treas-
ury of the United States in such manner as the Secretary of the Treas-
ury directs. The Register may, in accordance with regulations that Regulations. 
90 STAT. 2594 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
he or she shall prescribe, refund any sum paid by mistake or in excess 
of the fee required by this section; however, before making a refund 
in any case involving a refusal to register a claim under section 410 (b), 
the Register may deduct all or any part of the prescribed registra-
tion fee to cover the reasonable administrative costs of processing the 
claim. 
17 use 709. 
§ 709. Delay in delivery caused by disruption of postal or other 
services 
In any case in which the Register of Copyrights determines, on the 
basis of such evidence as the Register may by regulation require, that 
a deposit, application, fee, or any other material to be delivered to 
the Copyright Office by a particular date, would have been received 
in the Copyright Office in due time except for a general disruption 
or suspension of postal or other transportation or communications 
services, the actual receipt of such material in the Copyright Office 
within one month after the date on which the Register determines 
that the disruption or suspension of such services has terminated, shall 
be considered timely. 
17 use 710. 
§ 710. Reproduction for use of the blind and physically handi-
capped: Voluntary licensing forms and procedures 
Regulation. 
The Register of Copyrights shall, after consultation with the Chief 
of the Division for the Blind and Physically Handicapped and other 
appropriate officials of the Library of Congress, establish by regula-
tion standardized forms and procedures by which, at the time appli-
cations covering certain specified categories of nondramatic literary 
works are submitted for registration under section 408 of this title, 
the copyright owner may voluntarily grant to the Library of Congress 
a license to reproduce the copyrighted work by means of Braille or 
similar tactile symbols, or by fixation of a reading of the work in a 
phonorecord, or both, and to distribute the resulting copies or phono-
records solely for the use of the blind and physically handicapped and 
under limited conditions to be specified in the standardized forms. 
Chapter 8.—COPYRIGHT ROYALTY TRIBUNAL 
Sec. 
801. Copyright Royalty Tribunal: Establishment and purpose. 
802. Membership of the Tribunal. 
803. Procedures of the Tribunal. 
. 
804. Institution and conclusion of proceedings. 
805. Staff of the Tribunal. 
806. Administrative support of the Tribunal. 
807. Deduction of costs of proceedings. 
808. Reports. 
809. Effective date of final determinations. 
810. Judicial review. 
17 use 801. 
§ 801. Copyright Royalty Tribunal: Establishment and purpose 
(a) There is hereby created an independent Copyright Royalty 
Tribunal in the legislative branch. 
(b) Subject to the provisions of this chapter, the purposes of the 
Tribunal shall be— 
(1) to make determinations concerning the adjustment of rea-
sonable copyright royalty rates as provided in sections 115 and 
116, and to make determinations as to reasonable terms and rates 
of royalty payments as provided in section 118. The rates appli-
cable under sections 115 and 116 shall be calculated to achieve 
' 
the following objectives: 
(A) To maximize the availability of creative works to the 
.0'). -. 
public; 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2595 
(B) To afford the copyright owner a fair return for his 
creative work and the copyright user a fair income under 
existing economic conditions; 
(C) To reflect the relative roles of the copyright owner 
and the copyright user in the product made available to the 
public with respect to relative creative contribution, tech-
nological contribution, capital investment, cost, risk, and 
contribution to the opening of new markets for creative 
expression and media for their communication; 
(D) To minimize any disruptive impact on the structure of 
the industries involved and on generally prevailing industry 
practices. 
(2) to make determinations concerning the adjustment of the 
copyright royalty rates in section 111 solely in accordance with 
the following provisions: 
(A) The rates established by section 111(d) (2) (B) may 
be adjusted to reflect (i) national monetary inflation or 
deflation or (ii) changes in the average rates charged cable 
subscribers for the basic service of providing secondary trans-
missions to maintain the real constant dollar level of the 
royalty fee per subscriber which existed as of the date of 
enactment of this Act: Provided, That if the average rates 
,; ^ 
charged cable system subscribers for the basic service of pro-
viding secondary transmissions are changed so that the 
average rates exceed national monetary inflation, no change 
in the rates established by section 111(d)(2)(B) shall be 
permitted: And provided further, That no increase in the 
royalty fee shall be permitted based on any reduction in the 
i 
average number of distant signal equivalents per subscriber. 
The Commission may consider all factors relating to the 
maintenance of such level of payments including, as an 
extenuating factor, whether the cable industry has been 
restrained by subscriber rate regulating authorities from 
increasing the rates for the basic service of providing sec-
ondary transmissions. 
(B) In the event that the rules and regulations of the 
Federal Communications Commission are amended at any 
time after April 15, 1976, to permit the carriage by cable 
systems of additional television broadcast signals beyond the 
local service area of the primary transmitters of such signals, 
the royalty rates established by section 111(d) (2) (B) may 
be adjusted to insure that the rates for the additional distant 
signal equivalents resulting from such carriage are reason-
able in the light of the changes effected by the amendment 
to such rules and regulations. In determining the reasonable-
ness of rates proposed following an amendment of Federal 
Communications Commission rules and regulations, the Copy-
right Royalty Tribunal shall consider, among other factors, 
the economic impact on copyright owners and users: Pro- 
' 
vided, That no adjustment in royalty rates shall be made 
under this subclause with respect to any distant signal equiva-
lent or fraction thereof represented by (i) carriage of any 
sigTial permitted under the rules and regulations of the 
7rf>?f 
Communications Commission in effect on April 15, 
1976, or the carriage of a signal of the same type (that is, 
-
independent, network, or noncommercial educational) sub-
stituted for such permitted signal, or (ii) a television broad-
cast signal first carried after April 15, 1976, pursuant to an 
90 STAT. 2596 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
Notice. 
17 use 802. 
17 use 803. 
5 use 551, 701. 
Publication in 
Federal Register. 
individual waiver of the rules and regulations of the Federal 
Communications Commission, as such rules and regulations 
were in effect on April 15,1976. 
(C) In the event of any change in the rules and regulations 
of the Federal Communications Commission with respect to 
syndicated and sports program exclusivity after April 15, 
1976, the rates established by section 111(d) (2) (B) may be 
adjusted to assure that such rates are reasonable in light of 
the changes to such rules and regulations, but any such 
adjustment shall apply only to the affected television broad-
cast signals carried on those systems affected by the change. 
(D) The gross receipts limitations established by section 
111(d) (2) (C) and (D) shall be adjusted to reflect national 
monetary inflation or deflation or changes in the average 
rates charged cable system subscribers for the basic service 
of providing secondary transmissions to maintain the real 
constant dollar value of the exemption provided by such 
section; and the royalty rate specified therein shall not be 
subject to adjustment; and 
(3) to distribute royalty fees deposited with the Register of 
Copyrights under sections 111 and 116, and to determine, in cases 
where controversj^ exists, the distribution of such fees, 
(c) As soon as possible after the date of enactment of this Act, and 
no later than six months following such date, the President shall 
publish a notice announcing the initial appointments provided in sec-
tion 802, and shall designate an order of seniority among the initially-
appointed commissioners for purposes of section 802(b). 
§ 802. Membership of the Tribunal 
(a) The Tribunal shall be composed of five commissioners appointed 
by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate for a term 
of seven years each; of the first five members appointed, three shall be 
designated to serve for seven years from the date of the notice specified 
in section 801(c), and two shall be designated to serve for five years 
from such date, respectively. Commissioners shall be compensated at 
the highest rate now or herea,fter prescribe for grade 18 of the General 
Schedule pay rates (5 U.S.C. 5332). 
(b) Upon convening the commissioners shall elect a chairman from 
among the commissioners appointed for a full seven-year term. Such 
chairman shall serve for a term of one year. Thereafter, the most senior 
commissioner who has not previously served as chairman shall serve 
as chairman for a period of one year, except that, if all commissioners 
have served a full term as chairman, the most senior commissioner who 
has served the least number of terms as chairman shall be designated 
as chairman. 
(c) Any vacancy in the Tribunal shall not affect its powers and shall 
be filled, for the unexpired term of the appointment, in the same man-
ner as the original appointment was made. 
§ 803. Procedures of the Tribunal 
(a) The-Tribunal shall adopt regulations, not inconsistent with law, 
governing its procedure and methods of operation. Except as otherwise 
provided in this chapter, the Tribunal shall be subject to the provisions 
of the Administrative Procedure Act of June 11,1946, as amended (c. 
324, 60 Stat. 237, title 5, United States Code, chapter 5, subchapter II 
and chapter 7). 
(b) Every final determination of the Tribunal shall be published in 
the Federal Register. It shall state in detail the criteria that the Tri-
bunal determined to be applicable to the particular proceeding, the 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2597 
various facts that it found relevant to its determination in that pro-
ceeding, and the specific reasons for its determination. 
§ 804. Institution and conclusion of proceedings 
(a) With respect to proceedings under section 801(b) (1) concern-
ing the adjustment of royalty rates as provided in sections 115 and 
116, and with respect to proceedings under section 801(b) (2) (A) and 
( D ) -
(1) on January 1, 1980, the Chairman of the Tribunal shall 
cause to be published in the Federal Register notice of commence-
ment of proceedings under this chapter; and 
(2) during the calendar years specified in the following schedule, 
any owner or user of a copyrighted work whose royalty rates 
are specified by this title, or by a rate established by the Tribunal, 
may file a petition with the Tribunal declaring that the petitioner 
requests an adjustment of the rate. The Tribunal shall make a 
determination as to whether the applicant has a significant inter-
est in the royalty rate in which an adjustment is requested. If the 
Tribunal determines that the petitioner has a significant interest, 
the Chairman shall cause notice of this determination, with the 
reasons therefor, to be published in the Federal Register, together 
with notice of commencement of proceedings under this chapter. 
(A) In proceedings under section 801(b) (2) (A) and (D), 
such petition may be filed duiing 1985 and in each subsequent 
fifth calendar year. 
(B) In proceedings under section 801(b)(1) concerning 
the adjustment of royalty rates as provided, in section 115, 
such petition may be filed in 1987 and in each subsequent tenth 
calendar year. 
(C) In proceedings under section 801(b)(1) concerning 
the adjustment of royalty rates under section 116, such peti-
tion may be filed in 1990 and in each subsequent tenth calendar 
year. 
(b) AVith respect to proceedings under subclause (B) or (C) of 
section 801 (b) (2), following an event described in either of those sub-
sections, any owner or user of a copyrighted work whose royalty rates 
are specified by section 111, or by a rate established by the Tribunal, 
may, within twelve months, file a petition with the Tribunal declaring 
that the petitioner requests an adjustment of the rate. In this event the 
Tribunal shall proceed as in subsection (a) (2), above. Any change in 
royalty rates made by the Tribunal pursuant to this subsection may be 
reconsidered in 1980, 1985, and each fifth calendar year thereafter, in 
accordance with the provisions in section 801 (b) (2) (B) or (C), as the 
case may be. 
(c) With respect to proceedings under section 801 (b) (1), concerning 
the determination of reasonable terms and rates of royalty paymer^ts as 
provided in section 118, the Tribunal shall proceed when and as pro-
vided by that section. 
(d)Witli respect to proceedings under section 801(b)(3), concern-
ing the distribution of royalty fees in certain circumstances under 
sections 111 or 116, the Chairman of the Tribunal shall, upon determi-
nation by the Tribunal that a controversy exists concerning such dis-
tribution, cause to be published in the Federal Register notice of 
commencement of proceedings under this chapter. 
(e) All proceedings under this chapter shall be initiated without 
delay following publication of the notice specified in this section, and 
the Tribunal shall render its final decision in any such proceeding 
within one year from the date of such publication. 
17 use 804. 
Publication in 
Federal Register. 
Publication in 
Federal Regisiter. 
Publication in 
Federal Register. 
90 STAT. 2598 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
17 use 805. 
§ 805. Staff of the Tribunal 
* 
(a) The Tribunal is authorized to appoint and fix the compensation 
of such employees as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of 
this chapter, and to prescribe their functions and duties. 
(b) The Tribunal may procure temporary and intermittent services 
5 use 3109. 
to the same extent as is authorized by section 3109 of title 5. 
17 use 806. 
§ 806. Administrative support of the Tribunal 
(a) The Library of Congress shall provide the Tribunal with neces-
sary administrative services, including those related to budgeting, 
accounting, financial reporting, travel, personnel, and procurement. 
The Tribunal shall pay the Library for such services, either in advance 
or by reimbursement from the funds of the Tribunal, at amounts to be 
agreed upon between the Librarian and the Tribunal. 
(b) The Library of Congress is authorized to disburse funds for the 
Tribunal, under regulations prescribed jointly by the Librarian of 
Congress and the Tribunal and approved by the Comptroller General. 
Such regulations shall establish requirements and procedures under 
which every voucher certified for payment by the Library of Congress 
under this chapter shall be supported with a certification by a duly 
authorized officer or employee of the Tribunal, and shall prescribe the 
responsibilities and accountability of said officers and employees of the 
Tribunal with respect to such certifications. 
17 use 807. 
§ 807. Deduction of costs of proceedings 
Before any funds are distributed pursuant to a final decision in a 
proceeding involving distribution of royalty fees, the Tribunal shall 
assess the reasonable costs of such proceeding. 
17 use 808. 
§ 808. Reports 
In addition to its publication of the reports of all final determina-
tions as provided in section 803 (b), the Tribunal shall make an annual 
report to the President and the Congress concerning the Tribunal's 
work during the preceding fiscal year, including a detailed fiscal state-
ment of account. 
17 use 809. 
§ 809. Effective date of final determinations 
Any final determination by the Tribunal under this chapter shall 
become effective thirty days following its publication in the Federal 
Register as provided in section 803(b), unless prior to that time an 
appeal has been filed pursuant to section 810, to vacate, modify, or 
correct such determination, and notice of such appeal has been served 
on all parties who appeared before the Tribunal in the proceeding in 
question. Where the proceeding involves the distribution of royalty lees 
under sections 111 or 116, the Tribunal shall, upon the expiration of 
such thirty-day period, distribute any royalty fees not subject to an 
appeal filed pursuant to section 810. 
17 use 810. 
§ 810. Judicial review 
Any final decision of the Tribunal in a proceeding under section 
801 (b) may be appealed to the United States Court of Appeals, within 
thirty days after its publication in the Federal Register by an 
aggrieved party. The judicial review of the decision shall be had, in 
5 use 701. 
accordance with chapter 7 of title 5, on the basis of the record before 
the Tribunal. No court shall have jurisdiction to review a final decision 
of the Tribunal except as provided in this section. 
TRANSITIONAL AND SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS 
17 use note 
SEC. 102. This Act becomes effective on January 1, 1978, except as 
prec. 101. 
otherwise expressly provided by this Act, including provisions of the 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2599 
first section of this Act. The provisions of sections 118, 304(b), and 
chapter 8 of title 17, as amended by the first section of this Act, take 
effect upon enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 103. This Act does not provide copyright protection for any 17 USC note 
work that goes into the public domain before January 1, 1978. The prec. 101. 
exclusive rights, as provided by section 106 of title 17 as amended by the 
first section of this Act, to reproduce a work in phonorecords and to 
distribute phonorecords of the work, do not extend to any nondramatic 
musical work copyrighted before July 1,1909. 
SEC. 104. All proclamations issued by the President under section 17 USC note 
1(e) or 9(b) of title 17 as it existed on December 31, 1977, or under P^ec. 104. 
previous copyright statutes of the United States, shall continue in force 
until terminated, suspended, or revised by the President. 
SEC. 105. (a) (1) Section 505 of title 44 is amended to read as follows: 
"§ 505. Sale of duplicate plates 
44 USC 505. 
"The Public Printer shall sell, under regulations of the Joint Com-
mittee on Printing to persons who may apply, additional or duplicate 
stereotype or electrotype plates from which a Government publication 
is printed, at a price not to exceed the cost of composition, the metal, 
and making to the Government, plus 10 per centum, and the full 
amount of the price shall be paid when the order is filed.". 
(2) The item relating to section 505 in the sectional analysis at the 
beginning of chapter 5 of title 44, is amended to read as follows: 
. . .! 
"505. Sale of duplicate plates.". 
(b) Section 2113 of title 44 is amended to read as follows: 
"§ 2113. Limitation on liability 
44 U
S
C 2113. 
"When letters and other intellectual productions (exclusive of 
patented material, published works under copyright protection, and 
unpublished works for which copyright registration has been made) 
come into the custody or possession of the Administrator of General 
Services, the United States or its agents are not liable for infringe- 
x]:} i^i 
ment of copyright or analogous rights arising out of use of the mate-
rials for display, inspection, research, reproduction, or other 
purposes.". 
(c) In section 1498(b) of title 28, the phrase "section 101(b) of 28 USC 1498. 
title 17" is amended to read "section 504(c) of title 17". 
(d) Section 543(a)(4) of the Internal Kevenue Code of 1954, as 26 U
S
C 543. 
amended, is amended by striking out "(other than by reason of sec-
tion 2 or 6 thereof)". 
(e) Section 3202(a) of title 39 is amended by striking out clause 39 USC 3202, 
(5). Section 3206 of title 39 is amended by deleting the words "sub- 3206. 
sections (b) and (c)" and inserting "subsection (b)" in subsection 
(a), and by deleting subsection (c). Section 3206(d) is renumbered 
(c). 
(f) Subsection (a) of section 290(e) of title 15 is amended by 15 U
S
C 290e. 
deleting the phrase "section 8" and inserting in lieu thereof the phrase 
"section 105". 
(g) Section 131 of title 2 is amended by deleting the phrase "deposit 2 USC 131. 
to secure copyright," and inserting in lieu thereof the phrase "acquisi-
tion of material under the copyright law,". 
SEC. 106. In any case where, before January 1, 1978, a person has 17 USC 115 note, 
lawfully made parts of instruments serving to reproduce mechanically 
a copyrighted work under the compulsory license provisions of section 
l(e)_ of title 17 as it existed on December 31, 1977, such person may 
continue to make and distribute such parts embodying the same 
mechanical reproduction without obtaining a new compulsory license 
90 STAT. 2600 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
under the terms of section 115 of title 17 as amended by the first section 
of this Act. However, such parts made on or after January 1, 1978, 
constitute phonorecords and are otherwise subject to the provisions of 
said section 115. 
17 use 304 note. 
SEC. 107. In the case of any work in which an ad interim copyright 
is subsisting or is capable of bein^ secured on December 31, 1977, 
under section 22 of title 17 as it existed on that date, copyright pro-
tection is hereby extended to endure for the term or terms provided 
by section 304 of title 17 as amended by the first section of this Act. 
17 use 401 note. 
SEC. 108. The notice provisions of sections 401 through 403 of title 
17 as amended by the first section of this Act apply to all copies or 
phonorecords publicly distributed on or after January 1, 1978. How-
ever, in the case of a work published before January 1, 1978, compli-
ance with the notice provisions of title 17 either as it existed on 
December 31, 1977, or as amended by the first section of this Act, 
is adequate with respect to copies puolicly distributed after Decem-
ber 31, 1977. 
17 use 410 note. 
SEC. 109. The registration of claims to copyright for which the 
required deposit, application, and fee were received in the Copyright 
Office before January 1, 1978, and the recordation of assignments of 
copyright or other instruments received in the Copyright Office before 
January 1,1978, shall be made in accordance with title 17 as it existed 
on December 31,1977. 
17 use 407 note. 
SEC. 110. The demand and penalty provisions of section 14 of 
title 17 as it existed on December 31, 1977, apply to any work in 
which copyright has been secured by publication with notice of copy-
right on or before that date, but any deposit and registration made 
after that date in response to a demand under that section shall be 
made in accordance with the provisions of title 17 as amended by 
the first section of this Act. 
SEC. 111. Section 2318 of title 18 of the United States Code is 
amended to read as follows: 
18 use 2318. 
"§ 2318. Transportation, sale or receipt of phonograph records 
bearing forged or counterfeit labels 
"(a) Whoever knowingly and with fraudulent intent transports, 
causes to be transported, receives, sells, or offers for sale in interstate 
or foreign commerce any phonograph record, disk, wire, tape, film, or 
other article on which sounds are recorded, to which or upon which is 
stamped, pasted, or affixed any forged or counterfeited label, know-
ing the label to have been falsely made, forged, or counterfeited shall 
be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than one 
year, or both, for the first such offense and shall be fined not more 
than $25,000 or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both, for 
any subsequent offense. 
"(b) When any person is convicted of any violation of subsection 
(a), the court in its judgment of conviction shall, in addition to the 
penalty therein prescribed, order the forfeiture and destruction or 
other disposition of all counterfeit labels and all articles to which 
counterfeit labels have been affixed or which were intended to have 
had such labels affixed.". 
"(c) Except to the extent they are inconsistent with the provisions 
of this title, all provisions of section 509, title 17, United States Code, 
are applicable to violations of subsection (a).". 
17 use 501 note. 
SEC. 112. All causes of action that arose under title 17 before 
January 1, 1978, shall be governed by title 17 as it existed when the 
cause of action arose. 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
90 STAT. 2(S01 
SEC. 113. (a) The Librarian of Congress (hereinafter referred to 
as the "Librarian") shall establish and maintain in the Library of 
Congress a library to be known as the American Television and Radio 
Archives (hereinafter referred to as the "Archives"). The purpose of 
the Archives shall be to preserve a permanent record of the television 
and radio programs which are the heritage of the people of the United 
States and to provide access to such programs to historians and 
scholars without encouraging or causing copyright infringement. 
(1) The Librarian, after consultation with interested organi-
zations and individuals, shall determine and place in the Archives 
such copies and phonorecords of television and radio programs 
transmitted to the public in the United States and in other coun-
tries which are of present or potential public or cultural interest, 
historical significance, cognitive value, or otherwise worthy of 
preservation, including copies and phonorecords of published and 
unpublished transmission programs— 
(A) acquired in accordance with sections 407 and 408 of 
title 17 as amended by the first section of this Act; and 
(B) transferred from the existing collections of the Library 
of Congress; and 
(C) given to or exchanged with the Archives by other 
libraries, archives, organizations, and individuals; and 
(D) purchased from the owner thereof. 
(2) The Librarian shall maintain and publish appropriate 
catalogs and indexes of the collections of the Archives, and shall 
make such collections available for study and research under the 
conditions prescribed under this section. 
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106 of title 17 as 
amended by the first section of this Act, the Librarian is authorized 
with respect to a transmission program which consists of a regularly 
scheduled newscast or on-the-spot coverage of news events and, under 
standards and conditions that the Librarian shall prescribe by 
regulation— 
(1) to reproduce a fixation of such a program, in the same or 
another tangible form, for the purposes of preservation or secu-
rity or for distribution under the conditions of clause (3) of 
this subsection; and 
(2) to compile, without abridgment or any other editing, 
portions of such fixations according to subject matter, and to 
reproduce such compilations for the purpose of clause (1) of 
this subsection; and 
(3) to distribute a reproduction made under clause (1) or (2) 
of this subsection— 
(A) by loan to a person engaged in research; and 
(B) for deposit in a library or archives which meets the 
requirements of section 108(a) of title 17 as amended by the 
first section of this Act, 
in either case for use only in research and not for further 
reproduction or performance. 
(c) The Librarian or any employee of the Library who is acting 
under the authority of this section shall not be liable in any action 
for copvright infringement committed by any other person unless the 
Librarian or such employee knowingly participated in the act of 
infringement committed by such person. Nothing in this section shall 
be construed to excuse or limit liability under title 17 as amended by 
the first section of this Act for any act not authorized by that title or 
this section, or for any act performed by a person not authorized to 
act under that title or this section. 
American 
Television and 
Radio Archiveis 
Act 
2 u s e 170. 
90 STAT. 2602 
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 
Citation of 
(d) This section may be cited as the "American Television and 
section. 
Radio Archives Act". 
Appropriation 
gj,^ -^^^ There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such funds 
17 use* ^*t" 
^^ "^^y ^^ necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. 
prec 101. 
^^^' ^^^' ^^ *^^y provision of title 17, as amended by the first section 
Severability. 
^f this Act, is declared unconstitutional, the validity of the remainder 
17 use note 
of this title is not affected. 
'"^^^' 
Approved October 19, 1976. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 94-1476 (Coram, on the Judiciary) and No. 94-1733 (Coram, of 
Conference). 
SENATE REPORT No. 94-473 (Comra. on the Judiciary). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 122 (1976): 
Feb. 6, 16-19, considered and passed Senate. 
Sept. 22, considered and passed House, amended. 
Sept. 30, Senate and House agreed to conference report.