Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas House Bill HB3125 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Thompson (Senate Sponsor - Patrick) H.B. No. 3125
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 12, 2011;
3	3	May 12, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on
4	4	Jurisprudence; May 21, 2011, reported favorably by the following
5	5	vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 21, 2011, sent to printer.)
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to the offenses of unauthorized duplication, unauthorized
11	11	recording, unauthorized operation of recording device, and
12	12	improper labeling of recordings.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Section 641.001(4), Business & Commerce Code, is
15	15	amended to read as follows:
16	16	(4) "Recording" means a tangible medium on which
17	17	sounds, images, or both are recorded or otherwise stored,
18	18	including:
19	19	(A) an original phonograph record, disc, tape,
20	20	audio or video cassette, wire, film, electronic storage device, or
21	21	other medium now existing or later developed; or
22	22	(B) a copy or reproduction that wholly or partly
23	23	duplicates the original.
24	24	SECTION 2. Section 641.052, Business & Commerce Code, is
25	25	amended to read as follows:
26	26	Sec. 641.052. UNAUTHORIZED RECORDING OF LIVE PERFORMANCE.
27	27	(a) In this section:
28	28	(1) "Artist" means a person who contracts to perform
29	29	or entertain at a live entertainment event.
30	30	(2) "Live entertainment event" means an event that
31	31	occurs on a specific date and at which:
32	32	(A) an individual or a group of individuals,
33	33	physically present at the venue, performs for the purpose of
34	34	entertaining a person who is present at the event;
35	35	(B) a traveling circus or animal show performs
36	36	for the purpose of entertaining a person who is present at the
37	37	event; or
38	38	(C) a historical, museum-quality artifact is on
39	39	display at an exhibition.
40	40	(3) "Live performance" means a recitation, rendering,
41	41	or playing of a series, in an audible sequence, of:
42	42	(A) images;
43	43	(B) musical, spoken, or other sounds; or
44	44	(C) a combination of images and sounds.
45	45	(4) "Promoter" means an individual contracted by an
46	46	artist to promote, organize, coordinate, operate, and manage a live
47	47	entertainment event. The term includes services related to:
48	48	(A) the provision of staff for the live
49	49	entertainment event; or
50	50	(B) the scheduling and promotion of an artist
51	51	performing or entertaining at the live entertainment event.
52	52	(b) A person commits an offense if the person, with the
53	53	knowledge that a live performance has been recorded or fixed
54	54	without the consent of the owner:
55	55	(1) for commercial advantage or private financial
56	56	gain, advertises, offers for sale, sells, rents, or transports,
57	57	causes the sale, resale, rental, or transportation of, or possesses
58	58	for one or more of these purposes a recording containing sounds of
59	59	the live performance; or
60	60	(2) with the intent to sell for commercial advantage
61	61	or private financial gain, records or fixes the live performance,
62	62	or causes the live performance to be recorded or fixed on a
63	63	recording.
64	64	(c) [(b)] An offense under this section is punishable by:
65	65	(1) imprisonment for a term of not more than five
66	66	years, a fine not to exceed $250,000, or both, if:
67	67	(A) the offense involves at least 1,000
68	68	unauthorized recordings embodying sound or at least 65 unauthorized
69	69	audiovisual recordings during a 180-day period; or
70	70	(B) the defendant has been previously convicted
71	71	under this section;
72	72	(2) imprisonment for a term of not more than two years,
73	73	a fine not to exceed $250,000, or both, if the offense involves more
74	74	than 100 but fewer than 1,000 unauthorized recordings embodying
75	75	sound or more than seven but fewer than 65 unauthorized audiovisual
76	76	recordings during a 180-day period; or
77	77	(3) confinement in the county jail for a term of not
78	78	more than one year, a fine not to exceed $25,000, or both, if the
79	79	offense is not otherwise punishable under Subdivision (1) or (2).
80	80	(d) A promoter and an artist shall, regarding a contract for
81	81	the artist's performance at a live entertainment event:
82	82	(1) comply with the terms of the contract regarding
83	83	the distribution of recording revenue or event proceeds between the
84	84	promoter and the artist; and
85	85	(2) agree to and secure permission for the recording
86	86	of the live entertainment event in writing before the event is
87	87	recorded.
88	88	(e) [(c)] In the absence of a written agreement or law to
89	89	the contrary, the performer or performers of a live performance are
90	90	presumed to own the rights to record or fix those sounds.
91	91	(f) [(d)] For purposes of this section, a person authorized
92	92	to maintain custody and control over business records that reflect
93	93	whether the owner of a live performance consented to having the live
94	94	performance recorded or fixed is a proper witness in a proceeding
95	95	regarding the issue of consent. A witness called under this
96	96	subsection is subject to the rules of evidence relating to the
97	97	competency of a witness to testify and the relevance and
98	98	admissibility of the testimony offered.
99	99	SECTION 3. Section 641.001(2), Business & Commerce Code, is
100	100	repealed.
101	101	SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
102	102	to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
103	103	An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
104	104	governed by the law in effect at the time the offense was committed,
105	105	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
106	106	purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
107	107	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
108	108	before that date.
109	109	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
110	110	* * * * *