record educational television and radio programs off the air, for limited use in instructional activities during a week following the broadcast.
House bill
The House bill substantially changed the provisions of section 118, retaining a different form of compulsory licensing for the use in public broadcasting of nondramatic musical works and for pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works, but not subjecting the exclusive rights in nondramatic literary works to compulsory licensing. Under the House bill, within thirty days after appointment of the Royalty Commission, the chairman was to initiate proceedings to determine ‘‘reasonable terms and rates’’ under the section for a period running through 1982. Copyright owners and public broadcasting entities that did not reach voluntary agreement were to be by the terms and rates established by the Commission.
In establishing those rates and terms, the Commission was to consider, among other relevant information, proposals put forward to it within specified time limits. The House bill deleted Sec. 113 of the Transitional and Supplementary Provisions of the Act, but provided in section 118(b) (4) that, during the period between the effective date of the Act and publication of the initial rates and terms, the status quo as to liability under the present law would be preserved. Payment of royalties under section 118 were to be handled among the parties without government intervention. The royalty review cycle would begin in 1982 and continue at five-year intervals thereafter. Section 118(d) (3) retained the provision permitting off-the-air taping of public broadcasts by educational institutions, but with amendments clarifying and tightening the provision.
Although nondramatic literary works were not included in the compulsory licensing scheme of section 118, subsection (e) provided an exemption from the antitrust laws with respect to voluntary negotiations aimed at licensing agreements for the public broadcasting of such works. The subsection also required the Register of Copyrights, on January 3, 1980, to report upon the extent to which such voluntary agreements had been achieved, the problems that had arisen, and any recommendations for legislation that might be appropriate.
Conference substitute
The conference substitute adopts the House amendments.
scope of federal preemption
Senate bill
In establishing a single Federal system of copyright, section 301 of the Senate bill preempts all equivalent rights under State law in copyrightable works that have been fixed in tangible form. In stating the obverse of this proposition, section 301(b) (3) preserved rights under State law with respect to activities violating rights that are not equivalent to any of the exclusive rights within the general scope of copyright, ‘‘including rights against misappropriation not equivalent to any of such exclusive rights, breaches of contract, breaches of trust, … [etc.].’’ The Senate bill specifically excepted from the preemption ‘‘sound recordings fixed prior to February 15, 1972.’’
