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S. 2330

A bill to amend the copyright law regarding work made for hire.

Amends the copyright law concerning works made for hire to limit the determination of the employer-employee relationship to relationships where the employee receives all employment benefits due under State and Federal law and the employer withholds and remits Federal taxes. Limits work-for-hire to work specifically ordered for use as part of a motion picture through a written agreement made prior to the commencement of the work.

Requires a prior written agreement before a work may be considered a joint work.

Provides that each separate contribution to a collective work or compilation, any supplementary work, any instructional text, and any part of an audiovisual work, other than a motion picture, shall be treated as distinct from the larger or revised work as a whole and will be subject to the copyright law's provisions for limited rights transfer. Reserves rights in any material object unless specifically conveyed.

Provides that the rights acquired under such an agreement which are not exercised within three years of the first publication shall become nonexclusive.

Committee on Judiciary requested executive comment from Patent and Trademark Office (Commerce Department), Justice Department.

Sen. Cochran, Thad [R-MS](R-MS)Sponsor
1committees4actions7subjects
  1. Committee

    Committee on Judiciary requested executive comment from Patent and Trademark Office (Commerce Department), Justice Department.

    Judiciary Committee
  2. Committee

    Referred to Subcommittee on Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks.

    Intellectual Property Subcommittee
  3. IntroReferral

    Read twice and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

    Judiciary Committee
  4. IntroReferral10000

    Introduced in Senate