§ 16-7 — Unlawful use of recorded sounds or images

Illinois § 16-7

• Jurisdiction: Illinois
• Topic: RIGHTS AND REMEDIES
• Ch. 720: CRIMINAL OFFENSES
• Act 720 ILCS 5/: Criminal Code of 2012.
• Art.: Title III - Specific Offenses

Text

(a) A person commits unlawful use of recorded sounds or images when he or she knowingly or recklessly: (1) transfers or causes to be transferred without the consent of the owner, any sounds or images recorded on any sound or audio visual recording with the intent of selling or causing to be sold, or using or causing to be used for profit the article to which such sounds or recordings of sound are transferred; (2) sells, offers for sale, advertises for sale, uses or causes to be used for profit any such article described in subdivision (a)(1) without consent of the owner; (3) offers or makes available for a fee, rental or any other form of compensation, directly or indirectly, any equipment or machinery for the purpose of use by another to reproduce or transfer, without the consent of the owner, any sounds or images recorded on any sound or audio visual recording to another sound or audio visual recording or for the purpose of use by another to manufacture any sound or audio visual recording in violation of subsection (b); or (4) transfers or causes to be transferred without the consent of the owner, any live performance with the intent of selling or causing to be sold, or using or causing to be used for profit the sound or audio visual recording to which the performance is transferred. (b) A person commits unlawful use of unidentified sound or audio visual recordings when he or she knowingly, recklessly, or negligently for profit manufacturers, sells, distributes, vends, circulates, performs, leases, possesses, or otherwise deals in and with unidentified sound or audio visual recordings or causes the manufacture, sale, distribution, vending, circulation, performance, lease, or other dealing in and with unidentified sound or audio visual recordings. (c) For the purposes of this Section, "owner" means the person who owns the master sound recording on which sound is recorded and from which the transferred recorded sounds are directly or indirectly derived, or the person who owns the rights to record or authorize the recording of a live performance. For the purposes of this Section, "manufacturer" means the person who actually makes or causes to be made a sound or audio visual recording. "Manufacturer" does not include a person who manufactures the medium upon which sounds or visual images can be recorded or stored, or who manufactures the cartridge or casing itself. (d) Sentence. Unlawful use of recorded sounds or images or unidentified sound or audio visual recordings is a Class 4 felony; however: (1) If the offense involves more than 100 but not exceeding 1000 unidentified sound recordings or more than 7 but not exceeding 65 unidentified audio visual recordings during any 180 day period the authorized fine is up to $100,000; and (2) If the offense involves more than 1,000 unidentified sound recordings or more than 65 unidentified audio visual recordings during any 180 day period the authorized fine is up to $250,000. (e) Upon conviction of any violation of subsection (b), the offender shall be sentenced to make restitution to any owner or lawful producer of a master sound or audio visual recording, or to the trade association representing such owner or lawful producer, that has suffered injury resulting from the crime. The order of restitution shall be based on the aggregate wholesale value of lawfully manufactured and authorized sound or audio visual recordings corresponding to the non-conforming recorded devices involved in the offense, and shall include investigative costs relating to the offense. (f) Subsection (a) of this Section shall neither enlarge nor diminish the rights of parties in private litigation. (g) Subsection (a) of this Section does not apply to any person engaged in the business of radio or television broadcasting who transfers, or causes to be transferred, any sounds (other than from the sound track of a motion picture) solely for the purpose of broadcast transmission. (h) Each individual manufacture, distribution or sale or transfer for a consideration of such recorded devices in contravention of subsection (a) of this Section constitutes a separate violation of this Section. Each individual manufacture, sale, distribution, vending, circulation, performance, lease, possession, or other dealing in and with an unidentified sound or audio visual recording under subsection (b) of this Section constitutes a separate violation of this Section. (i) Any sound or audio visual recordings containing transferred sounds or a performance whose transfer was not authorized by the owner of the master sound recording or performance, or any unidentified sound or audio visual recording used, in violation of this Section, or in the attempt to commit such violation as defined in Section 8-4, or in a conspiracy to commit such violation as defined in Section 8-2, or in a solicitation to commit such offense as defined in Section 8-1, may be confiscated and destroyed upon conclusion of the case or cases to which they are relevant, except that the court may enter an order preserving them as evidence for use in other cases or pending the final determination of an appeal. (j) It is an affirmative defense to any charge of unlawful use of recorded sounds or images that the recorded sounds or images so used are public domain material. For purposes of this Section, recorded sounds are deemed to be in the public domain if the recorded sounds were copyrighted pursuant to the copyright laws of the United States, as the same may be amended from time to time, and the term of the copyright and any extensions or renewals thereof has expired. (k) With respect to sound recordings (other than accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work), this Section applies only to sound recordings that were initially recorded before February 15, 1972.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 97-538, eff. 1-1-12; 97-597, eff. 1-1-12; 97-1109, eff. 1-1-13.)