[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4017 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4017
To amend title 17, United States Code, to secure the rights of visual
artists to copyright, to provide for resale royalties, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 17, 2025
Mr. Nadler (for himself and Ms. Chu) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 17, United States Code, to secure the rights of visual
artists to copyright, to provide for resale royalties, and for other
purposes.
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 ``American Royalties Too Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. RESALE ROYALTY.
(a) Collection of Resale Royalty for Visual Art.--Chapter 1 of
title 17, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section
106A the following:
``Sec. 106B. Collection of resale royalty for visual art
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Art market professional.--The term `art market
professional' means a person engaged in the business of buying
and selling works of visual art to the public.
``(2) Author's successor.--The term `author's successor'
means an individual who holds the right of the author of a work
of visual art to the resale royalty after the death of the
author as defined under subsection (e)(3).
``(3) Commercial resale.--The term `commercial resale'
means a sale of a resale copy of a work of visual art by, or
with the intervention of, an art market professional,
subsequent to the first sale of that copy.
``(4) Price.--The term `price' means the aggregate of all
payments in cash, credit, or in-kind by or on behalf of a
purchaser, excluding any fees for services rendered by the art
market professional in connection with such sale.
``(5) Resale copy.--The term `resale copy', for the
purposes of this section, means the material object in which
the work of visual art is fixed by or under the authority of
the author, in a single or limited edition.
``(6) Visual artists' collecting societies.--The term
`visual artists' collecting societies' means entities that have
been designated to administer the resale royalty under this
section.
``(b) Collection Generally.--Independent of the exclusive rights
provided in section 106, the author of a work of visual art shall be
entitled to a royalty for the commercial resale of a resale copy of the
work by a person other than the author or the author's successor for a
price of $5,000 or more.
``(c) Duration.--The entitlement to a resale royalty shall subsist
simultaneously with and for the duration of the term of copyright
protection afforded to the work of visual art pursuant to chapter 3 of
this title.
``(d) Calculation and Payment of Royalty.--
``(1) In general.--The royalty for the sale of a resale
copy of a work of visual art under this section shall be an
amount equal to the lesser of--
``(A) 5 percent of the price paid for the resale
copy of the work of visual art in that sale; or
``(B) $50,000.
``(2) Adjustment of amount.--In 2022 and each year
thereafter, the dollar amount described in paragraph (1)(B)
shall be increased by an amount equal to the product of--
``(A) that dollar amount; and
``(B) the cost-of-living adjustment determined
under section 1(f)(3)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 for the year, determined by substituting `the
C-CPI-U for calendar year 2024' for `the CPI for
calendar year 2024' and all that follows in clause (ii)
of that section.
``(e) Collection and Payment of Royalty.--
``(1) Collection.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the final payment for the purchase of the resale copy of the
work of visual art, the art market professional shall pay the
resale royalty calculated under subsection (d) to such visual
artists' collecting societies as are designated by the Register
of Copyrights under subsection (i).
``(2) Distribution.--Not fewer than four times each year at
quarterly intervals, any visual artists' collecting society to
which payments are made under paragraph (1) shall distribute to
the author or the author's successor as copyright owner in an
amount equal to the difference between--
``(A) all royalties attributable to the sales of
resale copies of works of visual art by the author; and
``(B) the reasonable administrative expenses of the
collecting society as determined by regulations issued
under subsection (i).
``(3) Successors.--In a case in which an author is dead,
the right of that author to the resale royalty shall transfer
as bequeathed by will. In the absence of a will, the right
shall be apportioned as follows:
``(A) The widow or widower is entitled to the
entire royalty of the author unless there are any
surviving children or grandchildren of the author, in
which case the widow or widower is entitled to one-half
of the author's royalty.
``(B) Any surviving child of the author, and any
surviving child of any dead child of the author, is
entitled to the royalty of the author in accordance
with this section as follows:
``(i) A single surviving child of the
author or single surviving grandchild that is
the child of a deceased child of the author is
entitled to the entire royalty of the author if
there is no surviving spouse.
``(ii) If there is no surviving spouse and
more than one child of the author, alive or
dead, each child is entitled to an equal share
of the royalty, and the share of any deceased
child shall be split equally among all
surviving grandchildren that descend from the
deceased child.
``(iii) If there is a surviving spouse,
each child of the author is entitled to an
equal share of one-half of the royalty, and the
share of any deceased child shall be split
equally among all surviving grandchildren that
descend from the deceased child.
``(C) In the event that the author's widow or
widower, children, and grandchildren are not living,
the entitlement to collect a resale royalty is
extinguished.
``(D) Where a work of visual art is a joint work,
each joint author is entitled to an equal share of any
resale royalty. Where an author who is a joint author
is dead, his or her share of any resale royalty shall
be apportioned among his or her successors in
accordance with this paragraph (3).
``(4) Unclaimed royalties.--
``(A) Escrow.--Subject to subparagraph (B), if,
after a good faith effort, a visual artists' collecting
society is not able to make a timely distribution under
paragraph (2) because the collecting society is unable
to locate the author or the author's successor, the
collecting society shall--
``(i) deposit the amount that would have
been distributed to the author or authors'
successor into an interest-bearing escrow
account until the author or the author's
successor has been identified and located, and
continue to make reasonable good faith efforts
to identify and locate the author or author's
successor, including by administering and
publicizing, including on the visual artists'
collecting society's website, a process by
which authors or the author's successor can
claim any royalty due under this subsection;
and
``(ii) upon locating the author or author's
successor, distribute the amount described in
clause (i), including interest, to the author
or author's successor.
``(B) Transfer.--If the author or the author's
successor is not located during the 3-year period
beginning on the date on which the sale of the resale
copy of the work of visual art covered under this
section occurs, the amount that would have been
distributed to the author or the author's successor
under paragraph (2) shall be transferred to the
Copyright Office for the purposes of developing and
conducting programs and educational initiatives in
support of artists in the United States. Distribution
of funds under this subparagraph satisfies the
obligations of the visual artists' collecting society
under this subsection with respect to those funds.
``(5) Administration.--Visual artists' collecting societies
shall administer all amounts collected under this subsection in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
``(f) Failure To Pay or Distribute Royalty.--
``(1) Right of action.--
``(A) If an art market professional fails to pay a
royalty in accordance with subsection (e) to a visual
artists' collecting society designated by the Register
of Copyrights, such a society, either by itself or
jointly with any other such society, may bring an
action in a district court of the United States to
recover an amount equal to the amount of the royalty
and attorney's fees but if no such society exercises
this right within one year from the date payment is
due, the author or author's successors may within three
years from the date payment is due bring an action in a
district court of the United States to recover an
amount equal to three times the amount of the royalty
and attorney's fees.
``(B) If a visual artists' collecting society to
which a royalty payment is made under section (e)(1)
fails to distribute the royalty in accordance with
subsection (e)(2) or (3), the author or author's
successors may within three years from the date the
society received the royalty payment bring an action in
a district court of the United States to recover an
amount equal to three times the amount of the royalty
and attorney's fees.
``(2) Collecting societies.--With the permission of the
person to whom the resale royalty is due under paragraph (1),
visual artists' collecting societies may bring a suit on that
person's behalf under this subsection.
``(3) Exclusive remedies.--The remedies provided under this
subsection shall be the exclusive remedies for a failure to pay
or distribute a royalty in accordance with subsection (e).
``(g) No Transfers.--The entitlement to a royalty under this
section may not be sold, assigned, or otherwise transferred or waived.
``(h) Eligibility To Receive Royalty Payment.--Any visual artists'
collecting society that collects a royalty under this section for the
sale of a resale copy of a work of visual art shall distribute the
royalty to--
``(1) any author of the work of visual art--
``(A) who is a citizen of or domiciled in the
United States;
``(B) who is a citizen of or domiciled in a country
that provides a royalty for the resale of a resale copy
of a work of visual art; or
``(C) whose work of visual art is first created in
the United States or in a country that provides a
royalty for the resale of a copy of a work of visual
art; or
``(2) the successor of an author described in paragraph
(1).
``(i) Regulations.--The Register of Copyrights may conduct such
proceedings and adopt such regulations as necessary or appropriate to
effectuate the provisions of this section, including to--
``(1) establish a process by which entities are designated
as a visual artists' collecting societies authorized to
administer royalty collections and distributions under this
section, which process shall require such entities to--
``(A) have experience in licensing the copyrights
of authors of works of visual art in the United States;
or
``(B) have experience in collecting, maintaining,
and distributing monies on behalf of artists in
accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles;
``(2) determine the reasonable administrative expenses that
the visual artists' collecting societies may deduct from the
royalties payable under subsection (e)(2)(B);
``(3) establish a process by which--
``(A) visual artists' collecting societies may
obtain from any art market professional the sale price,
date of sale, and other such information as the
Register of Copyrights deems appropriate, for each sale
of a resale copy of a work of visual art covered by
this section; and
``(B) an author of a work of visual art or, if the
author is dead, the author's successor may obtain from
visual artists' collecting societies any information in
the possession of the collecting societies, including
the information obtained under clause (A) and the
amount of any royalty paid to the collecting societies,
that relates to a sale of any resale copies of such
author's work; and
``(4) establish a process by which the visual artists'
collecting societies may lose their designation as such if, in
the judgment of the Register, the entity fails to substantially
carry out the duties of a visual artist's collecting society or
fails to comply with the appropriate standards of conduct under
this section or any applicable regulations adopted by the
Register.
``(j) Closest Alternative Designation.--If the Register is unable
to identify an entity that fulfills each of the qualifications set
forth in clauses (A) through (B) in section (i)(1), or if an entity is
identified and the Register finds cause not to designate such entity,
the Register may designate any entity that most nearly fulfills such
qualifications for purposes of carrying out the responsibilities of the
visual artists' collecting societies and for which the Register does
not find cause not to designate. If the Register judges that no entity
nearly fulfills the qualifications for the purposes of carrying out the
responsibilities of the visual artists' collecting societies, then the
Register may promulgate regulations for an alternative method for
collecting and distributing resale royalties.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for
chapter 1 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by inserting
after the item relating to section 106A the following:
``106B. Collection of resale royalty for visual art.''.
SEC. 3. NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT.
Section 401 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(e) Non-Applicability to Works of Visual Art.--The provisions of
this section shall not apply to a work of visual art.''.
SEC. 4. STUDY REQUIRED.
Not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Register of Copyrights shall conduct a study on the implementation
of this Act and submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate
and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a
report on the results, including any recommendations for legislation.
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on
the date that is one year after the date of enactment of this Act.
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