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Introduction to the online version

Chapter 1 – The Commission and Its Recommendations

Chapter 2 – The Establishment, Mandate, and Activities of the Commission

Chapter 3 – Computers and Copyright

Chapter 4 – Machine Reproduction – Photocopying

Chapter 5 – Summary

Appendix A – Summary of the Legislative History of Computer-Related Issues and the Photocopy Issue

Appendix B – Public Law 93-573 and Public Law 95-146

Appendix C – Commissioners

Appendix D – Staff

Appendix E – Lists of Witnesses

Appendix F – Alphabetical Listing of Persons Appearing before the Commission

Appendix G – Transcripts of Commission Meetings

Appendix H – Summaries of Commission-Sponsored Studies

Appendix I – Bibliography

Appendix J – Selected Provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976 and Copyright Office Regulations


Full table of contents


PDF version of the report

Picture of commissioners and staff

Final Report of the National Commission on New Technology Uses of Copyrighted Works


Appendix J – Selected Provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976 and Copyright Office Regulations

§ 101. Definitions

. . . 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 assembling of preexisting mate­rials or of data that are selected, coordinated, or arranged in such a way that the resulting work as a whole constitutes an original work of authorship. The term "compilation" 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 otherwise 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. . . .

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 preexisting works, such as a trans­lation, musical arrangement, dramatization, 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 copy 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. . . .

"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. . . .

A "pseudonymous work" is a work on the copies or phonorecords 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 phonorecords 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 constitute 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 {Page 144} 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 process, whether the members of the public capable of re­ceiving the performance or display receive it in the same place or in separate places and at the same time or at different times.

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 supplementary 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. . . .

 

§ 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 expres­sion, 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 categories: (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 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 distinguished from the preexisting material em­ployed in the work, and does not imply any exclusive right in the preexisting material. The copyright in such work is independent of and does not affect or enlarge the scope, duration, ownership, or subsistence of any copyright pro­tection in the preexisting material. . . .

 

§ 106. Exclusive rights in copyrighted works

Subject to sections 107 through 118, the owner of copyright 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 of 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.

 

§ 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:

{Page 145}

(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 relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the poten­tial market for or value of the copyrighted work.

 

§ 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 purpose of direct or in­direct commercial advantage;

            (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 securi~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 of 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 warning 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 investigation, that a copy or phono­record of the copyrighted work cannot be ob­tained at a fair 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 warning of copyright in accordance with re­quirements that the Register 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 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 {Page 146} 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;

            (3) shall be construed to limit the repro­duction and distribution 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, but 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 arrange­ments 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 subscription 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 illustrations, 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 statutory 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. . . .

 

§ 117. Scope of exclusive rights: use in conjunction with computers 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 conjunction 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. . . .

 

§ 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 sub­ject matter of copyright as specified by sections 102 and 103, whether created before or after that date and whether published or unpublished, 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:

{Page 147}

            (1) subject matter that does not come within the subject matter of copyright as specified by sections 102 and 103, including works of authorship not fixed in any tangible medium of expression; 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....

(d) Nothing in this title annuls or limits any rights or remedies under any other Federal statute.

 

§ 302. Duration of copyright: works created on or after January 1, 1978

(a) In General.—Copyright in a work created on or after January 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 more 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.-ln 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 hundred years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first. . . .

 

§ 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 "Copyright," or the abbreviation "Copr."; and

            (2) the year of first publication of the work; in the case of compilations or deriva­tive works incorporating previously published material, the year date of first publication of the compilation 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, postcards, 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 of 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 regulation, as examples, specific methods of affixation and positions of the notice on various types of works that will satisfy this requirement, but these specifications shall not be considered exhaustive. . . .

 

§ 405. Notice of copyright: omission of notice.

(a) Effect of Omission on Copyright.—The omission of the copyright 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 phonorecords 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 {Page 148} 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. In a suit for infringement in such a case the court may allow or disallow recovery of any of the infringer's profits attrib­utable to the infringement, and may enjoin the continuation of the infringing undertaking or may require, as a condition of 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. . . .

 

§ 407. Deposit of copies or phonorecords for Library of Congress

(a) Except as provided by subsection (c), and subject to the provisions 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 phonorecords 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 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 exemption 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, graphic, 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 subsection (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 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 transmitted to the public in the United States but have not been published, the Register of Copyrights shall, after consulting with the Librarian of Congress and other interested organizations and officials, establish regulations governing the acquisition, through deposit or otherwise, of copies or phonorecords of such programs for the collec­tions 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 {Page 149} 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 procedures by which the Regis­ter 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 transmission 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 phono record. The regulations established under this clause shall provide reasonable periods of not less than three months for compliance with a demand, and shall allow for extensions of such periods and adjustments in the scope of the demand or the methods for fulfilling it, as reasonably warranted by the circumstances. Willful failure or refusal to comply with the conditions prescribed 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 subsection shall be construed to require the making or retention, for purposes of deposit, of any copy or phonorecord of an unpublished transmission program, the transmission 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.

 

§ 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 copy­right or of any exclusive right in the work may obtain registration 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 complete 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, if they are accompanied by the pre­scribed application and fee, and by any ad­ditional identifying material that the Register may, by regulation, require. The Register shall also prescribe regulations establishing 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 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 clause (1), the {Page 150} 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 news-papers, within a twelve-month period, on the basis of a single deposit application, and registration 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 recognized, 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 news-paper, 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 newspapers, 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 publication either through separate copyright notice and registration 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 separately, including the period­ical containing it and its date of first pub­lication.

(d) Corrections and Amplifications.-The Register may also establish, by regulation, for­mal procedures for the filing of an application for supplementary registration, to correct an error in a copyright registration or to amplify the information given in a registration. Such application shall be accompanied by the fee provided by section 708, and shall clearly identify the registration to be corrected 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.—Registration 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.

 

§ 412. Registration as prerequisite to certain remedies for 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.

 

§ 501. Infringement of copyright

(a) Anyone who violates any of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner as provided by sections 106 through 118, or who imports copies or phonorecords into the United States in violation of section 602, is an infringer of the copyright. . . .

 

§ 502. Remedies for infringement: injunctions

(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 reasonable to prevent or restrain infringement of a copyright.

(b) Any such injunction may be served any­where in the United States on the person {Page 151} 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 person. 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. . . .

 

§ 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.

 

§ 506. Criminal offenses

(a) Criminal 1nfringement.—Any person who infringes a copyright 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 copy-right 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 con­viction 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 distribution any article bearing such notice or words that such person knows to be false, shall be fined not more that $2,500.

(d) Fraudulent Removal of 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 copyright registration provided for by section 409, or in any written statement filed in connection with the application, shall be fined not more than $2,500. . . .

 

§ 602. Infringing importation of copies or phonorecords

(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 infringement of the exclusive right to distribute copies or phonorecords under section 106, actionable under section 501. This subsection does not apply to: . . .

            (3) importation by or for an organization operated for scholarly, educational, or reli­gious purposes and not for private gain, with respect to no more than one copy of an audio-visual 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 distribution, engaged in by such organization in violation of the provi­sions of section 108(g)(2).

 

ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE COPYRIGHT OFFICE . . .

[1410-03]

 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Copyright Office

[37 CFR Part 201]

[Docket RM 77-14]

METHODS OF AFFIXATION AND POSITIONS OF THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE1

Proposed Rulemaking

{Page 152}

AGENCY: Library of Congress, Copyright Office

ACTION: Proposed rule

SUMMARY: This notice of proposed rulemaking is issued to inform the public that the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is considering adoption of a new regulation implementing sec­tion 401(c) of the Act for General Revision of the Copyright Law. That section directs the Regis­ter of Copyrights to "prescribe by regulation, as examples, specific methods of affixation and posi­tions of the copyright notice on various types of works" that will satisfy the requirement that the copyright notice "be affixed to the copies in such manner and location as to give reasonable notice of the claim of copyright." The effect of the pro­posed regulation is to provide examples of meth­ods of affixation and positions for the guidance of persons seeking to affix the notice in a manner and location that will comply with the statutory requirements. . . .

 

§ 201.20. Methods of affixation and positions of the copyright notice on various types of works

(a) General—

            (1) This section specifies examples of meth­ods of affixation and positions of the copy­right notice on various types of works that will satisfy the notice requirement of section 401(c) of title 17 of the United States Code, as amended by Pub. L. 94-553.

A notice considered "acceptable" under this regulation shall be considered to satisfy the re­quirement of that section that it be 'affixed to the copies in such manner and location as to give reasonable notice of the claim of copy­right." As provided by that section, the exam­ples specified in this regulation shall not be considered exhaustive of methods of affixation and positions giving reasonable notice of the claim of copyright.

            (2) The provisions of this section are only applicable to works first published on or after the effective date of this section. The adequacy of a copyright notice on works first published before such date shall he determined by the law in effect at the time of first publication. . . .

(c) Manner of Affixation and Position Gen­erally—

            (1) In all cases dealt with in this section, the acceptability of a notice depends upon its being permanently legible to an ordinary user of the work, and affixed to the copies in such manner and position that it is not concealed from view upon reasonable examination.

            (2) Where, in a particular case, a notice does not appear in one of the precise locations prescribed in this section but a person looking in one of those locations would be reasonably certain to find a notice in another somewhat different location, that notice will be acceptable under this section. . . .

(g) Works Reproduced in Machine-Readable Copies—For works reproduced in machine-read­able copies (such as magnetic tapes or disks, punched cards, or the like) from which the work cannot ordinarily be visually perceived except with the aid of a machine or device, the follow­ing constitute examples of acceptable methods of affixation and position of the notice:

            (1) a notice embodied in the copies in ma­chine-readable form in such a manner that on visually perceptible printouts it appears either with or near the title, or at the end of the work;

            (2) a notice that is displayed at the user's terminal at sign-on;

            (3) a notice that is continuously on terminal display;

            (4) a permanently legible notice reproduced on a gummed or other label securely affixed to the copies or to a box, reel, cartridge, cassette, or other container used as a permanent recep­tacle for the copies.

 

[1410-03]

TITLE 37-PATENTS, TRADEMARKS, AND COPYRIGHTS

CHAPTER II—COPYRIGHT OFFICE, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

[Docket RM 77-11]

PART 202—REGISTRATION OF CLAIMS TO COPY­RIGHT DEPOSIT REQUIREMENTS2

AGENCY: Library of Congress, Copyright Office

ACTION: Final regulations

SUMMARY: This notice is issued to inform the public that the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is adopting new regulations implement­ing the deposit requirements of sections 407 and 408 of the Act for General Revision of the Copy­right Law. These requirements involve the manda­tory deposit of copies or phonorecords of pub­lished works for the collections of the Library of Congress, and the deposit of material to accom­pany applications for copyright registration of both unpublished and published works. The effect of the proposed regulations is: (a) to exempt cer­tain categories of published works from manda­tory deposit for the Library of Congress under section 407; (b) to establish requirements govern­ing the nature of the mandatory deposit to be made to all other cases under section 407; and {Page 153} (c) to establish the nature of the deposit to be made as part of copyright registration.

 

§ 202.19 Deposit of published copies of [or] phonorecords for the Library of Congress

(a) General-This section prescribes rules pertaining to the deposit of copies and phonorecords of published works for the Library of Congress under section 407 of title 17 of the United States Code, as amended by Pub. L. 94-553. The pro­visions of this section are not applicable to the deposit of copies and phonorecords for purposes of copyright registration under section 408 of title 17, except as expressly adopted in § 202.20 of these regulations. . . .

(c) Exemptions from Deposit Requirements-The following categories of material are exempt from the deposit requirements of section 407(a) of title 17: . . .

            (5) Literary works, including computer pro­grams and automated data bases, published in the United States only in the form of machine-readable copies (such as magnetic tape or disks, punched cards, or the like) from which the work cannot ordinarily be visually perceived except with the aid of a machine or device. Works published in a form requiring the use of a machine or device for purposes of optical enlargement (such as film, filmstrips, slide films, and works published in any variety of microform) and works published in visually perceivable form but used in connection with optical scanning devices are not within this category and are subject to the applicable de­posit requirements. . . .

 

§ 202.20. Deposit of copies and phonorecords for copyright registration

(a) General-This section prescribes rules per­taining to the deposit of copies and phonorecords of published and unpublished works for the pur­pose of copyright registration under section 408 of title 17 of the United States Code, as amended by Pub. L. 9-553. The provisions of this section are not applicable to the deposit of copies and phonorecords for the Library of Congress under section 407 of title 17, except as expressly adopted in § 202.19 of these regulations. . . .

(c) Nature of Required Deposit—

            (1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (c) (2) of this section, the deposit required to accompany an application for registration of claim to copyright under section 408 of title 17 shall consist of: . . .

            (2) In the case of certain works, the special provisions set forth in this clause shall apply. In any case where this clause specifies that one copy or phonorecord may be submitted, that copy or phonorecord shall represent the best edition, or the work as first published, as set forth in paragraph (c) (1) of this section. . . .

                        (ii) Machine-readable works. In cases where an unpublished literary work is fixed, or a published literary work is published in the United States, only in the form of machine-readable copies (such as magnetic tape or disks, punched cards, or the like) from which the work can­not ordinarily be perceived except with the aid of a machine or device, the deposit shall con­sist of:

(                                   A) For published or unpublished compu­ter programs, one copy of identifying por­tions of the program, reproduced in a form visually perceptible without the aid of a machine or device, either on paper or in microform. For these purposes, "identifying portions" shall mean either the first and last twenty-five pages or equivalent units of the program if reproduced on paper, or at least the first and last twenty-five pages or equiva­lent units of the program if reproduced in microform, together with the page or equiva­lent unit containing the copyright notice, if any.

                                    (B) For published and unpublished auto­mated data bases, compilations, statistical compendia, and other literary works so fixed or published, one copy of identifying por­tions of the work, reproduced in a form visually perceptible without the aid of a machine or device, either on paper or in microform. For these purposes: (1) "identi­fying portions" shall mean either the first and last twenty-five pages or equivalent units of the work if reproduced on paper, or at least the first and last twenty-five pages or equivalent units of work if reproduced on microform, or, in the case of automated data bases comprising separate and distinct data files, representative portions of each separate data file consisting of either 50 complete data records from each file or the entire file, whichever is less; and (2) "data file" and "file" mean a group of data records pertaining to a common subject matter, regardless of the physical size of the records or the number of data items included in them. (In the case of revised versions of such data bases, the portions deposited must contain representa­tive data records which have been added or modified.) In any case where the deposit comprises representative portions of each separate file of an automated data base as indicated above, it shall be accompanied by a typed or printed descriptive statement con­taining: the title of the data base; the name {Page 154} and address of the copyright claimant; the name and content of each separate file within the data base, including the subject matter involved, the origin(s) of the data, and the approximate number of individual records within the ~le; and a description of the exact contents of any machine-readable copyright notice employed in or with the work and the manner and frequency with which it is dis­played (e.g., at user's terminal only at sign-on, or continuously on terminal display, or on printouts, etc.). If a visually-percepti­ble copyright notice is placed on any copies of the work (such as magnetic tape reels) or their container, a sample of such notice must also accompany the statement.



1 42 Fed. Reg. 64374 (December 23, 1977).

2 43 Fed. Reg. 763 (January 4, 1968).