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Online Attorney
erform" in relation to "a motion picture or
other audiovisual work" is "to show its images in any sequence or
to make the sounds accompanying it audible." The showing of
portions of a motion picture, filmstrip, or slide set must
therefore be sequential to constitute a "performance" rather than a
"display", but no particular order need be maintained. The purely
aural performance of a motion picture sound track, or of the sound
portions of an audiovisual work, would constitute a performance of
the "motion picture or other audiovisual work"; but, where some of
the sounds have been reproduced separately on phonorecords, a
performance from the phonorecord would not constitute performance
of the motion picture or audiovisual work.
The corresponding definition of "display" covers any showing of a
"copy" of the work, "either directly or by means of a film, slide,
television image, or any other device or process." Since "copies"
are defined as including the material object "in which the work is
first fixed," the right of public display applies to original works
of art as well as to reproductions of them. With respect to motion
pictures and other audiovisual works, it is a "display" (rather
than a "performance") to show their "individual images
nonsequentially." In addition to the direct showings of a copy of a
work, "display" would include the projection of an image on a
screen or other surface by any method, the transmission of an image
by electronic or other means, and the showing of an image on a
cathode ray tube, or similar viewing apparatus connected with any
sort of information storage and retrieval system.
Under clause (1) of the definition of "publicly" in section 101,
a performance or display is "public" if it takes place "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." One of the principal purposes of the
definition was to make clear that, contrary to the decision in
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp. v. Wyatt, 21 C.O.Bull. 203
(D.Md.1932), performances in "semipublic" places such as clubs,
lodges, factories, summer camps, and schools are "public
performances" subject to copyright control. The term "a family" in
this context would include an individual living alone, so that a
gathering confined to the individual's social acquaintances would
normally be regarded as private. Routine meetings of businesses and
governmental personnel would be excluded because they do not
represent the gathering of a "substantial number of persons."
Clause (2) of the definition of "publicly" in section 101 makes
clear that the concepts of public performance and public display
include not only performances and displays that occur initially in
a public place, but also acts that transmit or otherwise
communicate a performance or display of the work to the public by
means of any device or process. The definition of "transmit" - to
communicate a performance or display "by any device or process
whereby images or sound are received beyond the place from which
they are sent" - is broad enough to include all conceivable forms
and combinations of wired or wireless communications media,
including but by no means limited to radio and television
broadcasting as we know them. Each and every method by which the
images or sounds comprising a performance or display are picked up
and conveyed is a "transmission," and if the transmission reaches
the public in my [any] form, the case comes within the scope of
clauses (4) or (5) of section 106.
Under the bill, as under the present law, a performance made
available by transmission to the public at large is "public" even
though the recipients are not gathered in a single place, and even
if there is no proof that any of the potential recipients was
operating his receiving apparatus at the time of the transmission.
The same principles apply whenever the potential recipients of the
transmission represent a limited segment of the public, such as the
occupants of hotel rooms or the subscribers of a cable television
service. Clause (2) of the definition of "publicly" is applicable
"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."
AMENDMENTS
2002 - Pub. L. 107-273 substituted "122" for "121" in
introductory provisions.
1999 - Pub. L. 106-44 substituted "121" for "120" in introductory
provisions.
1995 - Par. (6). Pub. L. 104-39 added par. (6).
1990 - Pub. L. 101-650 substituted "120" for "119" in
introductory provisions.
Pub. L. 101-318 substituted "119" for "118" in introductory
provisions.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1995 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 104-39 effective 3 months after Nov. 1,
1995, see section 6 of Pub. L. 104-39, set out as a note under
section 101 of this title.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1990 AMENDMENTS
Amendment by Pub. L. 101-650 applicable to any architectural work
created on or after Dec. 1, 1990, and any architectural work, that,
on Dec. 1, 1990, is unconstructed and embodied in unpublished plans
or drawings, except that protection for such architectural work
under this title terminates on Dec. 31, 2002, unless the work is
constructed by that date, see section 706 of Pub. L. 101-650, set
out as a note under section 101 of this title.
Section 3(e)(3) of Pub. L. 101-318 provided that: "The amendment
made by subsection (d) [amending this section] shall be effective
as of November 16, 1988."
-SECREF-
SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS
This section is referred to in sections 104A, 106A, 107, 108,
109, 110, 112, 113, 114, 115, 117, 118, 120, 121, 201, 301, 501,
511, 602, 1001 of this title; title 2 section 170; title 18 section
2319.
-End-
-CITE-
17 USC Sec. 106A 01/19/04
-EXPCITE-
TITLE 17 - COPYRIGHTS
CHAPTER 1 - SUBJECT MATTER AND SCOPE OF COPYRIGHT
-HEAD-
Sec. 106A. Rights of certain authors to attribution and integrity
-STATUTE-
(a) Rights of Attribution and Integrity. - Subject to section 107
and independent of the exclusive rights provided in section 106,
the author of a work of visual art -
(1) shall have the right -
(A) to claim authorship of that work, and
(B) to prevent the use of his or her name as the author of
any work of visual art which he or she did not create;
(2) shall have the right to prevent the use of his or her name
as the author of the work of visual art in the event of a
distortion, mutilation, or other modification of the work which
would be prejudicial to his or her honor or reputation; and
(3) subject to the limitations set forth in section 113(d),
shall have the right -
(A) to prevent any intentional distortion, mutilation, or
other modification of that work which would be prejudicial to
his or her honor or reputation, and any intentional distortion,
mutilation, or modification of that work is a violation of that
right, and
(B) to prevent any destruction of a work of recognized
stature, and any intentional or grossly negligent destruction
of that work is a violation of that right.
(b) Scope and Exercise of Rights. - Only the author of a work of
visual art has the rights conferred by subsection (a) in that work,
whether or not the author is the copyright owner. The authors of a
joint work of visual art are coowners of the rights conferred by
subsection (a) in that work.
(c) Exceptions. - (1) The modification of a work of visual art
which is a result of the passage of time or the inherent nature of
the materials is not a distortion, mutilation, or other
modification described in subsection (a)(3)(A).
(2) The modification of a work of visual art which is the result
of conservation, or of the public presentation, including lighting
and placement, of the work is not a destruction, distortion,
mutilation, or other modification described in subsection (a)(3)
unless the modification is caused by gross negligence.
(3) The rights described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection
(a) shall not apply to any reproduction, depiction, portrayal, or
other use of a work in, upon, or in any connection with any item
described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of the definition of "work of
visual art" in section 101, and any such reproduction, depiction,
portrayal, or other use of a work is not a destruction, distortion,
mutilation, or other modification described in paragraph (3) of
subsection (a).
(d) Duration of Rights. - (1) With respect to works of visual art
created on or after the effective date set forth in section 610(a)
of the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990, the rights conferred by
subsection (a) shall endure for a term consisting of the life of
the author.
(2) With respect to works of visual art created before the
effective date set forth in section 610(a) of the Visual Artists
Rights Act of 1990, but title to which has not, as of such
effective date, been transferred from the author, the rights
conferred by subsection (a) shall be coextensive with, and shall
expire at the same time as, the rights conferred by section 106.
(3) In the case of a joint work prepared by two or more authors,
the rights conferred by subsection (a) shall endure for a term
consisting of the life of the last surviving author.
(4) All terms of the rights conferred by subsection (a) run to
the end of the calendar year in which they would otherwise expire.
(e) Transfer and Waiver. - (1) The rights conferred by subsection
(a) may not be transferred, but those rights may be waived if the
author expressly agrees to such waiver in a written instrument
signed by the author. Such instrument shall specifically identify
the work, and uses of that work, to which the waiver applies, and
the waiver shall apply only to the work and uses so identified. In
the case of a joint work prepared by two or more authors, a waiver
of rights under this paragraph made by one such author waives such
rights for all such authors.
(2) Ownership of the rights conferred by subsection (a) with
respect to a work of visual art is distinct from ownership of any
copy of that work, or of a copyright or any exclusive right under a
copyright in that work. Transfer of ownership of any copy of a work
of visual art, or of a copyright or any exclusive right under a
copyright, shall not constitute a waiver of the rights conferred by
subsection (a). Except as may otherwise be agreed by the author in
a written instrument signed by the author, a waiver of the rights
conferred by subsection (a) with respect to a work of visual art
shall not constitute a transfer of ownership of any copy of that
work, or of ownership of a copyright or of any exclusive right
under a copyright in that work.
-SOURCE-
(Added Pub. L. 101-650, title VI, Sec. 603(a), Dec. 1, 1990, 104
Stat. 5128.)
-REFTEXT-
REFERENCES IN TEXT
Section 610(a) of the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 [Pub. L.
101-650], referred to in subsec. (d), is set out as an Effective
Date note below.
-MISC1-
EFFECTIVE DATE
Section 610 of title VI of Pub. L. 101-650 provided that:
"(a) In General. - Subject to subsection (b) and except as
provided in subsection (c), this title [enacting this section,
amending sections 101, 107, 113, 301, 411, 412, 501, and 506 of
this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this
section and section 101 of this title] and the amendments made by
this title take effect 6 months after the date of the enactment of
this Act [Dec. 1, 1990].
"(b) Applicability. - The rights created by section 106A of title
17, United States Code, shall apply to -
"(1) works created before the effective date set forth in
subsection (a) but title to which has not, as of such effective
date, been transferred from the author, and
"(2) works created on or after such effective date, but shall
not apply to any destruction, distortion, mutilation, or other
modification (as described in section 106A(a)(3) of such title)
of any work which occurred before such effective date.
"(c) Section 608. - Section 608 [set out below] takes effect on
the date of the enactment of this Act."
STUDIES BY COPYRIGHT OFFICE
Section 608 of Pub. L. 101-650 provided that:
"(a) Study on Waiver of Rights Provision. -
"(1) Study. - The Register of Copyrights shall conduct a study
on the extent to which rights conferred by subsection (a) of
section 106A of title 17, United States Code, have been waived
under subsection (e)(1) of such section.
"(2) Report to congress. - Not later than 2 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 1, 1990], the Register of
Copyrights shall submit to the Congress a report on the progress
of the study conducted under paragraph (1). Not later than 5
years after such date of enactment, the Register of Copyrights
shall submit to the Congress a final report on the results of the
study conducted under paragraph (1), and any recommendations that
the Register may have as a result of the study.
"(b) Study on Resale Royalties. -
"(1) Nature of study. - The Register of Copyrights, in
consultation with the Chair of the National Endowment for the
Arts, shall conduct a study on the feasibility of implementing -
"(A) a requirement that, after the first sale of a work of
art, a royalty on any resale of the work, consisting of a
percentage of the price, be paid to the author of the work; and
"(B) other possible requirements that would achieve the
objective of allowing an author of a work of art to share
monetarily in the enhanced value of that work.
"(2) Groups to be consulted. - The study under paragraph (1)
shall be conducted in consultation with other appropriate
departments and agencies of the United States, foreign
governments, and groups involved in the creation, exhibition,
dissemination, and preservation of works of art, including
artists, art dealers, collectors of fine art, and curators of art
museums.
"(3) Report to congress. - Not later than 18 months after the
date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 1, 1990], the Register of
Copyrights shall submit to the Congress a report containing the
results of the study conducted under this subsection."
-SECREF-
SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS
This section is referred to in sections 106A, 107, 113, 301, 411,
412, 501, 506 of this title.
-End-
-CITE-
17 USC Sec. 107 01/19/04
-EXPCITE-
TITLE 17 - COPYRIGHTS
CHAPTER 1 - SUBJECT MATTER AND SCOPE OF COPYRIGHT
-HEAD-
Sec. 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use
-STATUTE-
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, 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
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.
The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding
of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the
above factors.
-SOURCE-
(Pub. L. 94-553, title I, Sec. 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2546;
Pub. L. 101-650, title VI, Sec. 607, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5132;
Pub. L. 102-492, Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 3145.)
-MISC1-
HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES
HOUSE REPORT NO. 94-1476
General Background of the Problem. The judicial doctrine of fair
use, one of the most important and well-established limitations on
the exclusive right of copyright owners, would be given express
statutory recognition for the first time in section 107. The claim
that a defendant's acts constituted a fair use rather than an
infringement has been raised as a defense in innumerable copyright
actions over the years, and there is ample case law recognizing the
existence of the doctrine and applying it. The examples enumerated
at page 24 of the Register's 1961 Report, while by no means
exhaustive, give some idea of the sort of activities the courts
might regard as fair use under the circumstances: "quotation of
excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or
comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical
work, for illustration or clarification of the author's
observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work
parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief quotations,
in a news report; reproduction by a library of a portion of a work
to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or
student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson;
reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or
reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or
broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being
reported."
Although the courts have considered and ruled upon the fair use
doctrine over and over again, no real definition of the concept has
ever emerged. Indeed, since the doctrine is an equitable rule of
reason, no generally applicable definition is possible, and each
case raising the question must be decided on its own facts. On the
other hand, the courts have evolved a set of criteria which, though
in no case definitive or determinative, provide some gauge for
balancing the equities. These criteria have been stated in various
ways, but essentially they can all be reduced to the four standards
which have been adopted in section 107: "(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."
These criteria are relevant in determining whether the basic
doctrine of fair use, as stated in the first sentence of section
107, applies in a particular case: "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."
The specific wording of section 107 as it now stands is the
result of a process of accretion, resulting from the long
controversy over the related problems of fair use and the
reproduction (mostly by photocopying) of copyrighted material for
educational and scholarly purposes. For example, the reference to
fair use "by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other
means" is mainly intended to make clear that the doctrine has as
much application to photocopying and taping as to older forms of
use; it is not intended to give these kinds of reproduction any
special status under the fair use provision or to sanction any
reproduction beyond the normal and reasonable limits of fair use.
Similarly, the newly-added reference to "multiple copies for
classroom use" is a recognition that, under the proper
circumstances of fairness, the doctrine can be applied to
reproductions of multiple copies for the members of a class.
The Committee has amended the first of the criteria to be
considered - "the purpose and character of the use" - to state
explicitly that this factor includes a consideration of "whether
such use is of a commercial nature or is for non-profit educational
purposes." This amendment is not intended to be interpreted as any
sort of not-for-profit limitation on educational uses of
copyrighted works. It is an express recognition that, as under the
present law, the commercial or non-profit character of an activity,
while not conclusive with respect to fair use, can and should be
weighed along with other factors in fair use decisions.
General Intention Behind the Provision. The statement of the fair
use doctrine in section 107 offers some guidance to users in
determining when the principles of the doctrine apply. However, the
endless variety of situations and combinations of circumstances
that can rise in particular cases precludes the formulation of
exact rules in the statute. The bill endorses the purpose and
general scope of the judicial doctrine of fair use, but there is no
disposition to freeze the doctrine in the statute, especially
during a period of rapid technological change. Beyond a very broad
statutory explanation of what fair use is and some of the criteria
applicable to it, the courts must be free to adapt the doctrine to
particular situations on a case-by-case basis. Section 107 is
intended to restate the present judicial doctrine of fair use, not
to change, narrow, or enlarge it in any way.
Intention as to Classroom Reproduction. Although the works and
uses to which the doctrine of fair use is applicable are as broad
as the copyright law itself, most of the discussion of section 107
has centered around questions of classroom reproduction,
particularly photocopying. The arguments on the question are
summarized at pp. 30-31 of this Committee's 1967 report (H.R. Rep.
No. 83, 90th Cong., 1st Sess.), and have not changed materially in
the intervening years.
The Committee also adheres to its earlier conclusion, that "a
specific exemption freeing certain reproductions of copyrighted
works for educational and scholarly purposes from copyright control
is not justified." At the same time the Committee recognizes, as it
did in 1967, that there is a "need for greater certainty and
protection for teachers." In an effort to meet this need the
Committee has not only adopted further amendments to section 107,
but has also amended section 504(c) to provide innocent teachers
and other non-profit users of copyrighted material with broad
insulation against unwarranted liability for infringement. The
latter amendments are discussed below in connection with Chapter 5
of the bill [Sec. 501 et seq. of this title].
In 1967 the Committee also sought to approach this problem by
including, in its report, a very thorough discussion of "the
considerations lying behind the four criteria listed in the amended
section 107, in the context of typical classroom situations arising
today." This discussion appeared on pp. 32-35 of the 1967 report,
and with some changes has been retained in the Senate report on S.
22 (S. Rep. No. 94-473, pp. 63-65). The Committee has reviewed this
discussion, and considers that it still has value as an analysis of
various aspects of the problem.
At the Judiciary Subcommittee hearings in June 1975, Chairman
Kastenmeier and other members urged the parties to meet together
independently in an effort to achieve a meeting of the minds as to
permissible educational uses of copyrighted material. The response
to these suggestions was positive, and a number of meetings of
three groups, dealing respectively with classroom reproduction of
printed material, music, and audio-visual material, were held
beginning in September 1975.
In a joint letter to Chairman Kastenmeier, dated March 19, 1976,
the representatives of the Ad Hoc Committee of Educational
Institutions and Organizations on Copyright Law Revision, and of
the Authors League of America, Inc., and the Association of
American Publishers, Inc., stated:
You may remember that in our letter of March 8, 1976 we told
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