H.R. 4997House116th Congress (2019-2021)In Committee

ARTS Act

Introduced November 8, 2019

AI-Generated Summary

Updated April 14, 2026 at 9:17 AM UTC

The ARTS Act would let the Register of Copyrights waive the filing fee for copyright registration when a work wins certain high‑school art competitions. The waiver applies if the registration is filed by the end of the calendar year following the competition win, and the Register may also waive the fee later. The bill mainly helps student artists who win those contests.

Key Provisions

  • Defines a “covered competition” as either a Congressional Institute art contest limited to high‑school students or the competition mentioned in H.Res. 77.
  • If a work wins a covered competition, the Register must waive the registration fee for an application filed no later than the last day of the calendar year after the competition year.
  • The Register may also waive the fee for applications filed after that deadline if the fee would have been waived had the application been submitted on time.

Legislative Activity

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2 earlier actions
HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

November 8, 2019

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HouseCommittee

Hearings Held by the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Prior to Introduction.

September 27, 2019

HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

November 8, 2019

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

November 8, 2019

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued November 8, 2019

I

116th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 4997

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

November 8, 2019

Mrs. Roby (for herself and Mr. Jeffries) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend section 708 of title 17, United States Code, to permit the Register of Copyrights to waive fees for filing an application for registration of a copyright claim in certain circumstances, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Artistic Recognition for Talented Students Act or the ARTS Act.

2.

Waiver of fees for winners of certain competitions

Section 708 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

(e)
(1)

In this subsection, the term covered competition means—

(A)

an art competition sponsored by the Congressional Institute that is open only to high school students; and

(B)

the competition described in section 3 of H. Res. 77, as adopted by the 113th Congress.

(2)

With respect to a work that wins a covered competition, the Register of Copyrights—

(A)

shall waive the requirement under subsection (a)(1) with respect to an application for registration of a copyright claim for that work if that application is filed not later than the last day of the calendar year following the year in which the work claimed by the application wins the covered competition (referred to in this paragraph as the covered year); and

(B)

may waive the fee described in subparagraph (A) for an application filed after the end of the covered year if the fee would have been waived under that subparagraph had the application been submitted before the last day of the covered year.

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