I 100TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2962 To amend title 17 of the United States Code to implement the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, as revised at Paris on July 24, 1971, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 15, 1987 Mr. MOORHEAD (for himself and Mr. FISH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend title 17 of the United States Code to implement the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, as revised at Paris on July 24, 1971, and for other purposes. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa 2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 That this Act may be cited as the "Berne Convention Imple4 mentation Act of 1987". SEC. 2. (a) The Congress finds and declares that (1) the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (the Berne Convention) is 2 not self-executing under the Constitution and laws of the United States; (2) the obligations of the United States under the Berne Convention may be satisfied only by appropriate domestic law; (3) title 17 of the United States Code does not provide copyright protection for any work that is in the public domain in the United States; and (4) title 17 of the United States Code does not provide an author with the right to be named as a work's author or to object to uses or changes to the work that would prejudice the author's reputation or honor. (b) It is the intent of the Congress that (1) any obligation of the United States to provide the author with the right to be named as a work's author or to object to uses or changes to the work as a consequence of adherence to the Berne Convention be satisfied by United States law as it exists on the effective date of this Act whether such rights are recognized under any relevant provision of Federal or State statutes or the common law and such rights shall neither be enlarged nor diminished by this Act; (2) the United States, by the amendments made by this Act together with existing law, meets its obli HR 2962 IH 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 gations as a nation adhering to the Berne Convention and that no further legislation is necessary for that purpose; and (3) the provisions of the Berne Convention shall be given effect solely under title 17 of the United States Code, as amended by this Act, and any other relevant provision of Federal or State law, including common law, and shall not be directly enforceable in any action brought on the provisions of the Berne Convention itself. SEC. 3. The instrument of accession by the United 12 States to the Berne Convention shall specify that the Con13 vention will enter into force for the United States three 14 months after the Director General of the World Intellectual 15 Property Organization has notified other member countries of 16 the deposit of the instrument of accession. 17 SEC. 4. Chapter 1 of title 17 of the United States Code 18 is amended 19 (a) in section 101, by (1) inserting between the definition of "anonymous work" and "audio visual works" the following: "An 'architectural work' is a work such as a building or other three-dimensional structure and relat ed works such as plans, blueprints, sketches, drawings, HR 2962 IH 4 diagrams, and models relating to such building or structure."; (2) inserting between the definition of "audiovisual works" and "best edition", the fol lowing definitions: "The 'Berne Convention' is the Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works signed at Berne on September 9, 1986, together with its later additional acts, protocols, and revisions. "A work is a 'Berne Convention work' if— "(1) in the case of an unpublished work, one or more of the authors is a national of a nation that is a party to the Berne Convention, or in the case of a published work, one or more of the authors is a national of a nation that is a party to the Berne Convention on the date of first publica tion, and for these purposes authors who are dom iciled or have their habitual residence in a nation that is a party to the Berne Convention are considered nationals of that nation; "(2) the work is first published in a nation that is a party to the Berne Convention, or was simultaneously published in a nation that is a party to the Berne Convention and for these purposes a work is simultaneously published if it is HR 2962 IH 5 published in a nation that is a party to the Berne Convention within 30 days of its publication in its place of first publication; "(3) in the case of an audiovisual work: (A) if one or more of the authors is a legal entity, said author has its headquarters in a nation that is a party to the Berne Convention; or (B) if one or more of the authors is an individual, said author has a habitual residence or domicile in a nation that is a party to the Berne Convention; "(4) in the case of an architectural work, the work was erected in a nation that is a party to the Berne Convention; and "(5) in the case of a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work, the work is incorporated in a building or other structure located in a nation that is a party to the Berne Convention."; (b) in section 102(a) by— (6); (1) striking out "and" at the end of clause (2) striking out the period at the end of clause (7) and inserting "; and"; and 23 (3) adding a new clause (8) as follows: |