United States · Bill · HR
H.R. 848 (111th)
Performance Rights Act
Introduced
4 February 2009
Last action
—
Status
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 405.
Sponsors
—
Subjects
Discovery layer
Source updated
7 April 2025
Summary
Performance Rights Act - Amends federal copyright law to: (1) grant performers of sound recordings equal rights to compensation from terrestrial broadcasters; (2) establish a flat annual fee in lieu of payment of royalties for individual terrestrial broadcast stations with gross revenues of less than $1.25 million and for noncommercial, public broadcast stations; (3) grant an exemption from royalty payments for broadcasts of religious services and for incidental uses of musical sound recordings; and (4) grant terrestrial broadcast stations that make limited feature uses of sound recordings a per program license option. Prohibits taking into account license fees payable for public performance via digital audio transmission of sound recordings in any proceeding to set or adjust the license fees for the purpose of reducing or adversely affecting such license fees. (Current law prohibits taking those fees into account in such a proceeding without referencing the purpose.) Prohibits anything in this Act from adversely affecting the public performance rights or royalties payable to songwriters or copyright owners of musical works. Prohibits taking into account the rates established by the Copyright Royalty Judges in any proceeding to reduce or adversely affect the license fees payable for public performances by terrestrial broadcast stations. Requires that such license fees for the public performance of musical works be independent of license fees paid for the public performance of sound recordings. Revises provisions relating to proceeds from the licensing of transmissions.
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Documents
6 official files
Reported in House (text)
Reported in House (text)
Reported in House · EN · 14 December 2010
Reported in House (PDF)
Reported in House · EN · 14 December 2010
Reported to House with amendment(s)
summary · EN · 14 December 2010
Introduced in House (text)
Introduced in House · EN · 4 February 2009
Introduced in House (PDF)
Introduced in House · EN · 4 February 2009
Introduced in House
summary · EN · 4 February 2009
Sponsors
No sponsors or actors listed by the source.
Related records
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Sources
PoliticalRepo is an index and interpretation layer, not the authoritative legal source.
- Official source: https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/house-bill/848
- Open data entity: https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/111/hr/848