NY S06298

Amends Penal Law Section 275.45 to exempt libraries, museums, archives, and other cultural institutions from unauthorized recording offenses when creating digital copies of historic sound recordings for preservation or archival purposes.

Allows cultural institutions to make digital copies of historic sound recordings available to the public for non-commercial purposes including teaching, scholarship, and research, provided the copies cannot be downloaded or saved to a computer hard drive.

Requires digital copies be provided in compressed digital audio file format and accompanied by copyright information or notice that the recording may be protected by state or federal copyright laws.

Extends the exemption to employees, contractors, and interns of cultural institutions who reproduce, adapt, or distribute historic sound recordings from analog to digital format or publicly perform them for non-commercial educational and research purposes.

Takes effect immediately upon enactment.