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S 2933 115th Congress Senate Commerce Administrative law and regulatory procedures Civil actions and liability Congressional agencies Intellectual property Library of Congress Licensing and registrations Sound recording

ACCESS to Recordings Act

Introduced: May 23, 2018 Introduced by: Wyden, Ron Democratic · Oregon See on congress.gov
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This bill died when the 115th Congress ended
It never became law before the 115th Congress (2017–2018) 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 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
May 23, 2018
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2879-2880)
May 23, 2018
Introduced in Senate
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 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Accessibility for Curators, Creators, Educators, Scholars, and Society to Recordings Act or ACCESS to Recordings Act

This bill provides for federal copyright protection to sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972, which are currently only covered by state law.

The bill also establishes the length of the protection term for various categories of pre-1972 recordings.

To be eligible for statutory damages or attorneys' fees for infringement of a pre-1972 recording, the work must be registered no later than one year after this bill's effective date.

For the first three years after the bill's effective date, the copyright owner of pre-1972 recordings is eligible for statutory damages or attorneys' fees only if it notifies the alleged infringer of the recording's copyright registration and the allegedly infringing acts. The copyright owner may file its lawsuit after 180 days, if the alleged infringement has not ceased.

What's happening now May 23, 2018

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2879-2880)

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 2933: ACCESS to Recordings Act. 115th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/115-S-2933/
MLA
"S. 2933: ACCESS to Recordings Act." 115th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/115-S-2933/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 2933, 115th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/115-S-2933/.
Markdown link
[S. 2933: ACCESS to Recordings Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/115-S-2933/)
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