United States Code/Title 17/Chapter 1/Section 116

by the United States Government

§ 116—Negotiated licenses for public performances by means of coin-operated phonorecord players

(a) APPLICABILITY OF SECTION.—This section applies to any nondramatic musical work embodied in a phonorecord.

(b) NEGOTIATED LICENSES.—

(1) Authority for negotiations.—Any owners of copyright in works to which this section applies and any operators of coin-operated phonorecord players may negotiate and agree upon the terms and rates of royalty payments for the performance of such works and the proportionate division of fees paid among copyright owners, and may designate common agents to negotiate, agree to, pay, or receive such royalty payments.

(2) Chapter 8 Proceeding.—Parties not subject to such a negotiation may have the terms and rates and the division of fees described in paragraph (1) determined in a proceeding in accordance with the provisions of chapter 8.

(c) LICENSE AGREEMENTS SUPERIOR TO DETERMINATIONS BY COPYRIGHT ROYALTY JUDGES.—License agreements between one or more copyright owners and one or more operators of coin-operated phonorecord players, which are negotiated in accordance with subsection (b), shall be given effect in lieu of any otherwise applicable determination by the Copyright Royalty Judges.

(d) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the following terms mean the following:

(1) A "coin-operated phonorecord player" is a machine or device that—

(A) is employed solely for the performance of nondramatic musical works by means of phonorecords upon being activated by the insertion of coins, currency, tokens, or other monetary units or their equivalent;

(B) is located in an establishment making no direct or indirect charge for admission;

(C) is accompanied by a list which is comprised of the titles of all the musical works available for performance on it, and is affixed to the phonorecord player or posted in the establishment in a prominent position where it can be readily examined by the public; and

(D) affords a choice of works available for performance and permits the choice to be made by the patrons of the establishment in which it is located.

(2) An "operator" is any person who, alone or jointly with others—

(A) owns a coin-operated phonorecord player;

(B) has the power to make a coin-operated phonorecord player available for placement in an establishment for purposes of public performance; or

(C) has the power to exercise primary control over the selection of the musical works made available for public performance on a coin-operated phonorecord player.

Amendment history

The former version of section 116, added by § 101 of title I of the Copyright Act of 1976 (Pub. L. No. 94-553, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2541) with effect from January 1, 1978, was repealed by the Copyright Royalty Tribunal Reform Act of 1993 (Pub. L. No. 103-198, Dec. 17, 1993, 107 Stat. 2304). This version was added as section 116A by the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 (Pub. L. No. 100-568, Oct. 31, 1988, 102 Stat. 2853) and renumbered by the Copyright Royalty Tribunal Reform Act of 1993.

Copyright Royalty Tribunal Reform Act of 1993

Pub. L. No. 103-198, Dec. 17, 1993, 107 Stat. 2304

• Deleted old subsections (b), (e), (f) and (g) and renumbered old subsections (c) and (d) as new subsections (b) and (c)
• Substituted, where appropriate, "Librarian of Congress" or "copyright arbitration royalty panel" for "Copyright Royalty Tribunal."

Public Law No. 105-80

111 Stat. 1529

• Substitued new text for paragraph (b)(2).
• Added new subsection (d).

Copyright Royalty and Distribution Reform Act of 2004

Pub. L. No. 108-419, Nov. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 2341

• Substituted new text for paragraph (b)(2). Previous text read:

"(2) Arbitration.—Parties not subject to such a negotiation, may determine, by arbitration in accordance with the provisions of chapter 8, the terms and rates and the division of fees described in paragraph (1)."

• Amended title of subsection (c) by substituting "DETERMINATIONS BY COPYRIGHT ROYALTY JUDGES" for "COPYRIGHT ARBITRATION ROYALTY PANEL DETERMINATIONS".
• Amended subsection (c) by substituting "the Copyright Royalty Judges" for "a copyright arbitration royalty panel".