Copyrights - 17 USC Section 402

01/19/04

Sec. 402. Notice of copyright: Phonorecords of sound recordings

(a) General Provisions. - Whenever a sound recording protected
under this title is published in the United States or elsewhere by
authority of the copyright owner, a notice of copyright as provided
by this section may be placed on publicly distributed phonorecords
of the sound recording.
(b) Form of Notice. - If a notice appears on the phonorecords, it
shall consist of the following three elements:
(1) the symbol P (the letter P in a circle); and
(2) the year of first publication of the sound recording; and
(3) the name of the owner of copyright in the sound recording,
or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a
generally known alternative designation of the owner; if the
producer of the sound recording is named on the phonorecord
labels or containers, and if no other name appears in conjunction
with the notice, the producer's name shall be considered a part
of the notice.
(c) Position of Notice. - The notice shall be placed on the
surface of the phonorecord, or on the phonorecord label or
container, in such manner and location as to give reasonable notice
of the claim of copyright.
(d) Evidentiary Weight of Notice. - If a notice of copyright in
the form and position specified by this section appears on the
published phonorecord or phonorecords to which a defendant in a
copyright infringement suit had access, then no weight shall be
given to such a defendant's interposition of a defense based on
innocent infringement in mitigation of actual or statutory damages,
except as provided in the last sentence of section 504(c)(2).

HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES
HOUSE REPORT NO. 94-1476
A special notice requirement, applicable only to the subject
matter of sound recordings, is established by section 402. Since
the bill protects sound recordings as separate works, independent
of protection for any literary or musical works embodied in them,
there would be a likelihood of confusion if the same notice
requirements applied to sound recordings and to the works they
incorporate. Like the present law, therefore, section 402 thus sets
forth requirements for a notice to appear on the "phonorecords" of
"sound recordings" that are different from the notice requirements
established by section 401 for the "copies" of all other types of
copyrightable works. Since "phonorecords" are not "copies," there
is no need to place a section 401 notice on "phonorecords" to
protect the literary or musical works embodied in the records.
In general, the form of the notice specified by section 402(b)
consists of the symbol "P"; the year of first publication of the
sound recording; and the name of the copyright owner or an
admissible variant. Where the record producer's name appears on the
record label, album, sleeve, jacket, or other container, it will be
considered a part of the notice if no other name appears in
conjunction with it. Under subsection (c), the notice for a
copyrighted sound recording may be affixed to the surface, label,
or container of the phonorecord "in such manner and location as to
give reasonable notice of the claim of copyright."
There are at least three reasons for prescribing use of the
symbol "P" rather than "G6&169;" in the notice to appear on
phonorecords of sound recordings. Aside from the need to avoid
confusion between claims to copyright in the sound recording and in
the musical or literary work embodied in it, there is also a
necessity for distinguishing between copyright claims in the sound
recording and in the printed text or art work appearing on the
record label, album cover, liner notes, et cetera. The symbol
"G6&169;" has also been adopted as the international symbol for
the protection of sound recordings by the "Phonograms Convention"
(the Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms
Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms, done at
Geneva October 29, 1971), to which the United States is a party.
AMENDMENTS
1988 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100-568, Sec. 7(b)(1), (2),
substituted "General provisions" for "General requirement" in
heading, and "may be placed on" for "shall be placed on all" in
text.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 100-568, Sec. 7(b)(3), substituted "If a
notice appears on the phonorecords, it" for "The notice appearing
on the phonorecords".
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 100-568, Sec. 7(b)(4), added subsec. (d).
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1988 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 100-568 effective Mar. 1, 1989, with any
cause of action arising under this title before such date being
governed by provisions in effect when cause of action arose, see
section 13 of Pub. L. 100-568, set out as a note under section 101
of this title.

Last modified: April 19, 2006