CLASSICS Act

The CLASSICS Act or Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, and Important Contributions to Society Act (H.R.3301) is proposed legislation of the 115th United States Congress to amend title 17 of the United States Code, to provide Federal protection to the digital audio transmission of a sound recording fixed before February 15, 1972, and for other purposes.[1]

Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, and Important Contributions to Society Act
Full titleTo amend title 17, United States Code, to provide Federal protection to the digital audio transmission of a sound recording fixed before February 15, 1972, and for other purposes.
Colloquial name(s)CLASSICS Act
Introduced in115th United States Congress
Introduced onJuly 19, 2017
Sponsored byDarrell E. Issa
Number of co-sponsors44
Legislative history
  • Introduced in the House as H.R. 3301 by Darrell Issa (R-CA) on July 19, 2017
  • Committee consideration by: House Committee on the Judiciary.
  • Signed into law by President Donald Trump on October 11, 2018

The bill was first introduced in the House of Representatives on July 19, 2017 by Representative Darrell Issa. A companion bill (S.2393) was introduced in the Senate by Senator Chris Coons on February 7, 2018.[2]

The CLASSICS Act was consolidated into the Music Modernization Act (H.R.5447) on April 10, 2018. The Music Modernization Act passed in the House of Representatives on April 26, 2018,[3] and passed the Senate on September 18, 2018, with the Senate renaming the bill the "Orrin G. Hatch Music Modernization Act" after Senator Orrin Hatch.[4] The Music Modernization Act, with the CLASSICS Act encoded as Title II within it, was signed into law by President Donald Trump on October 11, 2018.[5]

Previously, sound recordings made before February 15, 1972 were not covered by federal copyright protection. Some states granted these recordings copyright protection and some did not. The CLASSICS Act was designed to address the patchwork of laws in different jurisdictions.[6] The law grants copyright protection of the recordings until February 15, 2067, effectively giving up to 144 years of protection to early recordings.[7]

The Music Modernization Act was revised to allow older songs to enter the public domain. Recordings made before 1923 would enter the public domain after a 3-year period, with recordings from 1923 to 1956 entering within the next few decades. Recordings from 1957 to 1972 will be protected until 2067.[8]

References
  1. "H.R.3301 - CLASSICS Act". Congress.gov. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  2. "S.2393 - CLASSICS Act". Congress.gov. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  3. "H.R.5447 - Music Modernization Act". Congress.gov. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  4. Daehl, Dani (September 18, 2018). "Senate passes Music Modernization Act". The Verge. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  5. Deahl, Dani (October 11, 2018). "The Music Modernization Act has been signed into law". The Verge. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  6. Johnson, Ted. "Senators Introduce Bill to Extend Copyright to Classic Recordings". Variety.com. Variety Media, LLC. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  7. Bailey, Jonathan. "Understanding the CLASSICS Act". Plagiarismtoday.com. Jonathan Bailey. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  8. Stoltz, Mitch (September 19, 2018). "The New Music Modernization Act Has a Major Fix: Older Recordings Will Belong to the Public, Orphan Recordings Will Be Heard Again". Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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