TITLE 17-COPYRIGHTS
This title was enacted by act July 30, 1947, ch. 391, 61 Stat. 652
, and was revised in its entirety by
Pub. L. 94–553, title I, §101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2541
1.
Subject Matter and Scope of Copyright
101
2.
Copyright Ownership and Transfer
201
3.
Duration of Copyright
301
4.
Copyright Notice, Deposit, and Registration
401
5.
Copyright Infringement and Remedies
501
6.
Manufacturing Requirements and Importation
601
8.
Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panels
801
9.
Protection of Semiconductor Chip Products
901
10.
Digital Audio Recording Devices and Media
1001
11.
Sound Recordings and Music Videos
1101
12.
Copyright Protection and Management Systems
1201
13.
Protection of Original Designs
1301
Amendments
1998-
Pub. L. 105–304, title I, §103(b), title V, §503(a), Oct. 28, 1998, 112 Stat. 2876
, 2916, added items relating to chapters 12 and 13.
1997-
Pub. L. 105–80, §12(a)(1), Nov. 13, 1997, 111 Stat. 1534
, substituted "Requirements" for "Requirement" in item relating to chapter 6, "Arbitration Royalty Panels" for "Royalty Tribunal" in item relating to chapter 8, and "Semiconductor Chip Products" for "semiconductor chip products" in item relating to chapter 9, and added item relating to chapter 10.
1994-
Pub. L. 103–465, title V, §512(b), Dec. 8, 1994, 108 Stat. 4974
, added item relating to chapter 11.
1984-
Pub. L. 98–620, title III, §303, Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3356
, added item relating to chapter 9.
Table I
This Table lists the sections of former Title 17, Copyrights, and indicates the sections of Title 17, as enacted in 1947, which covered similar and related subject matter.
Title 17 Former Sections
| Title 17 1947 Revision Sections
|
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
7 |
8 |
8 |
9 |
9 |
10 |
10 |
11 |
11 |
12 |
12 |
13 |
13 |
14 |
14 |
15 |
15 |
16 |
16 |
17 |
17 |
18 |
18 |
19 |
19 |
20 |
20 |
21 |
21 |
22 |
22 |
23 |
23 |
24 |
24 |
Rep. |
25 |
101 |
26 |
102 |
27 |
103 |
28 |
104 |
29 |
105 |
30 |
106 |
31 |
107 |
32 |
108 |
33 |
109 |
34 |
110 |
35 |
111 |
36 |
112 |
37 |
113 |
38 |
114 |
39 |
115 |
40 |
116 |
41 |
27 |
42 |
28 |
43 |
29 |
44 |
30 |
45 |
31 |
46 |
32 |
47 |
201 |
48 |
202 |
49 |
203 |
50 |
204 |
51 |
205 |
52 |
206 |
53 |
207 |
54 |
208 |
55 |
209 |
56 |
210 |
57 |
211 |
58 |
212 |
59 |
213 |
60 |
214 |
61 |
215 |
62 |
26 |
63 |
6 |
64 |
6 |
65 |
25 |
Table II
This Table lists the sections of former Title 17, Copyrights, and indicates the sections of Title 17, as revised in 1976, which cover similar and related subject matter.
Title 17 1947 Revision Sections
| Title 17 New Sections
|
1 |
106, 116 |
2 |
301 |
3 |
102, 103 |
4 |
102 |
5 |
102 |
6 |
102 |
7 |
103 |
8 |
104, 105, 303 |
9 |
104 |
10 |
401 |
11 |
410 |
12 |
408 |
13 |
407, 411 |
14 |
407 |
15 |
407 |
16 |
601 |
17 |
407 |
18 |
407, 506 |
19 |
401 |
20 |
401, 402 |
21 |
405 |
22 |
601 |
23 |
601 |
24 |
203, 301 et seq. |
25 |
301 et seq. |
26 |
101 |
27 |
109, 202 |
28 |
201, 204 |
29 |
204 |
30 |
205 |
31 |
205 |
32 |
201 |
101 |
412, 501–504 |
102 |
Rep. See T. 28 §1338 |
103 |
Rep. See F.R. Civ. Proc. |
104 |
110, 506 |
105 |
506 |
106 |
602 |
107 |
602 |
108 |
603 |
109 |
603 |
110 |
Rep. See T. 28 §1338 |
111 |
Rep. See T. 28 §1400 |
112 |
502 |
113 |
502 |
114 |
502 |
115 |
507 |
116 |
505 |
201 |
701(a) |
202 |
701(a) |
203 |
708(c) |
204 |
Rep. |
205 |
701(c) |
206 |
701(b) |
207 |
702 |
208 |
705 |
209 |
407, 410 |
210 |
707 |
211 |
707 |
212 |
705 |
213 |
704 |
214 |
704 |
215 |
708(a), (b) |
216 |
703 |
Prior Provisions
Title 17, as enacted by act July 30, 1947, ch. 391, 61 Stat. 652
, consisting of sections 1 to 32, 101 to 116, and 201 to 216, as amended through 1976, and section 203, as amended by
Pub. L. 95–94, title IV, §406(a), Aug. 5, 1977, 91 Stat. 682
, terminated Jan. 1, 1978.
Effective Date
Section 102 of
Pub. L. 94–553, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2598
, provided that: "This Act [enacting this title and section 170 of Title 2, The Congress, amending section 131 of Title 2, section 290e of Title 15, Commerce and Trade, section 2318 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, section 543 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code, section 1498 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, sections 3203 and 3206 of Title 39, Postal Service, and sections 505 and 2117 of Title 44, Public Printing and Documents, and enacting provisions set out as notes below and under sections 104, 115, 304, 401, 407, 410, and 501 of this title] 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 [Oct. 19, 1976]."
Separability
Section 115 of
Pub. L. 94–553, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2602
, provided that: "If any provision of title 17 [this title], as amended by the first section of this Act, is declared unconstitutional, the validity of the remainder of this title is not affected."
Authorization of Appropriations
Section 114 of
Pub. L. 94–553, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2602
, provided that: "There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such funds as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act [this title]."
Lost and Expired Copyrights; Recording Rights
Section 103 of
Pub. L. 94–553, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2599
, provided that: "This Act [enacting this title] 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."
Cross References
Exclusive jurisdiction of Federal courts over actions and proceedings under copyright laws, see section 1338 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
Power of the Congress to regulate copyrights, see Const., Art. I, §8, cl. 8.
Title Referred to in Other Sections
This title is referred to in title 2 section 179p; title 11 section 101; title 15 section 1129; title 18 sections 2319, 2319A; title 19 section 1337; title 20 sections 6622, 8673; title 26 section 543; title 47 sections 542, 544, 605.