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United States · Bill · S

S. 1739 (99th)

Home Audio Recording Act

openUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

7 October 1985

Last action

4 August 1986 · Committee

Status

Committee on Judiciary. Hearings held.

Sponsors

Sen. Mathias, Charles McC., Jr. [R-MD], Sen. Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT], Sen. D'Amato, Alfonse [R-NY], Sen. Wilson, Pete [R-CA], Sen. Cochran, Thad [R-MS], Sen. Kennedy, Edward M. [D-MA], Sen. Cranston, Alan [D-CA], Sen. Sasser, Jim [D-TN], Sen. Gore, Albert, Jr. [D-TN], Sen. Simon, Paul [D-IL], Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT]

Subjects

Discovery layer

Source updated

10 August 2026

Official sourceView documentsShare

Summary

Home Audio Recording Act - Amends the copyright law to exempt from liability for infringement of copyright any individual who makes an audio recording of a musical work or sound recording solely for private household use. Requires the compulsory licensing of manufacturers and importers of audio recording devices and media. Sets forth procedures for: (1) determining royalty fees to be paid by such manufacturers and importers; and (2) distributing such fees to the owners of copyright of sound recordings included in radio or television transmissions or distributed in the form of phonorecords. Provides for the determination of royalty fees by: (1) voluntary negotiation between importers and manufacturers and representatives of copyright owners; or (2) Copyright Royalty Tribunal proceedings when a voluntary agreement is not reached. Specifies criteria to be considered by the Tribunal in determining royalty fees.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

  1. 7 October 1985

    Introduced

    Read twice and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

    Source: IntroReferral

  2. 7 October 1985

    Introduced

    Introduced in Senate

    Source: IntroReferral

  3. 16 October 1985

    Referred

    Referred to Subcommittee on Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks.

    Source: Committee

  4. 30 October 1985

    Committee

    Subcommittee on Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks. Hearings held.

    Source: Committee

  5. 25 March 1986

    Committee

    Subcommittee on Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks. Hearings held.

    Source: Committee

  6. 21 May 1986

    Committee

    Subcommittee on Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks. Approved for full committee consideration with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.

    Source: Committee

  7. 4 August 1986

    Committee

    Committee on Judiciary. Hearings held.

    Source: Committee

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

No version snapshots stored. Document URLs remain at the source.

Documents

1 official file

Leesvertaling

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Sponsors

Related records

No cross-record relationships stored yet.

Sources

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