Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) delivered the following statement on the House floor in support of H.R. 704, the ARTS Act:

"I rise in support of H.R. 704, a bill that would help introduce promising young students who have won either the Congressional Art Competition or the Congressional App Challenge to the intellectual property system by waiving the fee for those students to apply for a copyright registration for their winning work.

"I applaud Mr. Jeffries for introducing this bipartisan, bicameral legislation with Ms. Mace, along with their bipartisan cosponsors.

"Many of us in this Chamber know just how important intellectual property rights are to our country and our economy.  Yet studies show that awareness of intellectual property is lacking among the country’s students, even if they pursue fields that are IP-intensive.  The ARTS Act helps close this awareness gap early on and allows these students to participate in the intellectual property system without a financial burden.

"It builds on Congress’s work to encourage the creativity of our nation’s youth with the establishment of the Congressional Art Competition nearly forty years ago, and the Congressional App Challenge more recently in 2013.

"In the Art Competition, Members host a District-wide contest in which high school students compete to have their artwork hang in the halls of Congress.  In the App Challenge, middle and high school students show off their computer coding skills and compete against others in their District

"Year after year, in both of these competitions, the talent our students display is remarkable.  Through both, we continue to see our youth encouraged to develop their artistic and technical talents, as Congress intended.

"The ARTS Act makes these competitions even more impactful.  Under the bill, students may apply to register a copyright for their winning artwork or winning app for free.  This introduces these students to the intellectual property system and the benefits of copyright protection. 

"Under current law, the Register of Copyrights cannot waive these fees on her own.   The ARTS Act amends the Copyright Act to allow such a fee waiver for these specific circumstances.

"I again applaud Mr. Jeffries and Ms. Mace for bringing forward this important bipartisan legislation, which will aid the next generation of creators and innovators, and I urge my colleagues to support its passage."