18 Usc 2319a

Page 533

TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

mated economic impact of the offense on that
victim.
(2) Persons permitted to submit victim impact
statements shall include—
(A) producers and sellers of legitimate works
affected by conduct involved in the offense;
(B) holders of intellectual property rights in
such works; and
(C) the legal representatives of such producers, sellers, and holders.
(f) As used in this section—
(1) the terms ‘‘phonorecord’’ and ‘‘copies’’
have, respectively, the meanings set forth in
section 101 (relating to definitions) of title 17;
(2) the terms ‘‘reproduction’’ and ‘‘distribution’’ refer to the exclusive rights of a copyright owner under clauses (1) and (3) respectively of section 106 (relating to exclusive
rights in copyrighted works), as limited by
sections 107 through 122, of title 17;
(3) the term ‘‘financial gain’’ has the meaning given the term in section 101 of title 17;
and
(4) the term ‘‘work being prepared for commercial distribution’’ has the meaning given
the term in section 506(a) of title 17.
(Added Pub. L. 97–180, § 3, May 24, 1982, 96 Stat.
92; amended Pub. L. 102–561, Oct. 28, 1992, 106
Stat. 4233; Pub. L. 105–80, § 12(b)(2), Nov. 13, 1997,
111 Stat. 1536; Pub. L. 105–147, § 2(d), Dec. 16, 1997,
111 Stat. 2678; Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title III,
§ 13211(a), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1910; Pub. L.
109–9, title I, § 103(b), Apr. 27, 2005, 119 Stat. 220;
Pub. L. 110–403, title II, § 208, Oct. 13, 2008, 122
Stat. 4263.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, referred to
in subsec. (e)(1), are set out in the Appendix to this
title.
AMENDMENTS
2008—Subsecs. (b)(2), (c)(2). Pub. L. 110–403, § 208(1), (2),
inserted ‘‘is a felony and’’ after ‘‘the offense’’ and substituted ‘‘subsection (a)’’ for ‘‘paragraph (1)’’.
Subsec. (d)(3). Pub. L. 110–403, § 208(3), inserted ‘‘is a
felony and’’ after ‘‘the offense’’ and ‘‘under subsection
(a)’’ before the semicolon.
Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 110–403, § 208(4), inserted ‘‘is a
felony and’’ after ‘‘the offense’’.
2005—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–9, § 103(b)(1), substituted
‘‘Any person who’’ for ‘‘Whoever’’ and ‘‘, (c), and (d)’’
for ‘‘and (c) of this section’’.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 109–9, § 103(b)(2), substituted ‘‘section 506(a)(1)(A)’’ for ‘‘section 506(a)(1)’’ in introductory
provisions.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 109–9, § 103(b)(3), substituted ‘‘section 506(a)(1)(B) of title 17’’ for ‘‘section 506(a)(2) of title
17, United States Code’’ in introductory provisions.
Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 109–9, § 103(b)(4), (5), added
subsec. (d) and redesignated former subsec. (d) as (e).
Former subsec. (e) redesignated (f).
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 109–9, § 103(b)(4), (6), redesignated
subsec. (e) as (f) and added pars. (3) and (4).
2002—Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 107–273 substituted ‘‘107
through 122’’ for ‘‘107 through 120’’.
1997—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–147, § 2(d)(1), substituted
‘‘subsections (b) and (c)’’ for ‘‘subsection (b)’’.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 105–147, § 2(d)(2)(A), substituted
‘‘section 506(a)(1) of title 17’’ for ‘‘subsection (a) of this
section’’ in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 105–147, § 2(d)(2)(B), inserted
‘‘including by electronic means,’’ after ‘‘if the offense
consists of the reproduction or distribution,’’ and sub-

§ 2319A

stituted ‘‘which have a total retail value of more than
$2,500’’ for ‘‘with a retail value of more than $2,500’’.
Pub. L. 105–80, substituted ‘‘at least 10 copies’’ for ‘‘at
last 10 copies’’.
Subsecs. (c) to (e). Pub. L. 105–147, § 2(d)(3), added subsecs. (c) and (d) and redesignated former subsec. (c) as
(e).
1992—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102–561, § 1, amended subsec.
(b) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (b) read as
follows: ‘‘Any person who commits an offense under
subsection (a) of this section—
‘‘(1) shall be fined not more than $250,000 or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both, if the offense—
‘‘(A) involves the reproduction or distribution,
during any one-hundred-and-eighty-day period, of
at least one thousand phonorecords or copies infringing the copyright in one or more sound recordings;
‘‘(B) involves the reproduction or distribution,
during any one-hundred-and-eighty-day period, of
at least sixty-five copies infringing the copyright in
one or more motion pictures or other audiovisual
works; or
‘‘(C) is a second or subsequent offense under either of subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this section,
where a prior offense involved a sound recording, or
a motion picture or other audiovisual work;
‘‘(2) shall be fined not more than $250,000 or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both, if the offense—
‘‘(A) involves the reproduction or distribution,
during any one-hundred-and-eighty-day period, of
more than one hundred but less than one thousand
phonorecords or copies infringing the copyright in
one or more sound recordings; or
‘‘(B) involves the reproduction or distribution,
during any one-hundred-and-eighty-day period, of
more than seven but less than sixty-five copies infringing the copyright in one or more motion pictures or other audiovisual works; and
‘‘(3) shall be fined not more than $25,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both, in any
other case.’’
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102–561, § 2, substituted ‘‘ ‘phonorecord’ ’’ for ‘‘ ‘sound recording’, ‘motion picture’,
‘audiovisual work’, ‘phonorecord’,’’ in par. (1) and ‘‘120’’
for ‘‘118’’ in par. (2).

§ 2319A. Unauthorized fixation of and trafficking
in sound recordings and music videos of live
musical performances
(a) OFFENSE.—Whoever, without the consent of
the performer or performers involved, knowingly and for purposes of commercial advantage
or private financial gain—
(1) fixes the sounds or sounds and images of
a live musical performance in a copy or phonorecord, or reproduces copies or phonorecords
of such a performance from an unauthorized
fixation;
(2) transmits or otherwise communicates to
the public the sounds or sounds and images of
a live musical performance; or
(3) distributes or offers to distribute, sells or
offers to sell, rents or offers to rent, or traffics
in any copy or phonorecord fixed as described
in paragraph (1), regardless of whether the fixations occurred in the United States;
shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years or
fined in the amount set forth in this title, or
both, or if the offense is a second or subsequent
offense, shall be imprisoned for not more than 10
years or fined in the amount set forth in this
title, or both.
(b) FORFEITURE AND DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY;
RESTITUTION.—Forfeiture, destruction,

§ 2319B

TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

and restitution relating to this section shall be
subject to section 2323, to the extent provided in
that section, in addition to any other similar
remedies provided by law.
(c) SEIZURE AND FORFEITURE.—If copies or
phonorecords of sounds or sounds and images of
a live musical performance are fixed outside of
the United States without the consent of the
performer or performers involved, such copies or
phonorecords are subject to seizure and forfeiture in the United States in the same manner as
property imported in violation of the customs
laws. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
issue regulations by which any performer may,
upon payment of a specified fee, be entitled to
notification by United States Customs and Border Protection of the importation of copies or
phonorecords that appear to consist of unauthorized fixations of the sounds or sounds and
images of a live musical performance.
(d) VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT.—(1) During
preparation of the presentence report pursuant
to Rule 32(c) of the Federal Rules of Criminal
Procedure, victims of the offense shall be permitted to submit, and the probation officer shall
receive, a victim impact statement that identifies the victim of the offense and the extent and
scope of the injury and loss suffered by the victim, including the estimated economic impact
of the offense on that victim.
(2) Persons permitted to submit victim impact
statements shall include—
(A) producers and sellers of legitimate works
affected by conduct involved in the offense;
(B) holders of intellectual property rights in
such works; and
(C) the legal representatives of such producers, sellers, and holders.
(e) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section—
(1) the terms ‘‘copy’’, ‘‘fixed’’, ‘‘musical
work’’, ‘‘phonorecord’’, ‘‘reproduce’’, ‘‘sound
recordings’’, and ‘‘transmit’’ mean those terms
within the meaning of title 17; and
(2) the term ‘‘traffic’’ has the same meaning
as in section 2320(e) 1 of this title.
(f) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply to
any Act or Acts that occur on or after the date
of the enactment of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.
(Added Pub. L. 103–465, title V, § 513(a), Dec. 8,
1994, 108 Stat. 4974; amended Pub. L. 105–147,
§ 2(e), Dec. 16, 1997, 111 Stat. 2679; Pub. L. 109–181,
§ 2(c)(1), Mar. 16, 2006, 120 Stat. 288; Pub. L.
110–403, title II, § 203, Oct. 13, 2008, 122 Stat. 4261.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, referred to
in subsec. (d)(1), are set out in the Appendix to this
title.
Section 2320 of this title, referred to in subsec. (e)(2),
was amended generally by Pub. L. 112–81, div. A, title
VIII, § 818(h), Dec. 31, 2011, 125 Stat. 1497, and, as so
amended, provisions similar to those formerly appearing in subsec. (e) are now contained in subsec. (f).
The date of the enactment of the Uruguay Round
Agreements Act, referred to in subsec. (f), is the date of
enactment of Pub. L. 103–465, which was approved Dec.
8, 1994.
1 See

References in Text note below.

Page 534

AMENDMENTS
2008—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 110–403, § 203(a), amended
subsec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as
follows: ‘‘When a person is convicted of a violation of
subsection (a), the court shall order the forfeiture and
destruction of any copies or phonorecords created in
violation thereof, as well as any plates, molds, matrices, masters, tapes, and film negatives by means of
which such copies or phonorecords may be made. The
court may also, in its discretion, order the forfeiture
and destruction of any other equipment by means of
which such copies or phonorecords may be reproduced,
taking into account the nature, scope, and proportionality of the use of the equipment in the offense.’’
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 110–403, § 203(b), substituted ‘‘The
Secretary of Homeland Security shall issue regulations
by which any performer may, upon payment of a specified fee, be entitled to notification by United States
Customs and Border Protection of the importation of
copies or phonorecords that appear to consist of unauthorized fixations of the sounds or sounds and images
of a live musical performance.’’ for ‘‘The Secretary of
the Treasury shall, not later than 60 days after the date
of the enactment of the Uruguay Round Agreements
Act, issue regulations to carry out this subsection, including regulations by which any performer may, upon
payment of a specified fee, be entitled to notification
by the United States Customs Service of the importation of copies or phonorecords that appear to consist of
unauthorized fixations of the sounds or sounds and images of a live musical performance.’’
2006—Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 109–181 added par. (2) and
struck out former par. (2) which read as follows: ‘‘the
term ‘traffic in’ means transport, transfer, or otherwise
dispose of, to another, as consideration for anything of
value, or make or obtain control of with intent to
transport, transfer, or dispose of.’’
1997—Subsecs. (d) to (f). Pub. L. 105–147 added subsec.
(d) and redesignated former subsecs. (d) and (e) as (e)
and (f), respectively.
TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS
For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the United States Customs Service of the
Department of the Treasury, including functions of the
Secretary of the Treasury relating thereto, to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see sections 203(1), 551(d), 552(d), and
557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department
of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section
542 of Title 6.

§ 2319B. Unauthorized recording of Motion pictures in a Motion picture exhibition facility
(a) OFFENSE.—Any person who, without the
authorization of the copyright owner, knowingly
uses or attempts to use an audiovisual recording
device to transmit or make a copy of a motion
picture or other audiovisual work protected
under title 17, or any part thereof, from a performance of such work in a motion picture exhibition facility, shall—
(1) be imprisoned for not more than 3 years,
fined under this title, or both; or
(2) if the offense is a second or subsequent
offense, be imprisoned for no more than 6
years, fined under this title, or both.
The possession by a person of an audiovisual recording device in a motion picture exhibition facility may be considered as evidence in any proceeding to determine whether that person committed an offense under this subsection, but
shall not, by itself, be sufficient to support a
conviction of that person for such offense.