You Own Devices Act

You Own Devices Act

This bill amends federal copyright law to allow the owner of a machine or other product operated in any part by a computer program to transfer an authorized copy of the computer program, or the right to obtain such copy, when the owner sells, leases, or otherwise transfers the machine or product to another person. The bill prohibits such right to transfer the computer program from being waived by any agreement.

Any right to receive modifications to such a computer program relating to security or error correction that applied to the owner of the machine or product shall apply to the person to whom the machine or product and the copy of the computer program are transferred.

Nothing in this bill should be construed to permit the owner to retain an unauthorized copy of the computer program after such a transfer.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 905 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 905

 To amend title 17, United States Code, to provide that the first sale 
  doctrine applies to any computer program that enables a machine or 
           other product to operate, and for other purposes.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 7, 2017

  Mr. Farenthold (for himself and Mr. Polis) introduced the following 
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

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                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 17, United States Code, to provide that the first sale 
  doctrine applies to any computer program that enables a machine or 
           other product to operate, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``You Own Devices Act''.

SEC. 2. FIRST SALE DOCTRINE AND CERTAIN COMPUTER PROGRAMS.

    (a) In General.--Section 109 of title 17, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) Transfer of Certain Computer Programs.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding section 106 or section 
        117, if a computer program enables any part of a machine or 
        other product to operate, the owner of the machine or other 
        product is entitled to transfer an authorized copy of the 
        computer program, or the right to obtain such copy, when the 
        owner sells, leases, or otherwise transfers the machine or 
        other product to another person. The right to transfer provided 
        under this subsection may not be waived by any agreement.
            ``(2) Security and error correction.--Any right to receive 
        modifications to the computer program described in paragraph 
        (1) relating in whole or in part to security or error 
        correction that applied to the owner of the machine or other 
        product described in paragraph (1) shall apply to the person to 
        whom the machine or product and the copy of the computer 
        program are transferred.
            ``(3) Treatment of unauthorized copies.--Nothing in this 
        subsection should be construed as permitting the owner of a 
        machine or other product to retain an unauthorized copy of the 
        computer program described in paragraph (1) after transferring 
        the machine or other product and the copy of the computer 
        program to another person.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply to 
transfers of computer programs occurring on or after such date.
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