17 U.S. Code § 106 - Exclusive rights in copyrighted works

Subject to sections 107 through 122, the owner of copyright under this title has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the following:

in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and perform the copyrighted work publicly;

in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, publicly; and

General Scope of Copyright. The five fundamental rights that the bill gives to copyright owners—the exclusive rights of reproduction, adaptation,section 106 is made “subject to sections 107 through 118”, and must be read in conjunction with those provisions.

The exclusive rights accorded to a copyright owner under section 106 are “to do and to authorize” any of the activities specified in the five numbered clauses. Use of the phrase “to authorize” is intended to avoid any questions as to the liability of contributory infringers. For example, a person who lawfully acquires an authorized copy of a motion picture would be an infringer if he or she engages in the business of renting it to others for purposes of unauthorized public performance.

Rights of Reproduction, Adaptation, and 1 U.S.C. § 1).

Reproduction.—Read together with the relevant definitions in section 101, the right “to reproduce the copyrighted work in section 106 is to be distinguished from Preparation of Derivative Works.—The exclusive right to prepare derivative works, specified separately in clause (2) of section 106, overlaps the exclusive right of reproduction to some extent. It is broader than that right, however, in the sense that reproduction requires fixation in Use in Information Storage and Retrieval Systems.—As section 117 declares explicitly, the bill is not intended to alter the present law with respect to the use of copyrighted works in computer systems.

Public Distribution.—Clause (3) of section 106 establishes the exclusive right of Rights of Public Performance and Right of Public section 106 represents the first explicit statutory recognition in American copyright law of an exclusive right to show a copyrighted work, or an image of it, to the public. The existence or extent of this right under the present statute is uncertain and subject to challenge. The bill would give the owners of copyright in “literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works”,section 101. Certain other performances andUnder clause (1) of the definition of “ Editorial Notes

Amendments

2002—Pub. L. 107–273 substituted “122” for “121” in introductory provisions.

1999—Pub. L. 106–44 substituted “121” for “120” in introductory provisions.

1990—Pub. L. 101–650 substituted “120” for “119” in introductory provisions.

Pub. L. 101–318 substituted “119” for “118” in introductory provisions.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries Effective Date of 1995 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 104–39 effective 3 months after Nov. 1, 1995 , see section 6 of Pub. L. 104–39, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.

Effective Date of 1990 Amendment

“The amendment made by subsection (d) [amending this section] shall be effective as of November 16, 1988 .”

Performing Rights Society Consent Decrees “(a) Definition.— In this section, the term ‘section 101 of title 17, United “(b) Notification of Review.— “(1) In general.—

The Department of Justice shall provide timely briefings upon request of any Member of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives regarding the status of a review in progress of a consent decree between the United “(2) Confidentiality and deliberative process.—

“(c) Action Before Motion to Terminate.—

“(1) In general.— Before filing with the appropriate district court of the United Department of Justice shall—

notify Members of Congress and committees of Congress described in subsection (b); and

provide to such Members of Congress and committees information regarding the impact of the proposed termination on the market for licensing the public performance of musical works should the motion be granted.

“(2) Notification.— “(A) In general.—

“(B) Contents.— The notification provided in subparagraph (A) shall include a written report to the chairmen and ranking members of the Committee on the Judiciary of [the] Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives setting forth—

an explanation of the Department of Justice to review the consent decree;

a summary of the public comments received by the Department of Justice during the review by the Department; and