§ 170. — American Television and Radio Archives.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 2USC170]
TITLE 2--THE CONGRESS
CHAPTER 5--LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Sec. 170. American Television and Radio Archives
(a) Establishment and maintenance in Library of Congress; purpose;
determination of composition, cataloging, indexing and
availability by Librarian
The Librarian of Congress (hereinafter referred to as the
``Librarian'') shall establish and maintain in the Library of Congress a
library to be known as the American Television and Radio Archives
(hereinafter referred to as the ``Archives''). The purpose of the
Archives shall be to preserve a permanent record of the television and
radio programs which are the heritage of the people of the United States
and to provide access to such programs to historians and scholars
without encouraging or causing copyright infringement.
(1) The Librarian, after consultation with interested
organizations and individuals, shall determine and place in the
Archives such copies and phonorecords of television and radio
programs transmitted to the public in the United States and in other
countries which are of present or potential public or cultural
interest, historical significance, cognitive value, or otherwise
worthy of preservation, including copies and phonorecords of
published and unpublished transmission programs--
(A) acquired in accordance with sections 407 and 408 of
title 17; and
(B) transferred from the existing collections of the Library
of Congress; and
(C) given to or exchanged with the Archives by other
libraries, archives, organizations, and individuals; and
(D) purchased from the owner thereof.
(2) The Librarian shall maintain and publish appropriate
catalogs and indexes of the collections of the Archives, and shall
make such collections available for study and research under the
conditions prescribed under this section.
(b) Reproduction, compilation, and distribution for research of
regularly scheduled newscasts or on-the-spot coverage of news
events by Librarian; promulgation of regulations
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106 of title 17, the
Librarian is authorized with respect to a transmission program which
consists of a regularly scheduled newscast or on-the-spot coverage of
news events and, under standards and conditions that the Librarian shall
prescribe by regulation--
(1) to reproduce a fixation of such a program, in the same or
another tangible form, for the purposes of preservation or security
or for distribution under the conditions of clause (3) of this
subsection;
(2) to compile, without abridgment or any other editing,
portions of such fixations according to subject matter, and to
reproduce such compilations for the purpose of clause (1) of this
subsection; and
(3) to distribute a reproduction made under clause (1) or (2) of
this subsection--
(A) by loan to a person engaged in research; and
(B) for deposit in a library or archives which meets the
requirements of section 108(a) of title 17,
in either case for use only in research and not for further
reproduction or performance.
(c) Liability for copyright infringement by Librarian or any employee of
Librarian
The Librarian or any employee of the Library who is acting under the
authority of this section shall not be liable in any action for
copyright infringement committed by any other person unless the
Librarian or such employee knowingly participated in the act of
infringement committed by such person. Nothing in this section shall be
construed to excuse or limit liability under title 17 for any act not
authorized by that title or this section, or for any act performed by a
person not authorized to act under that title or this section.
(d) Short title
This section may be cited as the ``American Television and Radio
Archives Act''.
(Pub. L. 94-553, title I, Sec. 113, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2601.)
Effective Date
Section effective Jan. 1, 1978, see section 102 of Pub. L. 94-553,
set out as a note preceding section 101 of Title 17, Copyrights.
