Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Senate File 2230 - Introduced
                                  SENATE FILE 2230
                                  BY J. TAYLOR
                            A BILL FOR
An Act relating to contracts between a publisher and a library
  for electronic literary materials, and providing civil
  penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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    Section 1. NEW SECTION. 554H.1 Definitions.
    For purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise
 requires:
    1. “Aggregator” means a person in the business of licensing
 access to electronic literary material collections, including
 from multiple publishers.
    2. “Borrower” means a person, including another library, to
 whom a library loans media of any type.
    3. “Digital audiobook” means a sound recording of a reading
 of a literary production that has been converted into, or
 published in, a digital audio file that may be listened to on
 an electronic device.
    4. “Electronic book” means a text document converted into,
 or published in, a digital format that may be read on an
 electronic device.
    5. “Electronic literary material” means a digital audiobook
 or electronic book.
    6. “Library” means a public library, a public school
 library, a tribal library, an academic library, a research
 library, public archives, or the state library.
    7. “Loan” means the transmission by a library to a borrower
 of a copy of electronic literary materials and the deletion of
 the copy of the electronic literary materials by the library at
 a time determined by the library.
    8. “Publisher” means a person in the business of
 manufacturing, promulgating, licensing, or selling books,
 audiobooks, journals, magazines, newspapers, or other
 literary productions, including electronic literary materials.
 “Publisher” includes an aggregator who enters into a contract
 with a library for the purpose of providing materials for
 purchase or license from a publisher.
    Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 554H.2 Scope.
    This chapter shall apply to a contract or license agreement
 offered, entered into, or renewed by a publisher for the
 license of electronic literary materials to a library in the
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                               S.F. 2230
 state on or after July 1, 2024.
    Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 554H.3 Contract or license
 requirements.
    1. A contract or license agreement between a publisher and
 a library shall not preclude, limit, or restrict the library
 from performing customary operational or lending functions, and
 shall not contain a provision that does any of the following:
    a. Prohibits the library from loaning certain electronic
 literary materials, including through an interlibrary loan
 system.
    b. Restricts the length of time a library may loan certain
 electronic literary materials, or restricts the number of times
 the library may loan certain electronic literary materials over
 the course of the license agreement.
    c. Limits the number of electronic literary material
 licenses the library may purchase on the same date the
 electronic literary material is made available for purchase by
 the public.
    d. Prohibits the library from making nonpublic preservation
 copies of electronic literary materials.
    e. Restricts the library from disclosing the terms of the
 contract or license agreement to any other library in the
 state.
    f. Restricts the duration of the contract or license
 agreement unless the publisher has also offered the library a
 contract or license agreement that is any of the following:
    (1) Based on a pay-per-use model.
    (2) Provides for the perpetual public use of the electronic
 literary material upon commercially reasonable terms in
 consideration of the library’s mission.
    g. Requires the library to violate section 22.7.
    2. A contract or license agreement between a publisher and a
 library may require any of the following:
    a. A limitation on the number of borrowers the library
 may allow to have simultaneous access to certain electronic
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                                        S.F. 2230
 literary materials.
    b. The library’s reasonable use of a technological
 protection measure that prevents a borrower from doing any of
 the following:
    (1) Maintaining access to certain electronic literary
 materials beyond the loan period specified in the license.
    (2) Providing another person with access to certain
 electronic literary materials.
    Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 554H.4 Enforcement —— penalties.
    If the attorney general has reasonable belief that a
 publisher is in violation of this chapter, the attorney general
 has the sole authority to bring civil action to provide for all
 of the following:
    1. Enjoinment of further violations by the publisher.
    2. Enforcement of compliance with this chapter.
    3. Assessment of civil penalties in an amount not more than
 one hundred thousand dollars.
    4. Other remedies permitted under law.
                            EXPLANATION
         The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
          the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
    This bill relates to contracts between a publisher and a
 library for electronic literary materials.
    The bill prohibits a contract or license agreement between
 a publisher and a library from precluding, limiting, and
 restricting the library from performing customary operational
 or lending functions. The contract or license agreement
 shall not contain a provision that prohibits the library from
 loaning electronic literary material (material); restricts
 the number of times the library may loan material over the
 course of the license agreement; limits the number of material
 licenses the library may purchase on the same date the material
 is made available for purchase by the public; prohibits the
 library from making nonpublic preservation copies of material;
 restricts the library from disclosing the terms of the contract
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                                S.F. 2230
 or license agreement to another library in the state; restricts
 the duration of the contract or license agreement unless the
 publisher has also offered the library a contract or license
 agreement that is either based on a pay-per-use model or
 provides for the perpetual public use of the material; and
 requires the library to violate the provisions of Code section
 22.7. “Borrower”, “electronic literary material”, “library”,
 “loan”, “loan period”, and “publisher” are defined in the bill.
    The bill authorizes a contract or license agreement between
 a publisher and a library to limit the number of borrowers the
 library may allow to have simultaneous access to material. The
 bill also authorizes a contract or license agreement between a
 publisher and a library to require the library’s reasonable use
 of a technological protection measure that prevents a borrower
 from maintaining access to material beyond the loan period
 specified in the license, or from providing another person with
 access to material.
    The bill authorizes the attorney general, upon reasonable
 belief that a publisher is in violation of the bill, to bring
 civil action to enjoin further violations by the publisher,
 enforce compliance with the bill, assess a civil penalty not to
 exceed $100,000 per violation of the bill, and to obtain other
 remedies permitted under law.
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