Copyright Act of 1976


 * Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,


 * Title 17 of the United States Code, entitled “Copyrights”, is hereby amended in its entirety to read as follows:





.—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. <li>106. Exclusive rights in copyrighted works.</li> <li>107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use.</li> <li>108. Limitations on exclusive rights: Reproduction by libraries and archives.</li> <li>109. Limitations on exclusive rights: Effect of transfer of particular copy or phonorecord.</li> <li>110. Limitations on exclusive rights: Exemption of certain performances and displays.</li> <li>111. Limitations on exclusive rights: Secondary transmissions.</li> <li>112. Limitations on exclusive rights: Ephemeral recordings.</li> <li>113. Scope of exclusive rights in pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works.</li> <li>114. Scope of exclusive rights in sound recordings.</li> <li>115. Scope of exclusive rights in nondramatic musical works: Compulsory license for making and distributing phonorecords.</li> <li>116. Scope of exclusive rights in nondramatic musical works: Public performances by means of coin-operated phonorecord players.</li> <li>117. Scope of exclusive rights: Use in conjunction with computers and similar information systems.</li> <li>118. Scope of exclusive rights: Use of certain works in connection with noncommercial broadcasting.</li></ol> <BR />

§ 101. Definitions
<BR />
 * As used in this title, the following terms and their variant forms mean the following:

<ol style="list-style-type:none; list-style-position:inside;"> <li>An ‘‘anonymous work’’ is a work on the copies or phonorecords of which no natural person is identified as author.</li> <li>‘‘Audiovisual works’’ are works 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 of the nature of the material objects, such as films or tapes, in which the works are embodied.</li> <li>The ‘‘best edition’’ of a work is the edition, published is the United States at any time before the date of deposit, that the Library of Congress determines to be most suitable for its purposes.</li> <li>A person’s ‘‘children’’ are that person’s immediate offspring, whether legitimate or not, and any children legally adopted by that person.</li> <li>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.</li> <li>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 works of authorship. The term ‘‘compilation” includes collective works.</li> <li>‘‘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.</li> <li>‘‘Copyright owner’’, with respect to any one of the exclusive rights comprised in a copyright, refers to the owner of that particular right.</li> <li>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.</li> <li>A ‘‘derivative work’’ is a work based upon one or more pre-existing 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’’.</li> <li>A ‘‘device’’, ‘‘machine’’, or ‘‘process’’ is one now known or later developed.</li> <li>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.</li> <li>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.</li> <li>The terms ‘‘including’’ and ‘‘such as’’ are illustrative and not limitative.</li> <li>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.</li> <li>‘‘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.</li> <li>‘‘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.</li> <li>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.</li> <li>‘‘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 otherwise 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.</li> <li>‘‘Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works’’ include two dimensional 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 considered 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.</li> <li>A ‘‘pseudonymous work’’ is a work on the copies or phonorecords of which the author is identified under a fictitious name.</li> <li>‘‘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.</li> <li>To perform or display a work ‘‘publicly’’ means—<BR /> <li>‘‘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.</li> <li>‘‘State’’ includes the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territories to which this title is made applicable by an Act of Congress.</li> <li>A ‘‘transfer of copyright ownership’’ is an assignment, mortgage, 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 effect, but not including a nonexclusive license.</li> <li>A ‘‘transmission program’’ is a body of material that, as an aggregate, has been produced for the sole purpose of transmission to the public in sequence and as a unit.</li> <li>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.</li> <li>The ‘‘United States’’, when used in a geographical sense, comprises the several States, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the organized territories under the jurisdiction of the United States Government.</li> <li>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’’.</li> <li>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.</li> <li>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.</li> <li>A ‘‘work made for hire’’ is—<BR /> <BR />

§ 102. Subject matter of copyright: In general
<BR />

§ 103. Subject matter of copyright: Compilations and derivative works
<BR />

§ 104. Subject matter of copyright: National origin
<BR />

§ 105. Subject matter of copyright: United States Government works
<BR />

§ 106. Exclusive rights in copyrighted works
<BR />

§ 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use
<BR />

§ 108. Limitations on exclusive rights: Reproduction by libraries and archives
<BR />

§ 109. Limitations on exclusive rights: Effect of transfer of particular copy or phonorecord
<BR />

§ 110. Limitations on exclusive rights: Exemption of certain performances and displays
<BR />

§ 111. Limitations on exclusive rights: Secondary transmissions
<BR />

§ 112. Limitations on exclusive rights: Ephemeral recordings
<BR />

§ 115. Scope of exclusive rights in nondramatic musical works: Compulsory license for making and distributing phonorecords

 * In the case of nondramatic musical works, the exclusive rights provided 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.

§ 117. Scope of exclusive rights: Use in conjunction with computers and similar information systems
<BR/>

§ 118. Scope of exclusive rights: Use of certain works in connection with noncommercial broadcasting
<BR/> <BR />

—COPYRIGHT OWNERSHIP AND TRANSFER
<BR />

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.

§ 201. Ownership of copyright
<BR />

§ 202. Ownership of copyright as distinct from ownership of material object
<BR />
 * 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 ownership of a copyright or of any exclusive rights under a copyright convey property rights in any material object.<BR />

§ 203. Termination of transfers and licenses granted by the author
<BR />

§ 204. Execution of transfers of copyright ownership
<BR />

§ 205. Recordation of transfers and other documents
<BR /> <BR />

—DURATION OF COPYRIGHT
<BR />

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.

§ 301. Preemption with respect to other laws.
<BR />

§ 302. Duration of copyright: Works created on or after January 1, 1978
<BR />

§ 303. Duration of copyright: Works created but not published or copyrighted before January 1, 1978
<BR />
 * Copyright in a work created before January 1, 1978, but not theretofore 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 December 31, 2002, the term of copyright shall not expire before December 31, 2027.

<BR />

§ 304. Duration of copyright: Subsisting copyrights
<BR />

§ 305. Duration of copyright: Terminal date
<BR />
 * All terms of copyright provided by sections 302 through 304 run to the end of the calendar year in which they would otherwise expire. <BR />

<BR />

—COPYRIGHT NOTICE, DEPOSIT, AND REGISTRATION
<BR />

Sec.
 * 401. Notice 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.

§ 401. Notice of copyright: Visually perceptible copies
<BR />

§ 402. Notice of copyright: Phonorecords of sound recordings
<BR />

§ 403. Notice of copyright: Publications incorporating United States Government works
<BR />

§ 404. Notice of copyright: Contributions to collective works
<BR />

§ 405. Notice of copyright: Omission of notice
<BR />

§ 406. Notice of copyright: Error in name or date
<BR />

§ 407. Deposit of copies or phonorecords for Library of Congress
<BR />

§ 408. Copyright registration in general
<BR />

§ 409. Application for copyright registration
<BR />

§ 410. Registration of claim and issuance of certificate
<BR />

§ 411. Registration as prerequisite to infringement suit
<BR />

§ 412. Registration as prerequisite to certain remedies for infringement
<BR /> <BR />

—COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AND REMEDIES
<BR />

Sec.
 * 501. Infringement of copyright.
 * 502. Remedies for infringement: Injunctions.
 * 503. Remedies for infringement: Impounding and disposition of infringing articles.
 * 504. Remedies for infringement: Damages 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 programming by cable systems.

§ 501. Infringement of copyright
<BR />

§ 502. Remedies for infringement: Injunctions
<BR />

§ 503. Remedies for infringement: Impounding and disposition of infringing articles
<BR />

§ 504. Remedies for infringement: Damages and profits
<BR />

§ 505. Remedies for infringement: Costs and attorney's fees
<BR />

§ 506. Criminal offenses
<BR />

§ 507. Limitations on actions
<BR />

§ 508. Notification of filing and determination of actions
<BR />

§ 509. Seizure and forfeiture
<BR />

§ 510. Remedies for alteration of programing by cable systems
<BR /> <BR />

—MANUFACTURING REQUIREMENT AND IMPORTATION
<BR />

Sec.
 * 601. Manufacture, importation, and public distribution of certain copies.
 * 602. Infringing importation of copies or phonorecords.
 * 603. Importation prohibitions: Enforcement and disposition of excluded articles.

§ 601. Manufacture, importation, and public distribution of certain copies
<BR />

§ 602. Infringing importation of copies or phonorecords
<BR />

§ 603. Importation prohibitions: Enforcement and disposition of excluded articles
<BR /> <BR />

—COPYRIGHT OFFICE
<BR />

Sec.
 * 701. The Copyright Office: General responsibilities and organization.
 * 702. Copyright Office 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 organization
<BR />

§ 702. Copyright Office regulations
<BR />

§ 703. Effective date of actions in Copyright Office
<BR />

§ 704. Retention and disposition of articles deposited in Copyright Office
<BR />

§ 705. Copyright Office records: Preparation, maintenance; public inspection, and searching
<BR />

§ 706. Copies of Copyright Office records
<BR />

§ 707. Copyright Office forms and publications
<BR />

§ 708. Copyright Office fees
<BR />

§ 709. Delay in delivery caused by disruption of postal or other services
<BR />

§ 710. Reproductions for use of the blind and physically handicapped: Voluntary licensing forms and procedures
<BR /> <BR />

—COPYRIGHT ROYALTY TRIBUNAL
<BR />

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.

§ 801. Copyright Royalty Tribunal: Establishment and purpose
<BR />

§ 802. Membership of the Tribunal
<BR />

§ 803. Procedures of the Tribunal
<BR />

§ 804. Institution and conclusion of proceedings
<BR />

§ 805. Staff of the Tribunal
<BR />

§ 806. Administrative support of the Tribunal
<BR />

§ 807. Deduction of costs of proceedings
<BR />

§ 808. Reports
<BR />

§ 809. Effective date of final determinations
<BR />

§ 810. Judicial review
<BR /> <BR />

<BR /> <BR />

. 102.

 * This Act becomes effective on January 1, 1978, except as otherwise expressly provided by this Act, including provisions of the 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.

. 103.

 * This Act does not provide copyright protection for any work that goes into the public domain before January 1, 1978. The 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.

. 104.

 * All proclamations issued by the President under section 1(e) or 9(b) of title 17 as it existed on December 31, 1977, or under previous copyright statutes of the United States, shall continue in force until terminated, suspended, or revised by the President.

. 106.

 * In any case where, before January 1, 1978, a person has lawfully made parts of instruments serving to reproduce mechanically a copyrighted work under the compulsory license provisions of section 1(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 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.

. 107.

 * In the case of any work in which an ad interim copyright is subsisting or is capable of being secured on December 31, 1977, under section 22 of title 17 as it existed on that date, copyright protection 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.

. 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. However, in the case of a work published before January 1, 1978, compliance 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 publicly distributed after December 31, 1977.

. 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.

. 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 copyright 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.

. 111.

 * Section 2318 of title 18 of the United States Code is amended to read as follows:

. 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.

. 114.

 * There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such funds as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.

. 115.

 * If any provision of title 17, as amended by the first section of this Act, is declared unconstitutional, the validity of the remainder of this title is not affected.

Approved October 19, 1976.

Legislative History

 * SENATE REPORTS:
 * No. 94-473 (Comm. on the Judiciary)
 * HOUSE REPORTS:
 * No. 94-1476 accompanying S. 22 (Comm. on the Judiciary)
 * No. 94-1733 (Comm. of Conference)
 * CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 122 (1976):
 * Feb. 19, Considered and passed Senate, amended.
 * Sept. 22, Considered and passed House, amended.
 * Sept. 29, Conference Report filled.
 * Sept. 30, House agreed to conference report.
 * Sept. 30. Senate agreed to conference report.
 * Sept. 30. Senate agreed to conference report.