PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2879-2880)
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · May 23, 2018
Accessibility for Curators, Creators, Educators, Scholars, and Society to Recordings Act or ACCESS to Recordings Act
This bill provides for federal copyright protection to sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972, which are currently only covered by state law.
The bill also establishes the length of the protection term for various categories of pre-1972 recordings.
To be eligible for statutory damages or attorneys' fees for infringement of a pre-1972 recording, the work must be registered no later than one year after this bill's effective date.
For the first three years after the bill's effective date, the copyright owner of pre-1972 recordings is eligible for statutory damages or attorneys' fees only if it notifies the alleged infringer of the recording's copyright registration and the allegedly infringing acts. The copyright owner may file its lawsuit after 180 days, if the alleged infringement has not ceased.
People & committees
Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] · D–OR
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2879-2880)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
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.
Analyze S.2933 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.
Examine S.2933 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.
Examine S.2933 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.
Examine S.2933 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.