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H.R. 2408 109th Congress House

Public Domain Enhancement Act

Official title: To amend title 17, United States Code, to allow abandoned copyrighted works to enter the public domain after 50 years.

Introduced: May 17, 2005 Introduced by: Zoe Lofgren Democratic · California See on congress.gov
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This bill died when the 109th Congress ended
It never became law before the 109th Congress (2005–2006) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jul 1, 2005
Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property.
May 17, 2005
Introduced in House
May 17, 2005
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
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 Latest action July 1, 2005

Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Public Domain Enhancement Act - Requires the Register of Copyrights to charge a fee of $1 for maintaining in force the copyright in any published U.S. work. Requires the fee to be due 50 years after the date of first publication or on December 31, 2006, whichever occurs later, and every ten years thereafter until the end of the copyright term. Terminates the copyright unless payment of the applicable maintenance fee is received in the Copyright Office on or before its due date or within a grace period of six months thereafter.

Deems any ancillary or promotional work used in connection with the maintained work, such as an advertisement for a motion picture, also to be maintained in force.

Requires the: (1) maintenance fee to be accompanied by a form prescribed by the Register; and (2) the Register to establish procedures to minimize the burden of submitting the form, including procedures to allow the electronic submission of the form, and to make the information contained in such forms easily accessible to the public.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 2408: Public Domain Enhancement Act. 109th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/109-HR-2408/
MLA
"H.R. 2408: Public Domain Enhancement Act." 109th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/109-HR-2408/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 2408, 109th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/109-HR-2408/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 2408: Public Domain Enhancement Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/109-HR-2408/)
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