119-hr4017

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4017 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 4017

 To amend title 17, United States Code, to secure the rights of visual 
 artists to copyright, to provide for resale royalties, and for other 
 purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 June 17, 2025

 Mr. Nadler (for himself and Ms. Chu) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend title 17, United States Code, to secure the rights of visual 
 artists to copyright, to provide for resale royalties, and for other 
 purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``American Royalties Too Act of 
2025''.

SEC. 2. RESALE ROYALTY.

    (a) Collection of Resale Royalty for Visual Art.--Chapter 1 of 
title 17, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

section 106A the following:
``

Sec. 106B. Collection of resale royalty for visual art
 ``

    (a) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:
 ``

    (1) Art market professional.--The term `art market 
 professional' means a person engaged in the business of buying 
 and selling works of visual art to the public.
 ``

    (2) Author's successor.--The term `author's successor' 
 means an individual who holds the right of the author of a work 
 of visual art to the resale royalty after the death of the 
 author as defined under subsection

    (e)

    (3) .
 ``

    (3) Commercial resale.--The term `commercial resale' 
 means a sale of a resale copy of a work of visual art by, or 
 with the intervention of, an art market professional, 
 subsequent to the first sale of that copy.
 ``

    (4) Price.--The term `price' means the aggregate of all 
 payments in cash, credit, or in-kind by or on behalf of a 
 purchaser, excluding any fees for services rendered by the art 
 market professional in connection with such sale.
 ``

    (5) Resale copy.--The term `resale copy', for the 
 purposes of this section, means the material object in which 
 the work of visual art is fixed by or under the authority of 
 the author, in a single or limited edition.
 ``

    (6) Visual artists' collecting societies.--The term 
 `visual artists' collecting societies' means entities that have 
 been designated to administer the resale royalty under this 
 section.
 ``

    (b) Collection Generally.--Independent of the exclusive rights 
provided in 

section 106, the author of a work of visual art shall be 
entitled to a royalty for the commercial resale of a resale copy of the 
work by a person other than the author or the author's successor for a 
price of $5,000 or more.
 ``
            (c) Duration.--The entitlement to a resale royalty shall subsist 
simultaneously with and for the duration of the term of copyright 
protection afforded to the work of visual art pursuant to chapter 3 of 
this title.
 ``
            (d) Calculation and Payment of Royalty.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--The royalty for the sale of a resale 
 copy of a work of visual art under this section shall be an 
 amount equal to the lesser of--
 ``
        (A) 5 percent of the price paid for the resale 
 copy of the work of visual art in that sale; or
 ``
        (B) $50,000.
 ``

    (2) Adjustment of amount.--In 2022 and each year 
 thereafter, the dollar amount described in paragraph

    (1)
        (B) shall be increased by an amount equal to the product of--
 ``
        (A) that dollar amount; and
 ``
        (B) the cost-of-living adjustment determined 
 under 

section 1

    (f)

    (3)
        (A) of the Internal Revenue Code 
 of 1986 for the year, determined by substituting `the 
 C-CPI-U for calendar year 2024' for `the CPI for 
 calendar year 2024' and all that follows in clause
            (ii) of that section.
 ``

    (e) Collection and Payment of Royalty.--
 ``

    (1) Collection.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
 the final payment for the purchase of the resale copy of the 
 work of visual art, the art market professional shall pay the 
 resale royalty calculated under subsection
            (d) to such visual 
 artists' collecting societies as are designated by the Register 
 of Copyrights under subsection
            (i) .
 ``

    (2) Distribution.--Not fewer than four times each year at 
 quarterly intervals, any visual artists' collecting society to 
 which payments are made under paragraph

    (1) shall distribute to 
 the author or the author's successor as copyright owner in an 
 amount equal to the difference between--
 ``
        (A) all royalties attributable to the sales of 
 resale copies of works of visual art by the author; and
 ``
        (B) the reasonable administrative expenses of the 
 collecting society as determined by regulations issued 
 under subsection
            (i) .
 ``

    (3) Successors.--In a case in which an author is dead, 
 the right of that author to the resale royalty shall transfer 
 as bequeathed by will. In the absence of a will, the right 
 shall be apportioned as follows:
 ``
        (A) The widow or widower is entitled to the 
 entire royalty of the author unless there are any 
 surviving children or grandchildren of the author, in 
 which case the widow or widower is entitled to one-half 
 of the author's royalty.
 ``
        (B) Any surviving child of the author, and any 
 surviving child of any dead child of the author, is 
 entitled to the royalty of the author in accordance 
 with this section as follows:
 ``
            (i) A single surviving child of the 
 author or single surviving grandchild that is 
 the child of a deceased child of the author is 
 entitled to the entire royalty of the author if 
 there is no surviving spouse.
 ``
            (ii) If there is no surviving spouse and 
 more than one child of the author, alive or 
 dead, each child is entitled to an equal share 
 of the royalty, and the share of any deceased 
 child shall be split equally among all 
 surviving grandchildren that descend from the 
 deceased child.
 ``
            (iii) If there is a surviving spouse, 
 each child of the author is entitled to an 
 equal share of one-half of the royalty, and the 
 share of any deceased child shall be split 
 equally among all surviving grandchildren that 
 descend from the deceased child.
 ``
            (C) In the event that the author's widow or 
 widower, children, and grandchildren are not living, 
 the entitlement to collect a resale royalty is 
 extinguished.
 ``
            (D) Where a work of visual art is a joint work, 
 each joint author is entitled to an equal share of any 
 resale royalty. Where an author who is a joint author 
 is dead, his or her share of any resale royalty shall 
 be apportioned among his or her successors in 
 accordance with this paragraph

    (3) .
 ``

    (4) Unclaimed royalties.--
 ``
        (A) Escrow.--Subject to subparagraph
        (B) , if, 
 after a good faith effort, a visual artists' collecting 
 society is not able to make a timely distribution under 
 paragraph

    (2) because the collecting society is unable 
 to locate the author or the author's successor, the 
 collecting society shall--
 ``
            (i) deposit the amount that would have 
 been distributed to the author or authors' 
 successor into an interest-bearing escrow 
 account until the author or the author's 
 successor has been identified and located, and 
 continue to make reasonable good faith efforts 
 to identify and locate the author or author's 
 successor, including by administering and 
 publicizing, including on the visual artists' 
 collecting society's website, a process by 
 which authors or the author's successor can 
 claim any royalty due under this subsection; 
 and
 ``
            (ii) upon locating the author or author's 
 successor, distribute the amount described in 
 clause
            (i) , including interest, to the author 
 or author's successor.
 ``
        (B) Transfer.--If the author or the author's 
 successor is not located during the 3-year period 
 beginning on the date on which the sale of the resale 
 copy of the work of visual art covered under this 
 section occurs, the amount that would have been 
 distributed to the author or the author's successor 
 under paragraph

    (2) shall be transferred to the 
 Copyright Office for the purposes of developing and 
 conducting programs and educational initiatives in 
 support of artists in the United States. Distribution 
 of funds under this subparagraph satisfies the 
 obligations of the visual artists' collecting society 
 under this subsection with respect to those funds.
 ``

    (5) Administration.--Visual artists' collecting societies 
 shall administer all amounts collected under this subsection in 
 accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
 ``

    (f) Failure To Pay or Distribute Royalty.--
 ``

    (1) Right of action.--
 ``
        (A) If an art market professional fails to pay a 
 royalty in accordance with subsection

    (e) to a visual 
 artists' collecting society designated by the Register 
 of Copyrights, such a society, either by itself or 
 jointly with any other such society, may bring an 
 action in a district court of the United States to 
 recover an amount equal to the amount of the royalty 
 and attorney's fees but if no such society exercises 
 this right within one year from the date payment is 
 due, the author or author's successors may within three 
 years from the date payment is due bring an action in a 
 district court of the United States to recover an 
 amount equal to three times the amount of the royalty 
 and attorney's fees.
 ``
        (B) If a visual artists' collecting society to 
 which a royalty payment is made under section

    (e)

    (1) fails to distribute the royalty in accordance with 
 subsection

    (e)

    (2) or

    (3) , the author or author's 
 successors may within three years from the date the 
 society received the royalty payment bring an action in 
 a district court of the United States to recover an 
 amount equal to three times the amount of the royalty 
 and attorney's fees.
 ``

    (2) Collecting societies.--With the permission of the 
 person to whom the resale royalty is due under paragraph

    (1) , 
 visual artists' collecting societies may bring a suit on that 
 person's behalf under this subsection.
 ``

    (3) Exclusive remedies.--The remedies provided under this 
 subsection shall be the exclusive remedies for a failure to pay 
 or distribute a royalty in accordance with subsection

    (e) .
 ``

    (g) No Transfers.--The entitlement to a royalty under this 
section may not be sold, assigned, or otherwise transferred or waived.
 ``

    (h) Eligibility To Receive Royalty Payment.--Any visual artists' 
collecting society that collects a royalty under this section for the 
sale of a resale copy of a work of visual art shall distribute the 
royalty to--
 ``

    (1) any author of the work of visual art--
 ``
        (A) who is a citizen of or domiciled in the 
 United States;
 ``
        (B) who is a citizen of or domiciled in a country 
 that provides a royalty for the resale of a resale copy 
 of a work of visual art; or
 ``
            (C) whose work of visual art is first created in 
 the United States or in a country that provides a 
 royalty for the resale of a copy of a work of visual 
 art; or
 ``

    (2) the successor of an author described in paragraph

    (1) .
 ``
            (i) Regulations.--The Register of Copyrights may conduct such 
proceedings and adopt such regulations as necessary or appropriate to 
effectuate the provisions of this section, including to--
 ``

    (1) establish a process by which entities are designated 
 as a visual artists' collecting societies authorized to 
 administer royalty collections and distributions under this 
 section, which process shall require such entities to--
 ``
        (A) have experience in licensing the copyrights 
 of authors of works of visual art in the United States; 
 or
 ``
        (B) have experience in collecting, maintaining, 
 and distributing monies on behalf of artists in 
 accordance with generally accepted accounting 
 principles;
 ``

    (2) determine the reasonable administrative expenses that 
 the visual artists' collecting societies may deduct from the 
 royalties payable under subsection

    (e)

    (2)
        (B) ;
 ``

    (3) establish a process by which--
 ``
        (A) visual artists' collecting societies may 
 obtain from any art market professional the sale price, 
 date of sale, and other such information as the 
 Register of Copyrights deems appropriate, for each sale 
 of a resale copy of a work of visual art covered by 
 this section; and
 ``
        (B) an author of a work of visual art or, if the 
 author is dead, the author's successor may obtain from 
 visual artists' collecting societies any information in 
 the possession of the collecting societies, including 
 the information obtained under clause
        (A) and the 
 amount of any royalty paid to the collecting societies, 
 that relates to a sale of any resale copies of such 
 author's work; and
 ``

    (4) establish a process by which the visual artists' 
 collecting societies may lose their designation as such if, in 
 the judgment of the Register, the entity fails to substantially 
 carry out the duties of a visual artist's collecting society or 
 fails to comply with the appropriate standards of conduct under 
 this section or any applicable regulations adopted by the 
 Register.
 ``

    (j) Closest Alternative Designation.--If the Register is unable 
to identify an entity that fulfills each of the qualifications set 
forth in clauses
        (A) through
        (B) in section
            (i) (1) , or if an entity is 
identified and the Register finds cause not to designate such entity, 
the Register may designate any entity that most nearly fulfills such 
qualifications for purposes of carrying out the responsibilities of the 
visual artists' collecting societies and for which the Register does 
not find cause not to designate. If the Register judges that no entity 
nearly fulfills the qualifications for the purposes of carrying out the 
responsibilities of the visual artists' collecting societies, then the 
Register may promulgate regulations for an alternative method for 
collecting and distributing resale royalties.''.

    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 1 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to 

section 106A the following:

``106B. Collection of resale royalty for visual art.''.

SEC. 3. NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT.

 

Section 401 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
 ``

    (e) Non-Applicability to Works of Visual Art.--The provisions of 
this section shall not apply to a work of visual art.''.

SEC. 4. STUDY REQUIRED.

 Not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Register of Copyrights shall conduct a study on the implementation 
of this Act and submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 
and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a 
report on the results, including any recommendations for legislation.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on 
the date that is one year after the date of enactment of this Act.
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