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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3517 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3517
To amend title 17, United States Code, to reform copyright laws
relating to visual artists.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 17, 2025
Mrs. Blackburn (for herself and Mr. Welch) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 17, United States Code, to reform copyright laws
relating to visual artists.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Visual Artists Copyright Reform Act
of 2025'' or ``VACRA''.
SEC. 2. DEPOSITS IN CONNECTION WITH COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION.
(a) Exemption of Certain Works From Best Edition Deposit
Requirement.--Section 407 of title 17, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by striking ``subsection (c)'' and inserting ``subsections
(c) and (f)''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(f) Exemption for Pictorial, Graphic, and Sculptural Works.--The
deposit requirements under subsection (a) shall not apply to a
pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work.''.
(b) Copyright Registration in General.--Section 408(b) of title 17,
United States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
``(5) in the case of a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural
work, one complete electronic copy.''.
(c) Third-Party Registries of Photographs.--
(1) In general.--Chapter 7 of title 17, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 711. Third-party registries of photographs
``(a) Regulations.--
``(1) In general.--The Register of Copyrights shall
establish regulations providing for the certification of third
party registries of photographs.
``(2) Conditions of certification.--The regulations
established under paragraph (1) shall require that an entity,
as a condition of being certified as a third party registry,
commit to--
``(A) collecting and maintaining electronic copies
of photographs and related information for the duration
of the term of protection of copyright in each
photograph;
``(B) collecting and maintaining, with respect to
each photograph deposited in the registry--
``(i) the name of each author;
``(ii) the name of each current copyright
owner;
``(iii) current contact information for
each copyright owner;
``(iv) the date of creation;
``(v) the date on which the photograph was
first uploaded to the registry; and
``(vi) the title;
``(C) providing a secure, searchable database of
all photographs deposited in the registry at no charge
to searchers;
``(D) providing for the timely transfer of copies
of a photograph and all associated information to
another third party registry at the request of an
author or copyright owner of the photograph; and
``(E) making the entirety of the third party
registry available for interactive communication of
data with systems of the Copyright Office without
charge.
``(b) Relation to Deposit Requirements.--Deposit of a photograph in
a third party registry shall satisfy the deposit requirements of
section 408.
``(c) Applicability.--Subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply if
the Register of Copyright certifies that the Copyright Office is in
compliance with subsection 409(b).''.
(2) Technical and conforming amendment.--The table of
sections for chapter 7 of title 17, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``711. Third-party registries of photographs.''.
SEC. 3. GROUP REGISTRATION OF PHOTOGRAPHS.
(a) In General.--Section 408(c) of title 17, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(4)(A) Without prejudice to the general authority
provided under paragraph (1), the Register of Copyrights shall
establish regulations specifically permitting a single
registration for a group of photographs by the same individual
author on the basis of a single application and registration
fee, under the following conditions:
``(i) The deposit is made in compliance with either
this section or section 711 and consists only of
photographs.
``(ii) The group consists of not more than 3,000
works, subject to subparagraph (B)(iii).
``(iii) The application identifies each work.
``(iv) The applicant provides a title for the group
as a whole.
``(B)(i) The Register of Copyrights shall establish
regulations under subparagraph (A) for the registration of
groups at quantity tiers that accommodate practical creative
workflows.
``(ii) The regulations established under subparagraph (A)
shall permit registration of groups without regard to
publication status, date of publication, or date of creation.
``(iii) The Register shall amend the regulations
established under subparagraph (A) to increase the maximum
number of photographs that may be included in a single
registration above 3,000 as technology develops in the
marketplace that allows for more efficient registration.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--Section 408(c)(2) of title
17, United States Code, is amended by striking ``clause (1)'' and
inserting ``paragraph (1)''.
SEC. 4. DEFERRED REGISTRATION.
Section 408 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(g) Deferred Registration of Pictorial, Graphic, and Sculptural
Works.--
``(1) Rulemaking.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this subsection, the Register of Copyrights
shall issue regulations to establish procedures for deferred
registration of pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works.
``(2) Application for deferred registration.--An applicant
for deferred registration under this subsection shall submit--
``(A) to the Copyright Office by electronic means--
``(i) an application for deferred
registration of the work or group of works; and
``(ii) the applicable fee; and
``(B) to the Copyright Office or a third party
registry (as described in section 711), each
corresponding deposit in accordance with this section
or section 711, as applicable.
``(3) Effective date of registration.--The date on which
materials are submitted under paragraph (2) shall be the
effective date of registration, as described in subsection
410(d).
``(4) Enforcement by u.s. customs and border protection of
works for which copyright registration is pending.--An
application for deferred registration under this subsection
shall be considered an application for registration under this
title with the Copyright Office for purposes of section 304 of
the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (19
U.S.C. 4343).
``(5) Examination for registration.--At any time during the
subsistence of copyright in a work that was the subject of a
deferred registration under this subsection, the owner of
copyright or of any exclusive right in the work may request,
upon payment of the applicable fee, the examination of that
work for registration under subsection (a).''.
SEC. 5. COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION APPLICATION.
Section 409 of title 17, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(a) In General.--'' before ``The
application'';
(2) in subsection (a)(8), as so designated, by striking the
semicolon and inserting the following: ``, unless the work--
``(A) is a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work;
``(B) is a United States work; and
``(C) was created after March 1, 1989;''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Public-Facing Interface.--In order to facilitate an efficient
process for the submission of an application for copyright
registration, the Register of Copyrights shall implement as
expeditiously as practicable and maintain a contemporary public-facing
interface that is interoperable with software commonly used by
professional creators such that the deposits and information required
under section 408 and this section can be automatically transmitted and
populate an online registration application.''.
SEC. 6. RETENTION OF DEPOSITS.
Subsection 704(d) of title 17, United States Code, is amended, in
the second sentence, by inserting ``and works deposited in electronic
format'' after ``but, in the case of unpublished works''.
SEC. 7. FEES.
Section 708 of title 17, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (10), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in paragraph (11), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (11) the
following:
``(12) on filing an application under section 408(g) for
deferred registration, which fee shall be not more than one-
half of the fee for filing a standard application under section
408.'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by
inserting ``and (11)'' after ``(1) through (9)'';
(B) in paragraph (4), by inserting before the
period at the end the following: ``, including ensuring
that professional creators can afford to register all
their works''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) The Register shall provide reduced fees for
individual authors and small business entities.''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(f) Registration Subscriptions for Pictorial, Graphic, and
Sculptural Works.--
``(1) Rulemaking.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of the Visual Artists Copyright Reform Act of
2025, the Register of Copyrights shall establish regulations
providing for yearly and periodic registration subscriptions
for the registration of pictorial, graphic, and sculptural
works.
``(2) Subscription fees.--The Register shall set and adjust
fees for subscriptions described in paragraph (1) in accordance
with subsection (b).
``(3) Applications under section 408.--Notwithstanding
paragraphs (1) and (12) of subsection (a), the Register may not
require a fee on filing an application under section 408 for
registration of a copyright claim, supplementary registration,
or deferred registration if the applicant has paid for a yearly
or periodic subscription under this subsection and the
application is submitted during the term of the
subscription.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
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