40-13-305.

40-13-305.

40-13-302. Information required to be provided regarding royalty contracts; contract requirements.

(a) No performing rights society shall enter into, or offer to enter into, a contract for the payment of royalties by a proprietor unless at the time of the offer, or any time thereafter, but no later than seventy-two (72) hours prior to the execution of that contract, it provides to the proprietor, in writing the following:

(i) A schedule of the rates and terms of royalties under the contract;

(ii) Upon request of the proprietor, the opportunity to review the most current available list of the members or affiliates represented by the society;

(iii) Notice that it will make available, upon written request of any proprietor or bona fide trade association representing groups of proprietors, at the sole expense of the proprietor or bona fide trade association representing groups of proprietors, by electronic means or otherwise, the most current available listing of the copyrighted musical works in such performing rights society's repertory. The notice shall specify the means by which the information can be secured;

(iv) Notice that the performing rights society has a toll free telephone number which can be used to answer inquiries of a proprietor regarding specific musical works and the copyright owners represented by that performing rights society; and

(v) Notice that it complies with federal law and orders of courts having appropriate jurisdiction regarding the rates and terms of royalties and the circumstances under which licenses for rights for public performances are offered to any proprietor.

(b) Every contract between a performing rights society and proprietor for the payment of royalties executed, issued or renewed in this state on or after July 1, 1996 shall:

(i) Be in writing;  (ii) Be signed by the parties; and

(iii) Include at least the following information:

(A) The proprietor's name and business address and the name and location of each place of business to which the contract applies;

(B) The name and address of the performing rights society;

(C) The duration of the contract; and

(D) The schedule of rates and terms of the royalties to be collected under the contract, including any sliding scale or schedule for any increase or decrease of those rates for the duration of that contract.

40-13-303. Restrictions.

(a) No performing rights society or any agent or employee thereof shall:

(i) With respect to a contract executed, issued or renewed on or after July 1, 1996, collect or attempt to collect from a proprietor licensed by that performing rights society a royalty payment except as provided in a contract executed pursuant to the provisions of this act;

(ii) Enter onto the premises of a proprietor's business for the purpose of discussing a contract for payment of royalties for the use of copyrighted works by that proprietor without first identifying himself to the proprietor or his employees and disclosing that the agent is acting on behalf of the performing rights society and disclosing the purposes of the discussion.

40-13-304. Civil actions.

Any person who suffers a violation of this act may bring an action to recover actual damages and reasonable attorney's fees and seek an injunction or any other remedy available at law or in equity.

40-13-305. Applicability. This act shall not apply to contracts between performing rights societies and broadcasters licensed by the federal communications commission or to contracts with cable operators, programmers or other transmission services. This act also shall not apply to investigations conducted by law enforcement agencies.

CHAPTER 14 - WYOMING UNIFORM CONSUMER CREDIT CODE

ARTICLE 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS

Part 1. Short Title, Construction, General Provisions

40-14-101. Short title.

This act shall be known and may be cited as "Wyoming Uniform Consumer Credit Code."

40-14-102. Purposes; rules of construction.

(a) This act shall be liberally construed and applied to promote its underlying purposes and policies.

(b) The underlying purposes and policies of this act are:

(i) To simplify, clarify and modernize the law governing retail installment sales, consumer credit, small loans and usury;

(ii) To provide rate ceilings to assure an adequate supply of credit to consumers;

(iii) To further consumer understanding of the terms of credit transactions and to foster competition among suppliers of consumer credit so that consumers may obtain credit at reasonable cost;

(iv) To protect consumer buyers, lessees, and borrowers against unfair practices by some suppliers of consumer credit, having due regard for the interests of legitimate and scrupulous creditors;

(v) To permit and encourage the development of fair and economically sound consumer credit practices;  (vi) To conform the regulation of consumer credit transactions to the policies of the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act; and

(vii) To make uniform the law, including administrative rules, among the various jurisdictions.

(c) A reference to a requirement imposed by this act includes reference to a related rule of the administrator adopted pursuant to this act.

40-14-103. Supplementary general principles of law applicable.

Unless displaced by the particular provisions of this act, the Uniform Commercial Code and the principles of law and equity, including the law relative to capacity to contract, principal and agent, estoppel, fraud, misrepresentation, duress, coercion, mistake, bankruptcy, or other validating or invalidating cause, supplement its provisions.

40-14-104. Construction against implicit repeal.

This act being a general act intended as a unified coverage of its subject matter, no part of it shall be deemed to be impliedly repealed by subsequent legislation if such construction can reasonably be avoided.

40-14-105. Severability.

If any provision of this act or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are severable.

40-14-106. Waiver; agreement to forego rights; settlement of claims; legal rate of interest; applicability.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this act, a buyer, lessee, or debtor may not waive or agree to forego rights or benefits under this act.

(b) A claim by a buyer, lessee, or debtor against a creditor for an excess charge, other violation of this act, or civil penalty, or a claim against a buyer, lessee, or debtor for default or breach of a duty imposed by this act, if disputed in good faith, may be settled by agreement.

(c) A claim, whether or not disputed, against a buyer, lessee, or debtor may be settled for less value than the amount claimed.

(d) A settlement in which the buyer, lessee, or debtor waives or agrees to forego rights or benefits under this act is invalid if the court as a matter of law finds the settlement to have been unconscionable at the time it was made. The competence of the buyer, lessee, or debtor, any deception or coercion practiced upon him, the nature and extent of the legal advice received by him, and the value of the consideration are relevant to the issue of unconscionability.

(e) If there is no agreement or provision of law for a different rate, the interest of money shall be at the rate of seven percent (7%) per annum.

(f) The Financial Technology Sandbox Act shall apply to this act.

40-14-107. Effect on powers of organizations.

(a) This act prescribes maximum charges for all creditors, except lessors and those excluded (W.S. 40-14-121), extending consumer credit including consumer credit sales (W.S. 40-14-204) and consumer loans (W.S. 40-14-304), and displaces existing limitations on the powers of those creditors based on maximum charges.

(b) With respect to sellers of goods or services, small loan companies, licensed lenders, consumer and sales finance companies, industrial banks and loan companies and commercial banks and trust companies, this act displaces existing limitations on their powers based solely on amount or duration of credit.

(c) Except as provided in subsection (a) of this section, this act does not displace limitations on powers of credit unions, savings banks, savings and loan associations, or other thrift institutions whether organized for the profit of shareholders or as mutual organizations.

(d) Except as provided in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, this act does not displace:  (i) Limitations on powers of supervised financial organizations defined by W.S. 40-14-140(a)(xix) with respect to the amount of a loan to a single borrower, the ratio of a loan to the value of collateral, the duration of a loan secured by an interest in land or other similar restrictions designed to protect deposits; or

(ii) Limitations on powers an organization is authorized to exercise under the laws of this state or the United States.

Part 2. Scope and Jurisdiction

40-14-120. Territorial application.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, this act applies to consumer credit transactions made in this state. For purposes of this act, a consumer credit transaction is made in this state if:

(i) A signed writing evidencing the obligation or offer of the consumer is received by the creditor or person acting on behalf of the creditor in this state;

(ii) Repealed By Laws 2013, Ch. 124, § 3.

(iii) The credit transaction is secured by a dwelling, as defined in W.S. 40-14-640(a), located in Wyoming; or

(iv) A consumer who is a resident of this state enters into a consumer credit transaction while in this state with a creditor who has offered or advertised in this state by means, including but not limited to mail brochure, telephone, print, radio, television, internet or other electronic means.

(b) With respect to sales made pursuant to a revolving charge account (W.S. 40-14-208), this act applies if the buyer's communication or indication of his intention to establish the account is received by the seller in this state. If no communication or indication of intention is given by the buyer before the first sale, this act applies if the seller's communication notifying the buyer of the privilege of using the account is mailed or personally delivered in this state.  (c) With respect to loans made pursuant to a lender credit card or similar arrangement (W.S. 40-14-140(a)(ix)), this act applies if the debtor's communication or indication of his intention to establish the arrangement with the lender is received by the lender in this state. If no communication or indication of intention is given by the debtor before the first loan, this act applies if the lender's communication notifying the debtor of the privilege of using the arrangement is mailed or personally delivered in this state.

(d) The part on limitations on creditors' remedies (part 1) of the article on remedies and penalties (article 5) applies to actions or other proceedings brought in this state to enforce rights arising from consumer credit sales, consumer leases, or consumer loans, or extortionate extensions of credit, wherever made.

(e) If a consumer credit sale, consumer lease, or consumer loan, or modification thereof, is made in another state to a person who is a resident of this state when the sale, lease, loan, or modification is made, the following provisions apply as though the transaction occurred in this state:

(i) A seller, lessor, lender, or assignee of his rights, may not collect charges through actions or other proceedings in excess of those permitted by the article on credit sales (article 2) or by the article on loans (article 3); and

(ii) A seller, lessor, lender, or assignee of his rights, may not enforce rights against the buyer, lessee, or debtor, with respect to the provisions of agreements which violate the provisions on limitations on agreements and practices (part 4) of the article on credit sales (article 2) or of the article on loans (article 3).

(f) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, a sale, lease, loan or modification thereof, made in another state to a person who was not a resident of this state when the sale, lease, loan, or modification was made is valid and enforceable in this state according to its terms to the extent that it is valid and enforceable under the laws of the state applicable to the transaction.

(g) For the purposes of this act, the residence of a buyer, lessee, or debtor is the address given by him as his residence in any writing signed by him in connection with a credit transaction. Until he notifies the creditor of a new or different address, the given address is presumed to be unchanged.

(h) Notwithstanding other provisions of this section:

(i) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, this act does not apply if the buyer, lessee, or debtor is not a resident of this state at the time of a credit transaction and the parties then agree that the law of his residence applies; and

(ii) This act applies if the buyer, lessee, or debtor is a resident of this state at the time of a credit transaction and the parties then agree that the law of this state applies.

(j) Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, the following agreements by a buyer, lessee, or debtor are invalid with respect to consumer credit sales, consumer leases, consumer loans, or modifications thereof, to which this act applies:

(i) That the law of another state shall apply;

(ii) That the buyer, lessee, or debtor consents to the jurisdiction of another state; and

(iii) That fixes venue.

(k) The following provisions of this act specify the applicable law governing certain cases:

(i) Applicability (W.S. 40-14-602) of the part on powers and functions of administrator (part 1) of the article on administration (article 6); and

(ii) Applicability (W.S. 40-14-630) of the part on notification and fees (part 2) of the article on administration (article 6).

40-14-121. Exclusions.

(a) Except as required by W.S. 40-14-641, this act does not apply to:

(i) Extensions of credit to government or governmental agencies or instrumentalities;  (ii) Except as otherwise provided in the article on insurance [article 4], the sale of insurance by an insurer if the premium is not financed;

(iii) Transactions under public utility or common carrier tariffs if a subdivision or agency of this state or of the United States regulates the charges for the services involved, the charges for delayed payment, and any discount allowed for early payment; or

(iv) Repealed by Laws 1983, ch. 62, § 2.

(v) Ceilings on rates and charges or limits on loan maturities of a credit union organized under the laws of this state or of the United States if these ceilings or limits are established by these laws; or

(vi) Credit sales, loans or leases primarily for an agricultural purpose except as provided in article 2, part 6 and article 3, part 6 of this code.

Part 3. Definitions

40-14-140. General definitions.

(a) In addition to definitions appearing in subsequent articles, in this act:

(i) "Actuarial method" means the method, defined by rules adopted by the administrator, of allocating payments made on a debt between principal or amount financed and loan finance charge or credit service charge pursuant to which a payment is applied first to the accumulated loan finance charge or credit service charge and the balance is applied to the unpaid principal or unpaid amount financed;

(ii) "Administrator" means the administrator designated in the article (article 6) on administration (W.S.