17
U.S.C. § 110. Limitations on exclusive
rights: Exemption of certain performances and displays
Notwithstanding
the provisions of section 106, the following are not infringements of
copyright:
(1) performance or display of a work by
instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities of a
nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to
instruction, unless, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work,
the performance, or the display of individual images, is given by means of a
copy that was not lawfully made under this title, and that the person
responsible for the performance knew or had reason to believe was not lawfully
made;
(2) performance of a nondramatic literary
or musical work or display of a work, by or in the course of a transmission,
if--
(A) the performance or display is a
regular part of the systematic instructional activities of a governmental body
or a nonprofit educational institution; and
(B) the performance or display is
directly related and of material assistance to the teaching content of the
transmission; and
(C) the transmission is made primarily
for--
(i) reception in classrooms or
similar places normally devoted to instruction, or
(ii) reception by persons to whom the
transmission is directed because their disabilities or other special
circumstances prevent their attendance in classrooms or similar places normally
devoted to instruction, or
(iii) reception by officers or
employees of governmental bodies as a part of their official duties or
employment;
(3) performance of a nondramatic literary
or musical work or of a dramatico-musical work of a religious nature, or
display of a work, in the course of services at a place of worship or other
religious assembly;
(4) performance of a nondramatic literary
or musical work otherwise than in a transmission to the public, without any
purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage and without payment of any
fee or other compensation for the performance to any of its performers,
promoters, or organizers, if--
(A) there is no direct or indirect
admission charge; or
(B) the proceeds, after deducting the
reasonable costs of producing the performance, are used exclusively for
educational, religious, or charitable purposes and not for private financial
gain, except where the copyright owner has served notice of objection to the
performance under the following conditions;
(i) the notice shall be in writing
and signed by the copyright owner or such owner's duly authorized agent; and
(ii) the notice shall be served on
the person responsible for the performance at least seven days before the date
of the performance, and shall state the reasons for the objection; and
(iii) the notice shall comply, in
form, content, and manner of service, with requirements that the Register of
Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation;
(5) (A) except as provided in subparagraph
(B), communication of a transmission embodying a performance or display of a
work by the public reception of the transmission on a single receiving
apparatus of a kind commonly used in private homes, unless--
(i) a direct charge is made to see or
hear the transmission; or
(ii) the transmission thus received
is further transmitted to the public;
(B) communication by an establishment of
a transmission or retransmission embodying a performance or display of a
nondramatic musical work intended to be received by the general public,
originated by a radio or television broadcast station licensed as such by the
Federal Communications Commission, or, if an audiovisual transmission, by a cable
system or satellite carrier, if--
(i) in the case of an establishment
other than a food service or drinking establishment, either the establishment
in which the communication occurs has less than 2,000 gross square feet of
space (excluding space used for customer parking and for no other purpose), or
the establishment in which the communication occurs has 2,000 or more gross
square feet of space (excluding space used for customer parking and for no
other purpose) and--
(I) if the performance is by audio
means only, the performance is communicated by means of a total of not more
than 6 loudspeakers, of which not more than 4 loudspeakers are located in any 1
room or adjoining outdoor space; or
(II) if the performance or display
is by audiovisual means, any visual portion of the performance or display is
communicated by means of a total of not more than 4 audiovisual devices, of
which not more than 1 audiovisual device is located in any 1 room, and no such
audiovisual device has a diagonal screen size greater than 55 inches, and any
audio portion of the performance or display is communicated by means of a total
of not more than 6 loudspeakers, of which not more than 4 loudspeakers are
located in any 1 room or adjoining outdoor space;
(ii) in the case of a food service or
drinking establishment, either the establishment in which the communication
occurs has less than 3,750 gross square feet of space (excluding space used for
customer parking and for no other purpose), or the establishment in which the
communication occurs has 3,750 gross
square feet of space or more (excluding space used for customer parking and for
no other purpose) and--
(I) if the performance is by audio
means only, the performance is communicated by means of a total of not more
than 6 loudspeakers, of which not more than 4 loudspeakers are located in any 1
room or adjoining outdoor space; or
(II) if the performance or display
is by audiovisual means, any visual portion of the performance or display is
communicated by means of a total of not more than 4 audiovisual devices, of
which not more than one audiovisual device is located in any 1 room, and no
such audiovisual device has a diagonal screen size greater than 55 inches, and
any audio portion of the performance or display is communicated by means of a
total of not more than 6 loudspeakers, of which not more than 4 loudspeakers
are located in any 1 room or adjoining outdoor space;
(iii) no direct charge is made to see
or hear the transmission or retransmission;
(iv) the transmission or
retransmission is not further transmitted beyond the establishment where it is
received; and
(v) the transmission or
retransmission is licensed by the copyright owner of the work so publicly
performed or displayed;
(6) performance of a nondramatic musical
work by a governmental body or a nonprofit agricultural or horticultural
organization, in the course of an annual agricultural or horticultural fair or
exhibition conducted by such body or organization; the exemption provided by
this clause shall extend to any liability for copyright infringement that would
otherwise be imposed on such body or organization, under doctrines of vicarious
liability or related infringement, for a performance by a concessionnaire,
business establishment, or other person at such fair or exhibition, but shall
not excuse any such person from liability for the performance;
(7) performance of a nondramatic musical
work by a vending establishment open to the public at large without any direct
or indirect admission charge, where the sole purpose of the performance is to
promote the retail sale of copies or phonorecords of the work, or of the
audiovisual or other devices utilized in such performance, and the performance
is not transmitted beyond the place where the establishment is located and is
within the immediate area where the sale is occurring;
(8) performance of a nondramatic literary
work, by or in the course of a transmission specifically designed for and
primarily directed to blind or other handicapped persons who are unable to read
normal printed material as a result of their handicap, or deaf or other
handicapped persons who are unable to hear the aural signals accompanying a
transmission of visual signals, if the performance is made without any purpose
of direct or indirect commercial advantage and its transmission is made through
the facilities of: (i) a governmental body; or (ii) a noncommercial educational
broadcast station (as defined in section 397 of title 47); or (iii) a radio
subcarrier authorization (as defined in 47 CFR 73.293-73.295 and
73.593-73.595); or (iv) a cable system (as defined in section 111(f));
(9) performance on a single occasion of a
dramatic literary work published at least ten years before the date of the
performance, by or in the course of a transmission specifically designed for
and primarily directed to blind or other handicapped persons who are unable to
read normal printed material as a result of their handicap, if the performance
is made without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage and its
transmission is made through the facilities of a radio subcarrier authorization
referred to in clause (8)(iii), Provided, That the provisions of this clause
shall not be applicable to more than one performance of the same work by the
same performers or under the auspices of the same organization; and
(10) notwithstanding paragraph (4), the
following is not an infringement of copyright: performance of a nondramatic
literary or musical work in the course of a social function which is organized
and promoted by a nonprofit veterans' organization or a nonprofit fraternal
organization to which the general public is not invited, but not including the
invitees of the organizations, if the proceeds from the performance, after
deducting the reasonable costs of producing the performance, are used
exclusively for charitable purposes and not for financial gain. For purposes of
this section the social functions of any college or university fraternity or
sorority shall not be included unless the social function is held solely to
raise funds for a specific charitable purpose.
The
exemptions provided under paragraph (5) shall not be taken into account in any
administrative, judicial, or other governmental proceeding to set or adjust the
royalties payable to copyright owners for the public performance or display of
their works. Royalties payable to copyright owners for any public performance
or display of their works other than such performances or displays as are
exempted under paragraph (5) shall not be diminished in any respect as a result
of such exemption.