[hworth18]

As posted on another forum:

The following summary is provided by the Congressional Research Service, which is a government entity that serves Congress and is run by the Library of Congress.

2/28/2006--Introduced.
Military Toy Replica Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to require that any contract entered into or renewed by the Department of Defense include a provision prohibiting the contractor from requiring toy and hobby manufacturers, distributors, or merchants to obtain licenses from, or pay fees to, the contractor for the use of military likenesses or designations on items provided under the contract.


109TH CONGRESS
H. R. 4806
2D SESSION


To prohibit defense contractors from requiring licenses or fees for use of
military likenesses and designations.




IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 28, 2006
Mr. ANDREWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Armed Services




A BILL
To prohibit defense contractors from requiring licenses or
fees for use of military likenesses and designations.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Military Toy Replica
Act''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON DEFENSE CONTRACTORS REQUIR-
ING LICENSES OR FEES FOR USE OF MILI-
TARY LIKENESSES AND DESIGNATIONS.

The Secretary of Defense shall require that any con-
tract entered into or renewed by the Department of De-
fense include a provision prohibiting the contractor from
requiring toy and hobby manufacturers, distributors, or
merchants to obtain licenses from or pay fees to the con-
tractor for the use of military likenesses or designations
on items provided under the contract.





HR 4806 IH

[planenuts]

Thanks Harry. If I read that right, this is good news

[Canucklehead]

Thanks Harry. That brightened my day a bit. Score one for the little guys!

[STARMAN 352ND]

That's great news Harry.
Where did you find that?
JP

[PH-LKK]

Wow. Looks like somebody on the Hill likes models!

[PH-LKK]

I've confirmed that this Bill is for real. H.R. 4806 was introduced by Robert Andrews (of New Jersey) on February 28, 2006, and so far, the co-sponsors include: Zoe Lofgren of California, Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan, Marilyn Musgrave of Colorado, Frank Pallone, Jr., of New Jersey, and Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania. There are both Democrats and Republicans here, but with so few co-sponsors this is genuinely small potatoes for the House. The Bill was immediately referred to the House Armed Services Committee, which in turn referred it to the Subcommittee on Readiness (no idea why this particular subcommittee has jurisdiction) on March 20. As near as I can tell, this thing is currently dead in the water, unless it gets attached to an appropriations bill as an amendment at some point. Hate to burst anyone's bubble, but a lot of Bills get introduced every year that simply die in committee.

As for the Bill itself, there is one respect in which it is very poorly drafted: It is utterly ambiguous whether the sponsor intends the bar against private ownership of "military likenesses" to apply retroactively (that is, would it apply to "likenesses and designations" no longer manufactured or in use?).

[admin]

http://www.hmahobby.com/legislature.html

This bill needs support! Check this link to see what you can do to help.

[Tyler707]

Thanks Harry...good to know someone does look after us

[PH-LKK]

Well, I thought I'd look into this issue again and report what has happened now that Congress is shutting down until after the election.

At some point prior to May 10, when the House took up final consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, the language of H.R. 4806 was attached to the House version of the Defense Authorization Act, H.R. 5122, and could be found at Section 827. (Presumeably this language was attached in committee, which reported the bill out on May 5. The House passed H.R. 5122 on May 11, 2006, with this language included.)

The language of H.R. 4806 was not initially present in the Senate version of the Defense Authorization Act, S. 2766.

On June 21, Senator Menendez submitted an amendment (Senate Amendment 4440) to S. 2766, that would have essentially inserted the language of H.R. 4806 into the Senate bill. The Amendment was "tabled" (essentially killed without a vote).

The next day, June 22, the Senate passed its version of the Authorization bill, now re-numbered H.R. 5122 (to match the House number), but because the House and Senate versions differed, the Senate called for a "Conference" (a typical Congressional maneuver to resolve differences in legislation that each chamber has passed). The Conference met on September 12, and issued its report on September 29.

The report reveals that the Conference rejected the House language on this subject, but "encourages" the Department of Defense to consider the issue and report back its findings to Congress.

Prohibition on defense contractors requiring licenses or fees for use of military likenesses and designations

The House bill contained a provision (sec. 827) that would require that any contract entered into by the Department of Defense include a provision prohibiting the contractor from requiring toy and hobby manufacturers, distributors, or merchants to obtain licenses or pay fees for the use of military likenesses or designations on items provided under the contract.

The Senate amendment contained no similar provision.

The House recedes.

The conferees are aware that the use of military likenesses and designations in commerce involve issues of intellectual property and trademark law, constitutional takings, and the commercialization of defense technologies that are of great importance to the Department. The conferees are also aware that section 1004 of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (Public Law 108-375) authorized the Department to license trademarks, service marks, certification marks, and collective marks, and to operate a licensing program to raise funds for morale, welfare, and recreation activities.

The conferees believe that clarification of the system for determining ownership of military likenesses and designations could reduce confusion, particularly among manufacturers of toy models and hobby items, regarding appropriate policy and process for collection of license fees. The conferees encourage the Department to work with appropriate Federal departments and agencies to study the legal, financial, and administrative issues surrounding the registration of intellectual property rights in the likenesses and designations of military items, and to report back to Congress as soon as practicable on any recommendations for modifications to existing polices or statutes. The report should include a discussion of how the registration and licensing program authorized by section 1004 could be used to streamline the procedures under which toy and hobby manufacturers obtain licenses for military likenesses and designations.

This is what passed both chambers, and was signed by the President. It's better than nothing I guess.