PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.
H.R.357 / 109th Congress

Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005

Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jan 25, 2005

Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005 -Artists' Rights and Theft Prevention Act of 2005 or (ART Act) - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the unauthorized, knowing use of a video camera or similar device to transmit or make a copy of a copyrighted audiovisual work from a performance in a movie theater.

Establishes criminal penalties for willful copyright infringement by knowingly making a computer program, musical work, motion picture, or sound recording being prepared for commercial distribution available to the public on a computer network.

Family Movie Act of 2005 - Exempts from copyright and trademark infringement, under certain circumstances: (1) making limited portions of the audio or video content of a motion picture for private home viewing imperceptible; or (2) the creation of technology that enables such editing.

Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.

Read full official summaryShow less

National Film Preservation Act of 2005 - Amends the National Film Preservation Act of 1996 to direct the Librarian of Congress to carry out preservation activities, including generating public awareness of the National Film Registry, updating the national film preservation program with technological advances, and utilizing the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center to ensure that Registry films are properly stored and disseminated in accordance with copyright law and any relevant agreements. Reauthorizes film preservation provisions.

National Film Preservation Foundation Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Allows the Foundation's board of directors to determine the location of its principal office. Authorizes appropriations to the Library of Congress for the Foundation.

Preservation of Orphan Works Act - Provides that the limitation on reproduction and distribution of copyrighted works does not apply to the authority of libraries or archives, during the last 20 years of copyright, to reproduce, distribute, display, or perform in facsimile or digital form a copy or phonorecord of published works for preservation, scholarship, or research under certain conditions.

Read the summary on Congress.gov
PlainBill analysis is coming later. This page presents official source data. We have not yet published a PlainBill explanation for this bill.

Who introduced it

Rep. Smith, Lamar [R-TX-21] · R–TX

Committees

  • Judiciary Committee
  • Committee on House Administration
7 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

Actions

A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.

  1. Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property.

  2. Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

  3. Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

  4. Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

  5. Introduced in House

  6. Introduced in House

Bill text & related measures

Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.

Related bills identified by Congress.gov

Source last updated: Aug 15, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

Explore the bill from different angles

Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.

Neutral evidence review

Objective

Analyze H.R.357 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.

View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact

Progressive lens

Examine H.R.357 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.

View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope

Conservative lens

Examine H.R.357 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.

View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power

Liberty lens

Examine H.R.357 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.

View full prompt & sources