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Copyright Royalty Tribunal Reform Act of 1993

Public Law 103-198 · H.R. 2840 · 103rd Congress · began in the House

Signed by Bill Clinton (D) on Dec 17, 1993 · Commerce

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

Cosponsors (1): Rep. Barney Frank

Passage votes

  • HouseUnanimous consent
  • 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.

Copyright Royalty Tribunal Reform Act of 1993 - Replaces the Copyright Royalty Tribunal with copyright arbitration royalty panels to be appointed and convened by the Librarian of Congress.

Sets forth provisions concerning panel membership and arbitration proceedings. Requires the Librarian to: (1) adopt a panel decision unless the decision is arbitrary or contrary to the provisions of this Act; and (2) set a royalty fee or distribute fees if the decision is rejected. Provides for judicial review of Librarian decisions concerning panel determinations.

Authorizes the Librarian and the Register of Copyrights to: (1) deduct administrative costs from collected royalty fees; or (2)assess costs directly to the parties to the most recent relevant arbitration proceeding if no royalty pool exists from which costs can be deducted.

Provides that provisions of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1994 that require specified personnel reductions shall not apply to positions required for the administration of compulsory licensing by Library employees.

Authorizes owners or users of copyrighted works to petition the Librarian for adjustments of royalty rates.

Provides for interim royalty rates for certain musical works (that are subject to terminated license agreements) for performance by coin-operated phonorecord players.

Repeals additional provisions concerning the Tribunal as well as provisions concerning compulsory licenses and limitations on exclusive rights for coin-operated phonorecord players.

Revises requirements concerning compulsory licenses for public broadcasting.

Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to permit alien longshore workers to work in Alaska under specified circumstances.

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. 18 actions.

  1. Dec 17, 1993Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 103-198.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. Dec 8, 1993PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
  4. Nov 23, 1993Resolving differencesResolving differences · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  5. Resolving differencesResolving differences · On motion that the House agree to the Senate amendment Agreed to without objection.
  6. Resolving differencesResolving differences · Mr. Brooks asked unanimous consent that the House agree to the Senate amendment.
  7. Nov 20, 1993FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote.
  8. FloorFloor · Amendment SP 1230 agreed to in Senate by Voice Vote.
  9. Oct 12, 1993FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  10. FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
  11. FloorFloor · Mr. Brooks moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  12. CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Judiciary Committee
  13. Oct 6, 1993CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Judiciary Committee
  14. Aug 5, 1993CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
  15. CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
  16. Aug 4, 1993CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
  17. Aug 3, 1993CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Judiciary Committee
  18. 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.