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To amend title 17, United States Code, relating to fair use of copyrighted works.

Public Law 102-492 · H.R. 4412 · 102nd Congress · began in the House

Signed by George H. W. Bush (R) on Oct 24, 1992 · Commerce

Sponsor: Rep. William Hughes (D-NJ-2)

Cosponsors (5): Rep. Carlos Moorhead,

Passage votes

  • HouseVoice vote
  • SenateVoice vote
Data notes

The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.

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Summary

The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.

Amends the Copyright Act of 1976 to provide that the unpublished nature of a work shall not bar a finding of fair use if the finding is based on the following factors: (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work; (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work.

Committees

The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.

  • Judiciary Committee · House · markup by, referred to, reported bySubcommittee: Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee
Data notes

A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.

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Timeline

From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 14 actions.

  1. Oct 24, 1992Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 102-492.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. Oct 16, 1992PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
  4. Oct 7, 1992FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote.
  5. Aug 11, 1992FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  6. FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
  7. FloorFloor · Mr. Hughes moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  8. CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Judiciary Committee
  9. Apr 30, 1992CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Judiciary Committee
  10. Mar 12, 1992CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
  11. CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
  12. Mar 9, 1992CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
  13. Mar 5, 1992CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Judiciary Committee
  14. IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes

Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.

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Official record

The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.