View source for Section 115 Reform Act of 2006

{{Short description|Bill introduced to US Congress}}
The '''Section 115 Reform Act of 2006 ("SIRA" or "S1RA")''' was a [[bill (proposed law)|bill]] introduced June 8, 2006 in the [[109th Congress|109th United States Congress]] by [[Howard Berman]] ([[California]]-[[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]) and [[Lamar S. Smith|Lamar Smith]] ([[Texas]]-[[Republican Party (United States)|R]]) as part of ({{USBill|109|H.R.|5553}}).<ref name=S1RA>[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.5553.IH: Section 115 Reform Act of 2006, H.R. 5553]{{Dead link|date=August 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, 109th Cong. (2006).</ref>  It is one of several recent attempts to modify Section 115 of the [[Copyright Act of 1976|United States Copyright Act]] to accommodate digital delivery of musical works.<ref name=S1RA/>
This bill was never enacted and thereby expired.
== Content ==
The central aim of the SIRA was to provide "legitimate digital music services with an efficient way to clear all the rights they [need] to make large numbers of musical works quickly available by an ever-evolving number of digital means while ensuring that the copyright holders are fairly compensated."<ref>[http://www.copyright.gov/docs/regstat051606.html Statement of the United States Copyright Office]
before the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, Committee on the Judiciary, United States House of Representatives, 109th Cong., 2nd Session, Section 115 Reform Act (SIRA) of 2006 (May 16, 2006).</ref>  The S1RA would have met this need by providing for a [[blanket license]] for digital music providers.<ref name=S1RA/>
== Background ==
Section 115 of the United States Copyright Act outlines the scope of compulsory licenses for making and distributing [[phonorecord]]s. Once a phonorecord of a nondramatic musical work has been distributed to the public, any other person, subject to certain conditions, may obtain a compulsory license to make or distribute copies of the work.<ref>{{UnitedStatesCode|17|115}}</ref>
In 1995, Congress enacted the [[Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act]] in response to emerging technologies and business structures which allowed listeners to legally stream or download sound recordings on their computers. The DPRA included digital music providers, such as [[Rhapsody (online music service)|Rhapsody]], [[Pandora Music]], and [[XM Radio]], among those who could obtain a compulsory license to distribute copies of phonorecords.<ref>[http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/pl104-39.html Digital Performance Right In Sound Recordings Act of 1995].</ref>
The licensure of digital music still remained somewhat ambiguous under the DPRA, but many believed that digital music providers were implicitly required to clear the rights of each individual song they made available.<ref name=eff>Fred von Lohmann, ''[https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2006/06/season-bad-laws-part-4-music-services-sell-out-fair-use Season of Bad Laws, Part 4: Music Services Sell Out Fair Use]'', DeepLinks (Jun. 4, 2006).</ref>
As early as 2001, the Copyright Office initiated discussions to amend section 115 to resolve ambiguities and streamline licensing for digital music providers.<ref>Copyright Office, [http://www.copyright.gov/fedreg/2001/66fr64783.html Request for Comment, Mechanical and Digital Phonorecord Delivery Compulsory License], 66 Fed. Reg. 241, 64,783 (Dec. 14, 2001).</ref>
== Opposition ==
=== "Incidental Copies" ===
If enacted, the S1RA would have provided for a blanket license for digital music providers to reproduce and distribute "general and incidental" digital copies of musical works, including [[Cache (computing)|cache]], network, and [[random-access memory|RAM]] buffer copies.<ref name=S1RA/>
Critics of the S1RA<ref name=eff/><ref name=publicknowledge>Gigi Sohn, ''[http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/622 Now the Fun Starts: Music Licensing, Orphan Works and The Copyright Modernization Act of 2006] {{webarchive|url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20100610091612/http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/622 |date=2010-06-10 }}'', Public Knowledge Policy Blog (Sep. 11, 2006).</ref><ref name=ipaction>Jake Fisher, ''[http://ipaction.org/blog/2006/06/worst-bill-youve-never-heard-of.html Worst Bill You've Never Heard Of]'' IPac (Jun. 5, 2006).</ref> urged that the language of the bill implied that music consumers could be held liable for incidental copies created on their computers in the normal process of streaming, downloading, or playing the music they had purchased.
=== "Distributions" ===
Critics of the SIRA<ref name=eff/><ref name=publicknowledge/><ref name=ipaction/> argued that the language of the bill incorrectly conflated "transmissions", such as [[interactive streams]], with "distributions". It was argued that this conflation could unfairly limit the [[Fair Use]] right of music consumers to engage in legal home-taping, and the rights of digital music providers to make and distribute recording devices which could encourage home-taping.  Both home-taping and the distribution of home-taping devices are legal in the United States under {{UnitedStatesCode|17|106}} of the Copyright Act and under the [[Audio Home Recording Act]] of 1992.<ref>[http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap10.html Audio Home Recording Act of 1992], S. 1623, 102nd Cong. (1992).</ref>
== Recent Proposals to Reform Section 115 ==
In November 2008, the U.S. Copyright Office announced the implementation of an interim regulation which would clarify the scope of section 115 for digital music providers. It has also been controversial. The copyright office has declined, in this interim regulation, to discuss whether RAM buffer copies and other incidental copies constitute copies under the meaning of the copyright act.<ref>Copyright Office, [http://regulations.justia.com/view/125757/ Interim rule and request for comments, Compulsory License for Making and Distributing Phonorecords, Including Digital Phonorecord Deliveries], 73 Fed. Reg. 217, 66,173 (Nov. 7, 2008).</ref>
== See also ==
* [[Audio Home Recording Act]]
* [[Digital rights management]]
* [[Internet radio]]
* [[Platform Equality and Remedies for Rights Holders in Music Act of 2007]]
* [[Digital Millennium Copyright Act]]
* [[Music Modernization Act]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
*[http://www.copyright.gov/docs/regstat051606.html US Copyright Office statement]
*[http://ipaction.org/blog/2006/06/worst-bill-youve-never-heard-of.html Article about this bill on IPac]
*[https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004721.php EFF discussion of SIRA]
*[http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/20456838/save_internet_fair_u.html Save Internet Fair Use, Stop S1RA] – Boing Boing
[[Category:United States proposed federal intellectual property legislation]]
[[Category:Music licensing]]