An Act to amend title 17 of the United States Code to provide for the creation of a limited copyright in sound recordings for the purpose of protecting against unauthorized duplication and piracy of sound recording, and for other purposes
PL 92-140 (S.646), enacted 10/15/1971

85 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 92-140-OCT. 15, 1971 
391 
Public Law 92-140 
AN A C T 
October 15, 1971 
To amend title 17 of the United States Code to provide for the creation of a 
[s. 646] 
limited copyright in sound recordings for the purpose of protecting against 
imauthorized duplication and piracy of sound recording, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it etiacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That title 17 of the 
L°m"f/d c°o'^'^'"^^* 
United States Code is amended in the following respects: 
right. 
(a) In section 1, title 17, of the United States Code, add a subsec- , / i stat. 6S2; 
,• ^ W \ i 
1 
' 
' 
' 
66 Stat. 752, 
tion (i) to read: 
"To reproduce and distribute to the public by sale or other transfer 
of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending, reproductions of the 
copyrighted work if it be a sound recording: Provided,, That the 
exclusive right of the owner of a copyright in a sound recording to 
reproduce it is limited to the right to duplicate the sound recording 
in a tangible form that directly or indirectly recaptures the actual 
sounds fixed in the recording: Provided further. That this right does 
not extend to the making or duplication of another sound recording 
that is an independent fixation of other sounds, even though such 
sounds imitate or simulate those in the copyrighted sound recording; 
or to reproductions made by transmitting organizations exclusively 
for their own use." 
(b) In section 5, title 17, of the United States Code, add a subsection 
(n) to read: 
"Sound recordings." 
(c) In section 19, title 17, of the United States Code, add the follow- ^^^j°//"^^* 
ing at the end of the section: "In the case of reproductions of works ""es'^stat, 1032. 
specified in subsection (n) of section 5 of this title, the notice shall supra. 
consist of the symbol (?) (the letter P in a circle), the year of first pub-
lication of the sound recording, and the name of the owner of copy-
right in the sound recording, or an abbreviation by which the name 
can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the 
owner: Provided, That if the producer of the sound recording is named 
on the labels or containers of the reproduction, and if no other name 
appears in conjunction with the notice, his name shall be considered 
a part of the notice." 
(d) In section 20, title 17, of the United States Code, amend the 
Notice, location. 
first sentence to read: "The notice of copyright shall be applied, in the 
case of a book or other printed publication, upon its title page or the 
page immediately following, or if a periodical either upon the title 
page or upon the first page of text of each separate number or under 
the title heading, or if a musical work either upon its title page or the 
first page of music, or if a sound recording on the surface of reproduc-
tions thereof or on the label or container in such manner and location 
as to give reasonable notice of the claim of copyright." 
(e) In section 26, title 17, of the United States Code, add the fol- 
Definitions. 
lowing at the end of the section: "For the purposes of this section and 
sections 10, 11, 13, 14, 21, 101, 106,109, 209, 215, but not for any other 
purpose, a reproduction of a work described in subsection 5(n) shall 
be considered to be a copy thereof. '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. 'Repro-
ductions of sound recordings' are material objects in which sounds 
other than those accompanying a motion picture are fixed by any 
method now known or later developed, and from which the sounds 
can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either 
directly or with the aid of a machine or device, and include the 'parts 
392 
PUBLIC LAW 92-141-OCT. 15, 1971 
[85 STAT. 
61 Stat. 652. 
Infra, 
Copyrighted 
music, unauthor-
ized use. 
61 Stat. 661. 
Effective dates. 
of instruments serving to reproduce mechanically the musical work', 
'mechanical reproductions', and 'interchangeable parts, such as discs 
or tapes for use in mechanical music-producing machines' referred to 
in sections 1 (e) and 101 (e) of this title." 
SEC. 2. That title 17 of the United States Code is further amended 
in the following respect: 
In section 101, title 17 of the United States Code, delete subsection 
(e) in its entirety and substitute the following: 
"(e) 
INTERCHANGEABLE PARTS FOR USE IN MECHANICAL MUSIC-
PRODUCING MACHINES.—Interchangeable parts, such as discs or tapes 
for use in mechanical music-producing machines adapted to reproducer 
copyrighted musical works, shall be considered copies of the copy-
righted musical works which they serve to reproduce mechanically for 
the purposes of this section 101 and sections 106 and 109 of this title, 
and the unauthorized manufacture, use, or sale of such interchange-
able parts shall constitute an infringement of the copyrighted work 
rendering the infringer liable in accordance with all provisions of this 
title dealing with infringements of copyright and, in a case of willful 
infringement for profit, to criminal prosecution pursuant to section 
104 of this title. Whenever any person, in the absence of a license 
agreement, intends to use a copyrighted musical composition upon the 
parts of instruments serving to reproduce mechanically the musical 
work, relying upon the compulsory license provision of this title, he 
shall serve notice of such intention, by registered mail, upon the copy-
right proprietor at his last address disclosed by the records of the 
copyright office, sending to the copyright office a duplicate of such 
notice." 
SEC. 8. This Act shall take effect four months after its enactment 
except that section 2 of this Act shall take effect immediately upon its 
enactment. The provisions of title 17, United States Code, as amended 
by section 1 of this Act, shall apply only to sound recordings fixed, 
published, and copyrighted on and after the effective date of this Act 
and before January 1, 1975, and nothing in title 17, United States 
Code, as amended by section 1 of this Act, shall be applied retro-
actively or be construed as affecting in any way any rights with respect 
to sound recordings fixed before the effective date of this Act. 
Approved October 15, 1971. 
Public Law 92-141 
October 15, 1971 
[H. J. Res. 915] 
Supplemental 
appropriation, 
1972. 
JOINT RESOLUTION 
Making a suppleiuental appropriation for the Department of Labor for tlie fiscal 
year 1972, and for other purposes. 
Besolred hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled^ That the following sum is 
approj)riated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appro-
jjriated, for the fiscal year ending June'30,1972, namely: 
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 
MANPOWER ADMINISTRATION 
FKI>ERAL UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES 
For an additional amount for "Federal unemployment benefits and 
allowances", $270,500,000. 
Approved October 15, 1971.