Sec. 4001. Assumption of contractual obligations related to
transfers of rights in motion pictures
- (a) Assumption of Obligations. - (1) In the case of a
transfer of copyright ownership under United States law in a motion picture
(as the terms ''transfer of copyright ownership'' and ''motion picture'' are
defined in section 101 of
title 17) that is produced subject to 1 or more collective bargaining
agreements negotiated under the laws of the United States, if the transfer is
executed on or after the effective date of this chapter and is not limited to
public performance rights, the transfer instrument shall be deemed to
incorporate the assumption agreements applicable to the copyright ownership
being transferred that are required by the applicable collective bargaining
agreement, and the transferee shall be subject to the obligations under each
such assumption agreement to make residual payments and provide related
notices, accruing after the effective date of the transfer and applicable to
the exploitation of the rights transferred, and any remedies under each such
assumption agreement for breach of those obligations, as those obligations and
remedies are set forth in the applicable collective bargaining agreement, if -
- (A) the transferee knows or has reason to know at the
time of
the transfer that such collective bargaining agreement was or
will be applicable to the motion picture; or
- (B) in the event of a court order confirming an
arbitration
award against the transferor under the collective bargaining
agreement, the transferor does not have the financial ability to
satisfy the award within 90 days after the order is issued.
- (2) For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), ''knows or has
reason to know'' means any of the following:
- (A) Actual knowledge that the collective bargaining
agreement
was or will be applicable to the motion picture.
- (B)
- (i) Constructive knowledge that the collective bargaining
agreement was or will be applicable to the motion picture,
arising
from recordation of a document pertaining to copyright in
the motion
picture under section 205 of
title 17 or from
publication, at a site available to the public
on-line that is
operated by the relevant union, of information that
identifies
the motion picture as subject to a collective bargaining
agreement with that union, if the site permits commercially
reasonable verification of the date on which the information was
available for access.
- (ii) Clause (i) applies only if the transfer
referred to in
subsection (a)(1) occurs -
- (I) after the motion picture is completed, or
- (II) before the motion picture is completed and -
- (aa) within 18 months before the filing of an application
for copyright registration for the motion picture under
section 408 of
title 17, or
- (bb) if no such application is filed, within 18 months
before the first publication of the motion picture in the
United
States.
- (C) Awareness of other facts and circumstances
pertaining to a
particular transfer from which it is apparent that the
collective
bargaining agreement was or will be applicable to the motion
picture.
- (b) Scope of Exclusion of Transfers of Public Performance
Rights. - For purposes of this section, the exclusion under subsection (a) of
transfers of copyright ownership in a motion picture that are limited to
public performance rights includes transfers to a terrestrial broadcast
station, cable system, or programmer to the extent that the station, system,
or programmer is functioning as an exhibitor of the motion picture, either by
exhibiting the motion picture on its own network, system, service, or station,
or by initiating the transmission of an exhibition that is carried on another
network, system, service, or station. When a terrestrial broadcast station,
cable system, or programmer, or other transferee, is also functioning
otherwise as a distributor or as a producer of the motion picture, the public
performance exclusion does not affect any obligations imposed on the
transferee to the extent that it is engaging in such functions.
- (c) Exclusion for Grants of Security Interests. - Subsection
(a) shall not apply to -
- (1) a transfer of copyright ownership consisting solely
of a
mortgage, hypothecation, or other security interest; or
- (2) a subsequent transfer of the copyright ownership
secured by
the security interest described in paragraph (1) by or under
the
authority of the secured party, including a transfer through the
exercise of the secured party's rights or remedies as a secured
party, or by a subsequent transferee. The exclusion under this
subsection shall not affect any rights or remedies under law or contract.
- (d) Deferral Pending Resolution of Bona Fide Dispute. - A
transferee on which obligations are imposed under subsection (a) by virtue of
paragraph (1) of that subsection may elect to defer performance of such
obligations that are subject to a bona fide dispute between a union and a
prior transferor until that dispute is resolved, except that such deferral
shall not stay accrual of any union claims due under an applicable collective
bargaining agreement.
- (e) Scope of Obligations Determined by Private Agreement. -
Nothing in this section shall expand or diminish the rights, obligations, or
remedies of any person under the collective bargaining agreements or
assumption agreements referred to in this section.
- (f) Failure To Notify. - If the transferor under subsection
(a) fails to notify the transferee under subsection (a) of applicable
collective bargaining obligations before the execution of the transfer
instrument, and subsection (a) is made applicable to the transferee solely by
virtue of subsection (a)(1)(B), the transferor shall be liable to the
transferee for any damages suffered by the transferee as a result of the
failure to notify.
- (g) Determination of Disputes and Claims. - Any dispute
concerning the application of subsections (a) through (f) shall be determined
by an action in United States district court, and the court in its discretion
may allow the recovery of full costs by or against any party and may also
award a reasonable attorney's fee to the prevailing party as part of the
costs.
- (h) Study. - The Comptroller General, in consultation with
the Register of Copyrights, shall conduct a study of the conditions in the
motion picture industry that gave rise to this section, and the impact of this
section on the motion picture industry. The Comptroller General shall report
the findings of the study to the Congress within 2 years after the effective
date of this chapter.
[Updates |
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