United States 114th Congress Status: Died 1 D cosponsors

HR 238 — Copyright and Marriage Equality Act

Last action — Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. Died in session

This bill died with 114th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

Copyright and Marriage Equality Act Amends federal copyright law to revise the definition of "widow" or "widower" for purposes of provisions concerning the transfer of a copyright to an author's spouse or other next of kin following the author's death. Declares that an individual is the widow or widower of an author if the courts of the state in which the individual and the author were married (or, if the individual and the author were not married in any state but were validly married in another jurisdiction, the courts of any state) would find that the individual and the author were validly married at the time of the author's death. (Currently, only the author's surviving spouse under the law of the author's domicile at the time of death is considered a widow.)

Bill Text

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Read HR 238 on the official United States source →

Action History

  1. Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.

  2. Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

  3. Introduced in House

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 546 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (546)

546 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

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Subjects

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Frequently asked questions

What does HR 238 do?
Copyright and Marriage Equality Act Amends federal copyright law to revise the definition of "widow" or "widower" for purposes of provisions concerning the transfer of a copyright to an author's spouse or other next of kin following the author's death. Declares that an individual is the widow or widower of an author if the courts of the state in which the individual and the author were married (or, if the individual and the author were not married in any state but were validly married in another jurisdiction, the courts of any state) would find that the individual and the author were validly married at the time of the author's death. (Currently, only the author's surviving spouse under the law of the author's domicile at the time of death is considered a widow.)
Who sponsors HR 238?
HR 238 is sponsored by Derek Kilmer (D).
What is the current status of HR 238?
This bill died with 114th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track HR 238?
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