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HR 4643 IH

To provide for the special application of the antitrust laws to certain negotiations of freelance writers and freelance artists for the sale of their written and graphic material to publishers.

MAY 2, 2002

Mr. CONYERS (for himself and Mr. CANNON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

To provide for the special application of the antitrust laws to certain negotiations of freelance writers and freelance artists for the sale of their written and graphic material to publishers.

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 `Freelance Writers and Artists Protection Act of 2002'.

SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF ANTITRUST LAWS TO FREELANCE WRITERS AND FREELANCE ARTISTS.

The antitrust laws shall apply to freelance writers or freelance artists for purposes of negotiating the terms and conditions of contracts for the sale of written material or graphic material created by them to publishers, in the same manner as such laws apply to collective bargaining by employees who are members of a bargaining unit recognized under the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) to engage in collective bargaining with an employer.

SEC. 3. COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION AS PREREQUISITE TO CERTAIN REMEDIES FOR INFRINGEMENT.

Section 412(2) of title 17, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

`(2) any infringement of copyright commenced after first publication of the work and before the effective date of its registration, unless--

`(A) such registration is made within three months after the first publication of the work; or

`(B) if the work is not a work made for hire, and was first published as a contribution to a collective work, registration of the collective work was made within three months after the first publication of the collective work or prior to the infringement.'.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

For purposes of this Act:

(1) ANTITRUST LAWS- The term `antitrust laws'--

(A) has the meaning given it in subsection (a) of the first section of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12(a)), except that such term includes section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) to the extent such section 5 applies to unfair methods of competition; and

(B) includes any State law similar to any of the laws referred to in subparagraph (A).

(2) FREELANCE WRITER; FREELANCE ARTIST- The terms `freelance writer' and `freelance artist' mean an individual who creates--

(A) an article, book, essay, poem, or other written material; or

(B) a photograph, graphic art work, design, layout, chart, or other graphical material;

for present or future compensation other than on a `work made for hire' basis, but excludes such an individual to whom the National Labor Relations Act applies.

(3) PUBLISHER- The term `publisher' means a person that produces any periodical, magazine, newspaper, book, manual, advertising materials, or other similar material, whether in printed, electronic, or other form.

SEC. 5. CRIMINAL INFRINGEMENT.

(a) TITLE 17, UNITED STATES CODE- Section 506(a)(2) of title 17, United States Code, is amended by inserting `or are unpublished,' after `$1,000'.

(b) TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE- Section 2319(c)(3) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting `or are unpublished,' after `$1,000'.

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