II 

Calendar No. 165 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1670 

To reform and modernize the limitations on exclusive rights relating to 

secondary transmissions of certain signals. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 15, 2009 

Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. KOHL, Mr. HATCH, and Mr. 

KYL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on the Judiciary 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2009 

Reported by Mr. LEAHY, with amendments 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To reform and modernize the limitations on exclusive rights 

relating to secondary transmissions of certain signals. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Satellite Television 

5 Modernization Act of 2009’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ON EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS: SECONDARY 

2 TRANSMISSIONS OF SUPERSTATIONS AND 

3 NETWORK STATIONS FOR PRIVATE HOME 

4 VIEWING. 

5 Section 119 of title 17, United States Code, is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

9 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

10 (I) by striking ‘‘subparagraphs 

11 (B) and (C)’’ and inserting ‘‘subpara12 graph (B)’’; and 

13 (II) by striking ‘‘(5), (6), (7), 

14 and (8)’’ and inserting ‘‘(4), (5), (6), 

15 and (7)’’; 

16 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

17 (I) in clause (i), by striking the 

18 second sentence; and 

19 (I) in clause (i)— 

20 (aa) in the first sentence, by 

21 inserting before the period the fol22 lowing: ‘‘, except that a satellite 

23 provider lawfully serving a sub24 scriber with a distant network 

25 station pursuant to this subpara26 graph while a network station afVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:41 Sep 25, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1670.RS S1670

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1 filiated with such network was 

2 broadcasting in analog shall not 

3 be required to re-qualify such sub4 scriber to receive such distant sta5 tion under the digital predictive 

6 model established by the Federal 

7 Communications Commission’’; 

8 and 

9 (bb) by striking the second 

10 sentence; and 

11 (II) in clause (ii)— 

12 (aa) in subclause (I)— 

13 (AA) by striking ‘‘the 

14 Individual Location’’ and all 

15 that follows through ‘‘No. 

16 98–201,’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

17 predictive digital model es18 tablished by the Federal 

19 Communications Commis20 sion,’’; and 

21 (BB) by striking 

22 ‘‘under section 339(c)(3) of 

23 the Communications Act of 

24 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

25 339(c)(3))’’; and 


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1 (aa) in subclause (I), by 

2 striking ‘‘the court shall rely’’ and 

3 all that follows through the period 

4 at the end and insert the fol5 lowing: ‘‘a court shall rely, with 

6 respect to a signal originating as 

7 an analog signal, on the Indi8 vidual Location Longley-Rice 

9 model set forth by the Federal 

10 Communications Commission in 

11 Docket No. 98–201, and shall rely, 

12 with respect to a signal origi13 nating as a digital signal, on the 

14 predictive model established by the 

15 Federal Communications Com16 mission, as that model may be 

17 amended over time to increase the 

18 accuracy of that model.’’; and 

19 (bb) in subclause (II), by 

20 striking ‘‘section 339(c)(4) of the 

21 Communications Act of 1934 (47 

22 U.S.C. 339(c)(4))’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘rules established by the Federal 

24 Communications Commission’’; 

25 (iii) by striking subparagraph (C); 


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1 (iv) by redesignating subparagraph 

2 (D) as subparagraph (C); and 

3 (v) in subparagraph (C) (as so redes4 ignated)— 

5 (I) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘net6 work station—’’ and all that follows 

7 through the period at the end and in8 serting ‘‘network station a list, aggre9 gated by designated market area (as 

10 that term is defined in section 

11 122(j)), identifying (by name and ad12 dress, including street or rural route 

13 number, city, State, and zip code) all 

14 subscribers to which the satellite car15 rier makes secondary transmissions of 

16 that primary transmission to sub17 scribers in unserved households.’’; 

18 (II) in clause (ii), by striking 

19 ‘‘the network—’’ and all that follows 

20 through the period at the end and in21 serting ‘‘the network a list, aggre22 gated by designated market area (as 

23 that term is defined in section 

24 122(j)), identifying (by name and ad25 dress, including street or rural route 


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1 number, city, State, and zip code) any 

2 persons who have been added or 

3 dropped as subscribers under clause 

4 (i)(I) since the last submission under 

5 clause (i).’’; and 

6 (III) in clause (iv), at the end of 

7 the second sentence, by striking the 

8 ending quotation mark and semicolon; 

9 (B) by striking paragraph (3); 

10 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (4) 

11 through (14) as paragraphs (3) through (13), 

12 respectively; 

13 (D) by amending paragraph (3) (as so re14 designated) to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(3) STATUTORY LICENSE WHERE RETRANS16 MISSIONS INTO LOCAL MARKET AVAILABLE.— 

17 ‘‘(A) FUTURE APPLICABILITY.—The statu18 tory license under paragraph (2) shall not apply 

19 to the secondary transmission by a satellite car20 rier of a primary transmission of a network sta21 tion to a person who— 

22 ‘‘(i) is not a subscriber lawfully receiv23 ing such secondary transmission as of De24 cember 31, 2009; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) at the time such person seeks to 

2 subscribe to receive such secondary trans3 mission, resides in a local market where 

4 the satellite carrier makes available to that 

5 person the secondary transmission of the 

6 primary transmission of a local network 

7 station affiliated with the same television 

8 network pursuant to the statutory license 

9 under section 122, and such secondary 

10 transmission of such primary transmission 

11 can reach such person. 

12 ‘‘(B) OTHER PROVISIONS NOT AF13 FECTED.—This paragraph shall not affect the 

14 applicability of the statutory license to sec15 ondary transmissions to unserved households 

16 included under paragraph (11). 

17 ‘‘(C) WAIVER.—A subscriber who is denied 

18 the secondary transmission of a network station 

19 under this paragraph may request a waiver 

20 from such denial by submitting a request, 

21 through the subscriber‘s satellite carrier, to the 

22 network station in the local market affiliated 

23 with the same network where the subscriber is 

24 located. The network station shall accept or re25 ject the subscriber’s request for a waiver within 


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1 30 days after receipt of the request. If the net2 work station fails to accept or reject the sub3 scriber’s request for a waiver within that 30- 

4 day period, that network station shall be 

5 deemed to agree to the waiver request. Unless 

6 specifically stated by the network station, a 

7 waiver that was granted before the date of the 

8 enactment of the Satellite Home Viewer Exten9 sion and Reauthorization Act of 2004 under 

10 section 339(c)(2) of the Communications Act of 

11 1934 (47 U.S.C. 339(c)(2)) shall not constitute 

12 a waiver for purposes of this subparagraph. 

13 ‘‘(D) AVAILABLE DEFINED.—For purposes 

14 of this paragraph, a satellite carrier makes 

15 available a secondary transmission of the pri16 mary transmission of a local station to a sub17 scriber or person if the satellite carrier offers 

18 that secondary transmission to other sub19 scribers who reside in the same nine-digit zip 

20 code as that subscriber or person.’’; 

21 (E) in paragraph (4) (as so redesignated), 

22 by striking ‘‘section 509’’; 

23 (F) in paragraph (6) (as so redesig24 nated)— 


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1 (i) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by strik2 ing ‘‘$5’’ and inserting ‘‘$250’’; and 

3 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

4 (I) in clause (i), by striking 

5 ‘‘$250,000’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘$2,500,000’’; and 

7 (II) in clause (ii), by striking 

8 ‘‘$250,000’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘$2,500,000’’; 

10 (G) by striking paragraph (15); and 

11 (H) by redesignating paragraph (16) as 

12 paragraph (14); 

13 (2) in subsection (b)— 

14 (A) by striking the subsection heading and 

15 inserting ‘‘(b) DEPOSITS AND DISTRIBUTION

16 OF ROYALTY FEES.—’’; and 

17 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking the mat18 ter following subparagraph (B); 

19 (3) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘(c) ADJUSTMENT OF ROYALTY FEES.— 

22 ‘‘(1) APPLICABILITY AND DETERMINATION OF

23 ROYALTY FEES.— 

24 ‘‘(A) INITIAL FEE.—The appropriate fee 

25 for purposes of determining the royalty fee 


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1 under subsection (b)(1)(B) for the secondary 

2 transmission of the primary transmissions of 

3 network stations and superstations shall be the 

4 appropriate fee set forth in subchapter E of 

5 chapter III of title 37, Code of Federal Regula6 tions, as in effect on July 1, 2009, as modified 

7 under this paragraph. 

8 ‘‘(B) FEE SET BY VOLUNTARY NEGOTIA9 TION.—On or before January 4, 2010, Copy10 right Royalty Judges shall cause to be pub11 lished in the Federal Register of the initiation 

12 of voluntary negotiation proceedings for the 

13 purpose of determining the royalty fee to be 

14 paid by satellite carriers for the secondary 

15 transmission of the primary transmission of 

16 network stations and superstations under sub17 section (b)(1)(B). 

18 ‘‘(C) NEGOTIATIONS.—Satellite carriers, 

19 distributors, and copyright owners entitled to 

20 royalty fees under this section shall negotiate in 

21 good faith in an effort to reach a voluntary 

22 agreement or agreements for the payment of 

23 royalty fees. Any such satellite carriers, dis24 tributors, and copyright owners may at any 

25 time negotiate and agree to the royalty fee, and 


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1 may designate common agents to negotiate, 

2 agree to, or pay such fees. If the parties fail to 

3 identify common agents, Copyright Royalty 

4 Judges shall do so, after requesting rec5 ommendations from the parties to the negotia6 tion proceeding. The parties to each negotiation 

7 proceeding shall bear the cost thereof. 

8 ‘‘(D)(i) AGREEMENTS BINDING ON PAR9 TIES; FILING OF AGREEMENTS; PUBLIC NO10 TICE.—Voluntary agreements negotiated at any 

11 time in accordance with this paragraph shall be 

12 binding upon all satellite carriers, distributors, 

13 and copyright owners that are parties thereto. 

14 Copies of such agreements shall be filed with 

15 the Copyright Office within 30 days after exe16 cution in accordance with regulations that the 

17 Register of Copyrights shall prescribe. 

18 ‘‘(ii)(I) Within 10 days after publication in 

19 the Federal Register of a notice of the initiation 

20 of voluntary negotiation proceedings, parties 

21 who have reached a voluntary agreement may 

22 request that the royalty fees in that agreement 

23 be applied to all satellite carriers, distributors, 

24 and copyright owners without convening a pro25 ceeding pursuant to subparagraph (F). 


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1 ‘‘(II) Upon receiving a request under sub2 clause (I), the Copyright Royalty Judges shall 

3 immediately provide public notice of the royalty 

4 fees from the voluntary agreement and afford 

5 parties an opportunity to state that they object 

6 to those fees. 

7 ‘‘(III) The Copyright Royalty Judges shall 

8 adopt the royalty fees from the voluntary agree9 ment for all satellite carriers, distributors, and 

10 copyright owners without convening a pro11 ceeding unless a party with an intent to partici12 pate in the proceeding and a significant interest 

13 in the outcome of that proceeding objects under 

14 subclause (II). 

15 ‘‘(E) PERIOD AGREEMENT IS IN EF16 FECT.—The obligation to pay the royalty fees 

17 established under a voluntary agreement which 

18 has been filed with the Copyright Office in ac19 cordance with this paragraph shall become ef20 fective on the date specified in the agreement, 

21 and shall remain in effect until December 31, 

22 2014, or in accordance with the terms of the 

23 agreement, whichever is later. 

24 ‘‘(F) PROCEEDING TO ESTABLISH ROY25 ALTY FEES.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) NOTICE OF INITIATION OF PRO2 CEEDINGS; VOLUNTARY AGREEMENTS.— 

3 On or before May 3, 2010, the Copyright 

4 Royalty Judges shall cause notice to be 

5 published in the Federal Register of the 

6 initiation of proceedings for the purpose of 

7 determining the royalty fee to be paid for 

8 the secondary transmission of primary 

9 transmission of network stations and 

10 superstations under subsection (b)(1)(B) 

11 by satellite carriers and distributors— 

12 ‘‘(I) in the absence of a voluntary 

13 agreement filed in accordance with 

14 subparagraph (D) that establishes 

15 royalty fees to be paid by all satellite 

16 carriers and distributors; or 

17 ‘‘(II) if an objection to the fees 

18 from a voluntary agreement submitted 

19 for adoption by the Copyright Royalty 

20 Judges to apply to all satellite car21 riers, distributors, and copyright own22 ers is received under subparagraph 

23 (D) from a party with an intent to 

24 participate in the proceeding and a 


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1 significant interest in the outcome of 

2 that proceeding. 

3 Such proceeding shall be conducted as pro4 vided under chapter 8 of this title. 

5 ‘‘(ii) ESTABLISHMENT OF ROYALTY

6 FEES.—In determining royalty fees under 

7 this paragraph, the Copyright Royalty 

8 Judges shall establish fees for the sec9 ondary transmissions of the primary trans10 mission of network stations and supersta11 tions that most clearly represent the fair 

12 market value of secondary transmissions, 

13 except that the Copyright Royalty Judges 

14 shall adjust those fees to account for the 

15 obligations of the parties under any appli16 cable voluntary agreement filed with the 

17 Copyright Office pursuant to subparagraph 

18 (D). In determining the fair market value, 

19 the Copyright Royalty Judges shall base 

20 their decision on economic, competitive, 

21 and programming information presented 

22 by the parties, including— 

23 ‘‘(I) the competitive environment 

24 in which such programming is distrib25 uted, the cost of similar signals in 


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1 similar private and compulsory license 

2 marketplaces, and any special features 

3 and conditions of the retransmission 

4 marketplace; 

5 ‘‘(II) the economic impact of 

6 such fees on copyright owners and 

7 satellite carriers; and 

8 ‘‘(III) the impact on the contin9 ued availability of secondary trans10 missions to the public. 

11 ‘‘(iii) PERIOD DURING WHICH DECI12 SION OF COPYRIGHT ROYALTY JUDGES EF13 FECTIVE.—The obligation to pay the roy14 alty fee established under a determination 

15 which is made by the Copyright Royalty 

16 Judges under this paragraph shall be ef17 fective as of January 1, 2010. 

18 ‘‘(iv) PERSONS SUBJECT TO ROYALTY

19 FEE.—The royalty fee referred to clause 

20 (iii) shall be binding on all satellite car21 riers, distributors, and copyright owners, 

22 who are not party to a voluntary agree23 ment filed with the Copyright Office under 

24 subparagraph (D). 


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1 ‘‘(2) ROYALTY FEE ANNUAL ADJUSTMENT.— 

2 The royalty fee payable under subsection (b)(1)(B) 

3 for the secondary transmission of the primary trans4 mission of network stations and superstations shall 

5 be adjusted annually by the Copyright Royalty 

6 Judges to reflect any changes occurring during the 

7 preceding 12 months in the cost of living as deter8 mined by the most recent Consumer Price Index (for 

9 all consumers and items) published by the Secretary 

10 of Labor prior to December 1. Notification of the 

11 adjusted rates shall be published in the Federal Reg12 ister prior to December 1 of that year.’’; 

13 (4) in subsection (d)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (10)— 

15 (i) by amending subparagraph (A) to 

16 read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(A)(i) is located in a local market in 

18 which there is no primary network station affili19 ated with such network licensed to a community 

20 within such local market; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) cannot receive, through the use of a 

22 conventional, stationary, outdoor rooftop receiv23 ing antenna, an over-the-air signal of a primary 

24 network station affiliated with that network 

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1 ard in section 73.622(e)(1) of title 47 of the 

2 Code of Federal Regulations as in effect on 

3 January 1, 2010;’’; 

4 ‘‘(ii) cannot receive through the use of a 

5 conventional, stationary, outdoor rooftop receiv6 ing antenna, an— 

7 ‘‘(I) over-the-air analog signal of a 

8 primary network station affiliated with 

9 that network that does not exceed Grade B 

10 intensity as defined by the Federal Commu11 nications Commission under section 

12 73.683(a) of title 47 of the Code of Federal 

13 Regulations, as in effect on January 1, 

14 1999; or 

15 ‘‘(II) over-the-air digital signal of a 

16 primary network station located in that 

17 household’s local market affiliated with that 

18 network that does not exceed the signal in19 tensity standard in section 73.622(3)(1) of 

20 title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations, 

21 as in effect on January 1, 2010;’’; 

22 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

23 ‘‘(a)(14)’’ and inserting ‘‘(a)(13)’’; and; 

24 (iii) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

25 ‘‘(a)(12)’’ and inserting ‘‘(a)(101(a)(11)’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘, ex2 cept that’’ and all that follows through ‘‘lo3 cated’’; 

4 (C) by striking paragraph (12); and 

5 (D) by redesignating paragraph (13) as 

6 paragraph (12); and 

7 (5) by striking subsection (f). 

8 SEC. 3. LIMITATIONS ON EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS: SECONDARY 

9 TRANSMISSIONS BY SATELLITE CARRIERS 

10 WITHIN LOCAL MARKETS. 

11 Section 122 of title 17, United States Code, is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) by amending subsections (a), (b), and (c) to 

14 read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(a) SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS OF TELEVISION

16 BROADCAST STATIONS BY SATELLITE CARRIERS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS OF TELE18 VISION BROADCAST STATIONS WITHIN A LOCAL MAR19 KET.—A secondary transmission of a performance 

20 or display of a work embodied in a primary trans21 mission of a television broadcast station into the sta22 tion’s local market shall be subject to statutory li23 censing under this section if— 

24 ‘‘(A) the secondary transmission is made 

25 by a satellite carrier to the public; 


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1 ‘‘(B) with regard to secondary trans2 missions, the satellite carrier is in compliance 

3 with the rules, regulations, or authorizations of 

4 the Federal Communications Commission gov5 erning the carriage of television broadcast sta6 tion signals; and 

7 ‘‘(C) the satellite carrier makes a direct or 

8 indirect charge for the secondary transmission 

9 to— 

10 ‘‘(i) each subscriber receiving the sec11 ondary transmission; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) a distributor that has contracted 

13 with the satellite carrier for direct or indi14 rect delivery of the secondary transmission 

15 to the public. 

16 ‘‘(2) SIGNIFICANTLY VIEWED AND LOW POWER

17 STATIONS.—A secondary transmission of a perform18 ance or a display of a work embodied in a primary 

19 transmission of a television broadcast station or low 

20 power television station to subscribers who receive 

21 secondary transmissions of primary transmissions 

22 under paragraph (1) shall, if the secondary trans23 mission is made by a satellite carrier that complies 

24 with the requirements of paragraph (1), be subject 


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1 to statutory licensing under this paragraph as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(A) SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS OF SIG4 NIFICANTLY VIEWED SIGNALS.—The statutory 

5 license shall apply to the secondary trans6 mission of the primary transmission of a net7 work station or a superstation to a subscriber 

8 who resides outside the station’s local market 

9 but within a community in which the signal has 

10 been determined by the Federal Communica11 tions Commission, to be significantly viewed in 

12 such community, pursuant to the rules, regula13 tions, and authorizations of the Federal Com14 munications Commission in effect on April 15, 

15 1976, applicable to determining with respect to 

16 a cable system whether signals are significantly 

17 viewed in a community. 

18 ‘‘(B) CARRIAGE OF LOW POWER TELE19 VISION STATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The statutory li21 cense shall apply to the secondary trans22 mission of the primary transmission of a 

23 network station or a superstationstation 

24 that is licensed as a low power television 

25 station, to a subscriber who resides within 


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1 the same local marketwithin the same des2 ignated market area. 

3 ‘‘(ii) NO APPLICABILITY TO REPEAT4 ERS AND TRANSLATORS.—Secondary 

5 transmissions provided for in subpara6 graph (A) shall not apply to any low power 

7 television station that retransmits the pro8 grams and signals of another television 

9 station for more than 2 hours each day. 

10 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL EXCEPTIONS.—A secondary 

11 transmission of a performance or a display of a work 

12 embodied in a primary transmission of a television 

13 broadcast station to subscribers who receive sec14 ondary transmissions of primary transmissions 

15 under paragraph (1) shall, if the secondary trans16 mission is made by a satellite carrier that complies 

17 with the requirements of paragraph (1), be subject 

18 to statutory licensing under this paragraph as fol19 lows: 

20 ‘‘(A) STATES WITH SINGLE FULL-POWER

21 NETWORK STATION.—In a State in which there 

22 is licensed by the Federal Communications 

23 Commission a single full-power station that was 

24 a network station on January 1, 1995, the stat25 utory license provided for in this paragraph 


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1 shall apply to the secondary transmission by a 

2 satellite carrier of the primary transmission of 

3 that station to any subscriber in a community 

4 that is located within that State and that is not 

5 within the first 50 television markets as listed 

6 in the regulations of the Commission as in ef7 fect on such date (47 C.F.R. 76.51). 

8 ‘‘(B) STATES WITH ALL NETWORK STA9 TIONS AND SUPERSTATIONS IN SAME LOCAL

10 MARKET.—In a State in which all network sta11 tions and superstations licensed by the Federal 

12 Communications Commission within that State 

13 as of January 1, 1995, are assigned to the 

14 same local market and that local market does 

15 not encompass all counties of that State, the 

16 statutory license provided under this paragraph 

17 shall apply to the secondary transmission by a 

18 satellite carrier of the primary transmissions of 

19 such station to all subscribers in the State who 

20 reside in a local market that is within the first 

21 50 major television markets as listed in the reg22 ulations of the Commission as in effect on such 

23 date (section 76.51 of title 47 of the Code of 

24 Federal Regulations). 


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1 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL STATIONS.—In the case 

2 of that State in which are located 4 counties 

3 that— 

4 ‘‘(i) on January 1, 2004, were in local 

5 markets principally comprised of counties 

6 in another State; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) had a combined total of 41,340 

8 television households, according to the U.S. 

9 Television Household Estimates by Nielsen 

10 Media Research for 2004, 

11 the statutory license provided under this para12 graph shall apply to secondary transmissions by 

13 a satellite carrier to subscribers in any such 

14 county of the primary transmissions of any net15 work station located in that State, if the sat16 ellite carrier was making such secondary trans17 missions to any subscribers in that county on 

18 January 1, 2004. 

19 ‘‘(D) CERTAIN ADDITIONAL STATIONS.—If 

20 2 adjacent counties in a single State are in a 

21 local market comprised principally of counties 

22 located in another State, the statutory license 

23 provided for in this paragraph shall apply to 

24 the secondary transmission by a satellite carrier 

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1 mary transmissions of any network station lo2 cated in the capital of the State in which such 

3 2 counties are located, if— 

4 ‘‘(i) the 2 counties are located in a 

5 local market that is in the top 100 markets 

6 for the year 2003 according to Nielsen 

7 Media Research; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) the total number of television 

9 households in the 2 counties combined did 

10 not exceed 10,000 for the year 2003 ac11 cording to Nielsen Media Research. 

12 ‘‘(E) NETWORKS OF NONCOMMERCIAL

13 EDUCATIONAL BROADCAST STATIONS.—In the 

14 case of a system of 3 or more noncommercial 

15 educational broadcast stations licensed by a sin16 gle State, political, educational, or special pur17 pose subdivision of a State, or a public agency, 

18 the statutory license provided for in this para19 graph shall apply to the secondary transmission 

20 of that system to any subscriber in any county 

21 or county equivalent within that State that is 

22 located in a designated market that is not oth23 erwise eligible to receive secondary trans24 missions of a noncommercial television broad25 cast station located within that State pursuant 


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1 to paragraph (1). If a satellite carrier makes 

2 secondary transmissions to an adjacent under3 served county, local noncommercial educational 

4 broadcast stations shall not be repositioned in 

5 the channel lineup as a consequence of these re6 transmissions. 

7 ‘‘(4) SHORT MARKETS.—A secondary trans8 mission of a performance of a display of a work em9 bodied in a primary transmission of a television 

10 broadcast station to subscribers who receive sec11 ondary transmissions of primary transmissions 

12 under paragraph (1) shall be subject to statutory li13 censing under this paragraph if the secondary trans14 mission is of a primary transmission of a network 

15 station from a market adjacent to such local market 

16 and no station affiliated with such network is li17 censed to a community within the local market. 

18 ‘‘(5) APPLICABILITY OF ROYALTY RATES.—The 

19 royalty rates under section 119(b)(1)(B) shall apply 

20 to the secondary transmissions to which the statu21 tory license under paragraphs (3) and (4) apply. 

22 ‘‘(b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) INITIAL LISTS.—A satellite carrier that 

24 makes secondary transmissions of a primary trans25 mission made by a network station under subsection 


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1 (a) shall, within 90 days after commencing such sec2 ondary transmissions, submit to the network that 

3 owns or is affiliated with the network station— 

4 ‘‘(A) a list, aggregated by designated mar5 ket area (as that term is defined in subsection 

6 (j)), identifying (by name in alphabetical order 

7 and street address, including county and zip 

8 code) all subscribers to which the satellite car9 rier makes secondary transmissions of that pri10 mary transmission under subsection (a); and 

11 ‘‘(B) a list, to be prepared and submitted 

12 separately from the list required under subpara13 graph (A), aggregated by designated market 

14 area (by name and address, including street or 

15 rural route number, city, State, and zip code), 

16 which shall indicate those subscribers being 

17 served pursuant to paragraphs (2), (3), or (4) 

18 of subsection (a). 

19 ‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT LISTS.—After the list is sub20 mitted under paragraph (1), the satellite carrier 

21 shall, on the 15th of each month, submit to the net22 work— 

23 ‘‘(A) a list, aggregated by designated mar24 ket area (as that term is defined in subsection 

25 (j)), identifying (by name in alphabetical order 


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1 and street address, including county and zip 

2 code) any subscribers who have been added or 

3 dropped as subscribers since the last submission 

4 under this subsection; and 

5 ‘‘(B) a list, to be prepared and submitted 

6 separately from the list required under subpara7 graph (A), aggregated by designated market 

8 area (by name and street address, including 

9 street or rural route number, city, State, and 

10 zip code), identifying those subscribers whose 

11 service pursuant to paragraphs (2), (3), or (4) 

12 of subsection (a) has been added or dropped. 

13 ‘‘(3) USE OF SUBSCRIBER INFORMATION.—Sub14 scriber information submitted by a satellite carrier 

15 under this subsection may be used only for the pur16 poses of monitoring compliance by the satellite car17 rier with this section. 

18 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS OF NETWORKS.—The sub19 mission requirements of this subsection shall apply 

20 to a satellite carrier only if the network to which the 

21 submissions are to be made places on file with the 

22 Register of Copyrights a document identifying the 

23 name and address of the person to whom such sub24 missions are to be made. The Register of Copyrights 


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1 shall maintain for public inspection a file of all such 

2 documents. 

3 ‘‘(c) NO ROYALTY FEE REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN

4 SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS.—A satellite carrier whose 

5 secondary transmissions are subject to statutory licensing 

6 under paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) shall have 

7 no royalty obligation for such secondary transmissions.’’; 

8 (2) in subsection (f)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘$5’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘$250’’; and 

11 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

12 (i) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by strik13 ing ‘‘$250,000’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘$2,500,000’’; and 

15 (ii) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by strik16 ing ‘‘$250,000’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘$2,500,000’’; and 

18 (3) in subsection (j)— 

19 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), 

20 and (5) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respec21 tively; and 

22 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

23 following new paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(3) LOW POWER TELEVISION STATION.—The 

25 term ‘low power television station’ means a low 


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1 power television as defined under section 74.701(f) 

2 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect 

3 on June 1, 2004. For purposes of this paragraph, 

4 the term ‘low power television station’ includes a low 

5 power television station that has been accorded pri6 mary status as a Class A television licensee under 

7 section 73.6001(a) of title 47, Code of Federal Reg8 ulations.’’. 

9 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

10 Section 338(a) of the Communications Act of 1934 

11 (47 U.S.C. 338(a)) is amended— 

12 (1) by amending the first paragraph (3) to read 

13 as follows: 

14 ‘‘(3) CARRIAGE OF LOW POWER, SIGNIFICANTLY

15 VIEWED, AND SPECIAL EXCEPTION STATIONS OP16 TIONAL.—No station whose signal is provided under 

17 paragraph (2) or (3) of section 122(a) of title 17, 

18 ‘‘(3) CARRIAGE OF LOW POWER, SIGNIFICANTLY

19 VIEWED, SPECIAL EXCEPTION, AND SHORT MARKET

20 STATIONS OPTIONAL.—No station whose signal is pro21 vided under paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of section 

22 122(a) of title 17, United States Code, shall be enti23 tled to insist on carriage under this section, regard24 less of whether the satellite carrier provides sec25 ondary transmissions of the primary transmissions 


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1 of other stations in the same local market pursuant 

2 to such section 122, nor shall any such carriage be 

3 considered in connection with the requirements of 

4 subsection (c) of this section.’’; and 

5 (2) by redesignating the second paragraph (3) 

6 (relating to effective date) and paragraph (4) as 

7 paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively. 

8 SEC. 5. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY. 

9 Section 4(a) of the Satellite Home Viewer Act of 

10 1994 (17 U.S.C. 119 note; Public Law 103–369) is 

11 amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 2009’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘December 31, 2014’’. 

13 SEC. 6. MODIFICATIONS TO THE CABLE STATUTORY LI14 CENSE. 

15 (a) UPDATE AND CLARIFICATION OF ROYALTY CAL16 CULATION METHODOLOGY.—Section 111(d)(1) of title 17, 

17 United States Code, is amended by striking subpara18 graphs (B), (C), and (D) and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(B) except in the case of a cable system 

20 whose royalty fee is specified in subparagraph 

21 (C) or (D)(E) or (F), a total royalty fee for the 

22 period covered by the statement, computed on 

23 the basis of specified percentages of the gross 

24 receipts from subscribers to the cable service 

25 during said period for the basic service of proVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:41 Sep 25, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1670.RS S1670

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1 viding secondary transmissions of primary 

2 broadcast transmitters, as follows: 

3 ‘‘(i) 1.064 per centum for the privi4 lege of further transmitting any nonnet5 work programming of a primary trans6 mitter in whole or in part beyond the local 

7 service area of such primary transmitter, 

8 such amount to be applied against the fee, 

9 if any, payable pursuant to clauses (ii) 

10 through (iv). 

11 ‘‘(ii) 1.064 per centum of such gross 

12 receipts for the first distant signal equiva13 lent. 

14 ‘‘(iii) 0.701 of 1 per centum of such 

15 gross receipts for each of the second, third, 

16 and fourth distant signal equivalents. 

17 ‘‘(iv) 0.330 of 1 per centum of such 

18 gross receipts for the fifth distant signal 

19 equivalent and each distant signal equiva20 lent thereafter; 

21 ‘‘(C) in computing the amounts payable 

22 under clauses (ii) through (iv) of subparagraph 

23 (B), any fraction of a distant signal equivalent 

24 shall be computed at its fractional value or in 

25 the case of any cable system located partly 


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1 within and partly without the local service area 

2 of a primary transmitter, gross receipts shall be 

3 limited to those gross receipts derived from sub4 scribers located without the local service area of 

5 such primary transmitter; 

6 ‘‘(D) in computing the amounts payable 

7 under clauses (ii) through (iv) of subparagraph 

8 (B), if a cable system provides a secondary 

9 transmission of a primary transmitter to some 

10 but not all communities served by that cable 

11 system, the gross receipts and the distant signal 

12 equivalent values for each secondary trans13 mission shall be derived solely on the basis of 

14 the subscribers in those communities where the 

15 cable system provides each such secondary 

16 transmission, provided, however, that the total 

17 royalty fee for the period paid by such system 

18 shall in no event be less than the royalty fee 

19 calculated in accordance with clause (i) of sub20 paragraph (B) multiplied by the gross receipts 

21 from all subscribers to the system; and provided 

22 further, that a cable system that on a state23 ment submitted prior to the date of enactment 

24 of the Satellite Television Modernization Act of 

25 2009, computed its royalty fee consistent with 


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1 the methodology in this subparagraphthis para2 graph or that amends a statement filed prior to 

3 the date of enactment of such Act to compute 

4 the royalty fee due using this methodology shall 

5 not be subject to an action for infringement, or 

6 eligible for any royalty refund, arising out of its 

7 use of such methodology on such statement; 

8 ‘‘(E) if the actual gross receipts paid by 

9 subscribers to a cable system for the period cov10 ered by the statement for the basic service of 

11 providing secondary transmissions of primary 

12 broadcast transmitters total $263,800 or less, 

13 gross receipts of the cable system for the pur14 pose of this subparagraph shall be computed by 

15 subtracting from such actual gross receipts the 

16 amount by which $263,800 exceeds such actual 

17 gross receipts, except that in no case shall a 

18 cable system’s gross receipts be reduced to less 

19 than $10,400. The royalty fee payable under 

20 this subparagraph shall be 0.5 of 1 per centum, 

21 regardless of the number of distant signal 

22 equivalents, if any; and 

23 ‘‘(F) if the actual gross receipts paid by 

24 subscribers to a cable system for the period cov25 ered by the statement for the basic service of 


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1 providing secondary transmissions of primary 

2 broadcast transmitters are more than $263,800 

3 but less than $527,600, the royalty fee payable 

4 under this subparagraph shall be— 

5 ‘‘(i) 0.5 of 1 per centum of any gross 

6 receipts up to $263,800; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) 1 per centum of any gross re8 ceipts in excess of $263,800 but less than 

9 $527,600 regardless of the number of dis10 tant signal equivalents, if any.’’. 

11 (b) NO QUINQUENNIAL ADJUSTMENTS UNTIL

12 2015.—Section 804(b) of title 17, United States Code, is 

13 amended by striking ‘‘2005’’ each place that term appears 

14 and inserting ‘‘2015’’. 

15 (c) ACCEPTANCE OF ADDITIONAL DEPOSITS.—Any 

16 royalty fee payments received by the Copyright Office 

17 from cable systems for the secondary transmission of pri18 mary broadcast transmitters (as such terms are defined 

19 in subsection (f) of section 111 of title 17, United States 

20 Code) that are in addition to the payments calculated and 

21 deposited in accordance with subsection (d) of such section 

22 111 shall be deemed to have been deposited for the par23 ticular accounting period during which they are received 

24 and shall be distributed as specified in subsection (d) of 

25 such section 111. 


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1 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE OF NEW ROYALTY FEE

2 RATES.—The royalty fee rates established in section 

3 111(d)(1)(B) of title 17, United States Code, as amended 

4 by subsection (a), shall take effect beginning with the 

5 statement of account covering the first accounting period 

6 in 2010. 

7 SEC. 7. REPORT ON MARKET BASED ALTERNATIVES TO 

8 STATUTORY LICENSING. 

9 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

10 this Act, and after consultation with the Federal Commu11 nications Commission, the Copyright Office of the Library 

12 of Congress shall submit to the Committees on the Judiciary 

13 of the Senate and House of Representatives a report con14 taining— 

15 (1) proposed mechanisms, methods, and rec16 ommendations on how to implement a phase-out of 

17 the current statutory licensing requirements set forth 

18 under sections 111, 119, and 122 of title 17, United 

19 States Code, by making such sections inapplicable to 

20 the retransmission of a performance or display of a 

21 work embodied in a primary transmission of a broad22 cast station that is authorized to license the same re23 transmission directly with respect to all of the per24 formances and displays embodied in its primary 

25 transmission; 


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1 (2) any recommendations for alternative means 

2 to implement a timely and effective phase-out of the 

3 current statutory licensing requirements set forth 

4 under sections 111, 119, and 122 of title 17, United 

5 States Code; and 

6 (3) any recommendations for legislative or ad7 ministrative actions as may be appropriate to achieve 

8 such a phase-out. 


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wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 165 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1670 

A BILL 

To reform and modernize the limitations on exclucertain signals. sive rights relating to secondary transmissions of 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2009 

Reported with amendments 


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