HR 2652, as enacted by the House of Representatives.
Collections of Information Antipriracy Act.
Passed by House of Representatives on May 19, 1998.

105th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 2652

AN ACT

To amend title 17, United States Code, to prevent the misappropriation of collections of information.

HR 2652 EH

105th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 2652

AN ACT

To amend title 17, United States Code, to prevent the misappropriation of collections of information.

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 `Collections of Information Antipiracy Act'.

SEC. 2. MISAPPROPRIATION OF COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION.

Title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new chapter:

`CHAPTER 12--MISAPPROPRIATION OF COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION

`Sec.

`1201. Definitions.

`1202. Prohibition against misappropriation.

`1203. Permitted acts.

`1204. Exclusions.

`1205. Relationship to other laws.

`1206. Civil remedies.

`1207. Criminal offenses and penalties.

`1208. Limitations on actions.

`Sec. 1201. Definitions

`As used in this chapter:

`(1) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION- The term `collection of information' means information that has been collected and has been organized for the purpose of bringing discrete items of information together in one place or through one source so that users may access them.

`(2) INFORMATION- The term `information' means facts, data, works of authorship, or any other intangible material capable of being collected and organized in a systematic way.

`(3) POTENTIAL MARKET- The term `potential market' means any market that a person claiming protection under section 1202 has current and demonstrable plans to exploit or that is commonly exploited by persons offering similar products or services incorporating collections of information.

`(4) COMMERCE- The term `commerce' means all commerce which may be lawfully regulated by the Congress.

`(5) PRODUCT OR SERVICE- A product or service incorporating a collection of information does not include a product or service incorporating a collection of information gathered, organized, or maintained to address, route, forward, transmit, or store digital online communications or provide or receive access to connections for digital online communications.

`Sec. 1202. Prohibition against misappropriation

`Any person who extracts, or uses in commerce, all or a substantial part, measured either quantitatively or qualitatively, of a collection of information gathered, organized, or maintained by another person through the investment of substantial monetary or other resources, so as to cause harm to the actual or potential market of that other person, or a successor in interest of that other person, for a product or service that incorporates that collection of information and is offered or intended to be offered for sale or otherwise in commerce by that other person, or a successor in interest of that person, shall be liable to that person or successor in interest for the remedies set forth in section 1206.

`Sec. 1203. Permitted acts

`(a) INDIVIDUAL ITEMS OF INFORMATION AND OTHER INSUBSTANTIAL PARTS- Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the extraction or use of an individual item of information, or other insubstantial part of a collection of information, in itself. An individual item of information, including a work of authorship, shall not itself be considered a substantial part of a collection of information under section 1202. Nothing in this subsection shall permit the repeated or systematic extraction or use of individual items or insubstantial parts of a collection of information so as to circumvent the prohibition contained in section 1202.

`(b) GATHERING OR USE OF INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH OTHER MEANS- Nothing in this chapter shall restrict any person from independently gathering information or using information obtained by means other than extracting it from a collection of information gathered, organized, or maintained by another person through the investment of substantial monetary or other resources.

`(c) USE OF INFORMATION FOR VERIFICATION- Nothing in this chapter shall restrict any person from extracting information, or from using information within any entity or organization, for the sole purpose of verifying the accuracy of information independently gathered, organized, or maintained by that person. Under no circumstances shall the information so extracted or used be made available to others in a manner that harms the actual or potential market for the collection of information from which it is extracted or used.

`(d) NONPROFIT EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC, OR RESEARCH USES- Nothing in this chapter shall restrict any person from extracting or using information for nonprofit educational, scientific, or research purposes in a manner that does not harm the actual or potential market for the product or service referred to in section 1202.

`(e) NEWS REPORTING- Nothing in this chapter shall restrict any person from extracting or using information for the sole purpose of news reporting, including news gathering, dissemination, and comment, unless the information so extracted or used is time sensitive, has been gathered by a news reporting entity for distribution to a particular market, and has not yet been distributed to that market, and the extraction or use is part of a consistent pattern engaged in for the purpose of direct competition in that market.

`(f) TRANSFER OF COPY- Nothing in this chapter shall restrict the owner of a particular lawfully made copy of all or part of a collection of information from selling or otherwise disposing of the possession of that copy.

`Sec. 1204. Exclusions

`(a) GOVERNMENT COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION-

`(1) EXCLUSION- Protection under this chapter shall not extend to collections of information gathered, organized, or maintained by or for a government entity, whether Federal, State, or local, including any employee or agent of such entity, or any person exclusively licensed by such entity, within the scope of the employment, agency, or license. Nothing in this subsection shall preclude protection under this chapter for information gathered, organized, or maintained by such an agent or licensee that is not within the scope of such agency or license, or by a Federal or State educational institution in the course of engaging in education or scholarship.

`(2) EXCEPTION- The exclusion under paragraph (1) does not apply to any information required to be collected and disseminated--

`(A) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by a national securities exchange, a registered securities association, or a registered securities information processor, subject to section 1205(g) of this title; or

`(B) under the Commodity Exchange Act by a contract market, subject to section 1205(g) of this title.

`(b) COMPUTER PROGRAMS-

`(1) PROTECTION NOT EXTENDED- Subject to paragraph (2), protection under this chapter shall not extend to computer programs, including, but not limited to, any computer program used in the manufacture, production, operation, or maintenance of a collection of information, or any element of a computer program necessary to its operation.

`(2) INCORPORATED COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION- A collection of information that is otherwise subject to protection under this chapter is not disqualified from such protection solely because it is incorporated into a computer program.

`Sec. 1205. Relationship to other laws

`(a) OTHER RIGHTS NOT AFFECTED- Subject to subsection (b), nothing in this chapter shall affect rights, limitations, or remedies concerning copyright, or any other rights or obligations relating to information, including laws with respect to patent, trademark, design rights, antitrust, trade secrets, privacy, access to public documents, and the law of contract.

`(b) PREEMPTION OF STATE LAW- On or after the effective date of this chapter, all rights that are equivalent to the rights specified in section 1202 with respect to the subject matter of this chapter shall be governed exclusively by Federal law, and no person is entitled to any equivalent right in such subject matter under the common law or statutes of any State. State laws with respect to trademark, design rights, antitrust, trade secrets, privacy, access to public documents, and the law of contract shall not be deemed to provide equivalent rights for purposes of this subsection.

`(c) RELATIONSHIP TO COPYRIGHT- Protection under this chapter is independent of, and does not affect or enlarge the scope, duration, ownership, or subsistence of, any copyright protection or limitation, including, but not limited to, fair use, in any work of authorship that is contained in or consists in whole or part of a collection of information. This chapter does not provide any greater protection to a work of authorship contained in a collection of information, other than a work that is itself a collection of information, than is available to that work under any other chapter of this title.

`(d) ANTITRUST- Nothing in this chapter shall limit in any way the constraints on the manner in which products and services may be provided to the public that are imposed by Federal and State antitrust laws, including those regarding single suppliers of products and services.

`(e) LICENSING- Nothing in this chapter shall restrict the rights of parties freely to enter into licenses or any other contracts with respect to the use of collections of information.

`(f) COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934- Nothing in this chapter shall affect the operation of the provisions of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.), or shall restrict any person from extracting or using subscriber list information, as such term is defined in section 222(f)(3) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222(f)(3)), for the purpose of publishing telephone directories in any format.

`(g) SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 AND COMMODITY EXCHANGE ACT- Nothing in this chapter shall affect--

`(1) the operation of the provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 58a et seq.) or the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.);

`(2) the public nature of information with respect to quotations for and transactions in securities that is collected, processed, distributed, or published pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934;

`(3) the obligations of national securities exchanges, registered securities associations, or registered information processors under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; or

`(4) the jurisdiction or authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

`Sec. 1206. Civil remedies

`(a) CIVIL ACTIONS- Any person who is injured by a violation of section 1202 may bring a civil action for such a violation in an appropriate United States district court without regard to the amount in controversy, except that any action against a State governmental entity may be brought in any court that has jurisdiction over claims against such entity.

`(b) TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT INJUNCTIONS- Any court having jurisdiction of a civil action under this section shall have the power to grant temporary and permanent injunctions, according to the principles of equity and upon such terms as the court may deem reasonable, to prevent a violation of section 1202. Any such injunction may be served anywhere in the United States on the person enjoined, and may be enforced by proceedings in contempt or otherwise by any United States district court having jurisdiction over that person.

`(c) IMPOUNDMENT- At any time while an action under this section is pending, the court may order the impounding, on such terms as it deems reasonable, of all copies of contents of a collection of information extracted or used in violation of section 1202, and of all masters, tapes, disks, diskettes, or other articles by means of which such copies may be reproduced. The court may, as part of a final judgment or decree finding a violation of section 1202, order the remedial modification or destruction of all copies of contents of a collection of information extracted or used in violation of section 1202, and of all masters, tapes, disks, diskettes, or other articles by means of which such copies may be reproduced.

`(d) MONETARY RELIEF- When a violation of section 1202 has been established in any civil action arising under this section, the plaintiff shall be entitled to recover any damages sustained by the plaintiff and defendant's profits not taken into account in computing the damages sustained by the plaintiff. The court shall assess such profits or damages or cause the same to be assessed under its direction. In assessing profits the plaintiff shall be required to prove defendant's gross revenue only; defendant must prove all elements of cost or deduction claims. In assessing damages the court may enter judgment, according to the circumstances of the case, for any sum above the amount found as actual damages, not exceeding three times such amount. The court in its discretion may award reasonable costs and attorney's fees to the prevailing party and shall award such costs and fees where it determines that an action was brought under this chapter in bad faith against a nonprofit educational, scientific, or research institution, library, or archives, or an employee or agent of such an entity, acting within the scope of his or her employment.

`(e) REDUCTION OR REMISSION OF MONETARY RELIEF FOR NONPROFIT EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC, OR RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS- The court shall reduce or remit entirely monetary relief under subsection (d) in any case in which a defendant believed and had reasonable grounds for believing that his or her conduct was permissible under this chapter, if the defendant was an employee or agent of a nonprofit educational, scientific, or research institution, library, or archives acting within the scope of his or her employment.

`(f) ACTIONS AGAINST UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT- Subsections (b) and (c) shall not apply to any action against the United States Government.

`(g) RELIEF AGAINST STATE ENTITIES- The relief provided under this section shall be available against a State governmental entity to the extent permitted by applicable law.

`Sec. 1207. Criminal offenses and penalties

`(a) VIOLATION-

`(1) IN GENERAL- Any person who violates section 1202 willfully, and--

`(A) does so for direct or indirect commercial advantage or financial gain; or

`(B) causes loss or damage aggregating $10,000 or more in any 1-year period to the person who gathered, organized, or maintained the information concerned,

shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).

`(2) INAPPLICABILITY- This section shall not apply to an employee or agent of a nonprofit educational, scientific, or research institution, library, or archives acting within the scope of his or her employment.

`(b) PENALTIES- An offense under subsection (a) shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $250,000 or imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both. A second or subsequent offense under subsection (a) shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $500,000 or imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both.

`Sec. 1208. Limitations on actions

`(a) CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS- No criminal proceeding shall be maintained under this chapter unless it is commenced within three years after the cause of action arises.

`(b) CIVIL ACTIONS- No civil action shall be maintained under this chapter unless it is commenced within three years after the cause of action arises or claim accrues.

`(c) ADDITIONAL LIMITATION- No criminal or civil action shall be maintained under this chapter for the extraction or use of all or a substantial part of a collection of information that occurs more than 15 years after the investment of resources that qualified the portion of the collection of information for protection under this chapter that is extracted or used.'.

SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

The table of chapters for title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

1201'.

SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 28, UNITED STATES CODE.

(a) DISTRICT COURT JURISDICTION- Section 1338 of title 28, United States Code, is amended--

(1) in the section heading by inserting `misappropriations of collections of information,' after `trade-marks,'; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

`(d) The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action arising under chapter 12 of title 17, relating to misappropriation of collections of information. Such jurisdiction shall be exclusive of the courts of the States, except that any action against a State governmental entity may be brought in any court that has jurisdiction over claims against such entity.'.

(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT- The item relating to section 1338 in the table of sections for chapter 85 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting `misappropriations of collections of information,' after `trade-marks,'.

(c) COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS JURISDICTION- Section 1498(e) of title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting `and to protections afforded collections of information under chapter 12 of title 17' after `chapter 9 of title 17'.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

(a) IN GENERAL- This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall apply to acts committed on or after that date.

(b) PRIOR ACTS NOT AFFECTED- No person shall be liable under chapter 12 of title 17, United States Code, as added by section 2 of this Act, for the use of information lawfully extracted from a collection of information prior to the effective date of this Act, by that person or by that person's predecessor in interest.

Passed the House of Representatives May 19, 1998.

Attest:

Clerk.