17 U.S.C. § 509 — Untitled legal text

Page 173 TITLE 17—COPYRIGHTS § 510 Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1990 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 101–650 effective 6 months after Dec. 1, 1990, see section 610 of Pub. L. 101–650, set out as an Effective Date note under section 106A of this title. § 507. Limitations on actions (a) CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS.—Except as ex- pressly provided otherwise in this title, no criminal proceeding shall be maintained under the provisions of this title unless it is com- menced within 5 years after the cause of action arose. (b) CIVIL ACTIONS.—No civil action shall be maintained under the provisions of this title un- less it is commenced within three years after the claim accrued. (Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2586; Pub. L. 105–147, § 2(c), Dec. 16, 1997, 111 Stat. 2678; Pub. L. 105–304, title I, § 102(e), Oct. 28, 1998, 112 Stat. 2863.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES HOUSE REPORT NO. 94–1476 Section 507, which is substantially identical with sec- tion 115 of the present law [section 115 of former title 17], establishes a three-year statute of limitations for both criminal proceedings and civil actions. The lan- guage of this section, which was adopted by the act of September 7, 1957 (71 Stat. 633) [Pub. L. 85–313, § 1, Sept. 7, 1957, 71 Stat. 633], represents a reconciliation of views, and has therefore been left unaltered. Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1998—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–304 substituted ‘‘Except as expressly provided otherwise in this title, no’’ for ‘‘No’’. 1997—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–147 substituted ‘‘5’’ for ‘‘three’’. § 508. Notification of filing and determination of actions (a) Within one month after the filing of any action under this title, the clerks of the courts of the United States shall send written notifica- tion to the Register of Copyrights setting forth, as far as is shown by the papers filed in the court, the names and addresses of the parties and the title, author, and registration number of each work involved in the action. If any other copyrighted work is later included in the action by amendment, answer, or other pleading, the clerk shall also send a notification concerning it to the Register within one month after the pleading is filed. (b) Within one month after any final order or judgment is issued in the case, the clerk of the court shall notify the Register of it, sending with the notification a copy of the order or judg- ment together with the written opinion, if any, of the court. (c) Upon receiving the notifications specified in this section, the Register shall make them a part of the public records of the Copyright Of- fice. (Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2586.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES HOUSE REPORT NO. 94–1476 Section 508, which corresponds to some extent with a provision in the patent law (35 U.S.C. 290), is intended to establish a method for notifying the Copyright Of- fice and the public of the filing and disposition of copy- right cases. The clerks of the Federal courts are to no- tify the Copyright Office of the filing of any copyright actions and of their final disposition, and the Copyright Office is to make these notifications a part of its public records. [§ 509. Repealed. Pub. L. 110–403, title II, § 201(b)(1), Oct. 13, 2008, 122 Stat. 4260] Section, Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2587; Pub. L. 105–80, § 12(a)(14), Nov. 13, 1997, 111 Stat. 1535, related to seizure and forfeiture. § 510. Remedies for alteration of programming by cable systems (a) In any action filed pursuant to section 111(c)(3), the following remedies shall be avail- able: (1) Where an action is brought by a party identified in subsections (b) or (c) of section 501, the remedies provided by sections 502 through 505, and the remedy provided by sub- section (b) of this section; and (2) When an action is brought by a party identified in subsection (d) of section 501, the remedies provided by sections 502 and 505, to- gether with any actual damages suffered by such party as a result of the infringement, and the remedy provided by subsection (b) of this section. (b) In any action filed pursuant to section 111(c)(3), the court may decree that, for a period not to exceed thirty days, the cable system shall be deprived of the benefit of a statutory license for one or more distant signals carried by such cable system. (Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2587; Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(9) [title I, § 1011(a)(1), (3)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A–543.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES HOUSE REPORT NO. 94–1476 Section 509(b) specifies a new discretionary remedy for alteration of programming by cable systems in vio- lation of section 111(c)(3): the court in such cases may decree that, ‘‘for a period not to exceed thirty days, the cable system shall be deprived of the benefit of a com- pulsory license for one or more distant signals carried by such cable system.’’ The term ‘‘distant signals’’ in this provision is intended to have a meaning consistent with the definition of ‘‘distant signal equivalent’’ in section 111. Under section 509(a), four types of plaintiffs are enti- tled to bring an action in cases of alteration of pro- gramming by cable systems in violation of section 111(c)(3). For regular copyright owners and local broad- caster-licensees, the full battery of remedies for in- fringement would be available. The two new classes of potential plaintiffs under section 501(d)—the distant- signal transmitter and other local stations—would be limited to the following remedies: (i) discretionary in- junctions; (ii) discretionary costs and attorney’s fees; (iii) any actual damages the plaintiff can prove were attributable to the act of altering program content; and (iv) the new discretionary remedy of suspension of compulsory licensing.