II 

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 

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 (II) in clause (ii)— 

20 (aa) in subclause (I)— 

21 (AA) by striking ‘‘the 

22 Individual Location’’ and all 

23 that follows through ‘‘No. 

24 98–201,’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

25 predictive digital model es26 tablished by the Federal 


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1 Communications Commis2 sion,’’; and 

3 (BB) by striking 

4 ‘‘under section 339(c)(3) of 

5 the Communications Act of 

6 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

7 339(c)(3))’’; and 

8 (bb) in subclause (II), by 

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

10 Communications Act of 1934 (47 

11 U.S.C. 339(c)(4))’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘rules established by the Federal 

13 Communications Commission’’; 

14 (iii) by striking subparagraph (C); 

15 (iv) by redesignating subparagraph 

16 (D) as subparagraph (C); and 

17 (v) in subparagraph (C) (as so redes18 ignated)— 

19 (I) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘net20 work station—’’ and all that follows 

21 through the period at the end and in22 serting ‘‘network station a list, aggre23 gated by designated market area (as 

24 that term is defined in section 

25 122(j)), identifying (by name and adVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:56 Sep 15, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1670.IS S1670

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1 dress, including street or rural route 

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

3 subscribers to which the satellite car4 rier makes secondary transmissions of 

5 that primary transmission to sub6 scribers in unserved households.’’; 

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

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

9 through the period at the end and in10 serting ‘‘the network a list, aggre11 gated by designated market area (as 

12 that term is defined in section 

13 122(j)), identifying (by name and ad14 dress, including street or rural route 

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

16 persons who have been added or 

17 dropped as subscribers under clause 

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

19 clause (i).’’; and 

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

21 the second sentence, by striking the 

22 ending quotation mark and semicolon; 

23 (B) by striking paragraph (3); 


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1 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (4) 

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

3 respectively; 

4 (D) by amending paragraph (3) (as so re5 designated) to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(3) STATUTORY LICENSE WHERE RETRANS7 MISSIONS INTO LOCAL MARKET AVAILABLE.— 

8 ‘‘(A) FUTURE APPLICABILITY.—The statu9 tory license under paragraph (2) shall not apply 

10 to the secondary transmission by a satellite car11 rier of a primary transmission of a network sta12 tion to a person who— 

13 ‘‘(i) is not a subscriber lawfully receiv14 ing such secondary transmission as of De15 cember 31, 2009; and 

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

17 subscribe to receive such secondary trans18 mission, resides in a local market where 

19 the satellite carrier makes available to that 

20 person the secondary transmission of the 

21 primary transmission of a local network 

22 station affiliated with the same television 

23 network pursuant to the statutory license 

24 under section 122, and such secondary 


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1 transmission of such primary transmission 

2 can reach such person. 

3 ‘‘(B) OTHER PROVISIONS NOT AF4 FECTED.—This paragraph shall not affect the 

5 applicability of the statutory license to sec6 ondary transmissions to unserved households 

7 included under paragraph (11). 

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

9 the secondary transmission of a network station 

10 under this paragraph may request a waiver 

11 from such denial by submitting a request, 

12 through the subscriber‘s satellite carrier, to the 

13 network station in the local market affiliated 

14 with the same network where the subscriber is 

15 located. The network station shall accept or re16 ject the subscriber’s request for a waiver within 

17 30 days after receipt of the request. If the net18 work station fails to accept or reject the sub19 scriber’s request for a waiver within that 30- 

20 day period, that network station shall be 

21 deemed to agree to the waiver request. Unless 

22 specifically stated by the network station, a 

23 waiver that was granted before the date of the 

24 enactment of the Satellite Home Viewer Exten25 sion and Reauthorization Act of 2004 under 


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

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

3 a waiver for purposes of this subparagraph. 

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

5 of this paragraph, a satellite carrier makes 

6 available a secondary transmission of the pri7 mary transmission of a local station to a sub8 scriber or person if the satellite carrier offers 

9 that secondary transmission to other sub10 scribers who reside in the same zip code as that 

11 subscriber or person.’’; 

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

13 by striking ‘‘section 509’’; 

14 (F) in paragraph (6) (as so redesig15 nated)— 

16 (i) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by strik17 ing ‘‘$5’’ and inserting ‘‘$250’’; and 

18 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

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

20 ‘‘$250,000’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘$2,500,000’’; and 

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

23 ‘‘$250,000’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘$2,500,000’’; 

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


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1 (H) by redesignating paragraph (16) as 

2 paragraph (14); 

3 (2) in subsection (b)— 

4 (A) by striking the subsection heading and 

5 inserting ‘‘(b) DEPOSITS AND DISTRIBUTION

6 OF ROYALTY FEES.—’’; and 

7 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking the mat8 ter following subparagraph (B); 

9 (3) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol10 lows: 

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

12 ‘‘(1) APPLICABILITY AND DETERMINATION OF

13 ROYALTY FEES.— 

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

15 for purposes of determining the royalty fee 

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

17 transmission of the primary transmissions of 

18 network stations and superstations shall be the 

19 appropriate fee set forth in subchapter E of 

20 chapter III of title 37, Code of Federal Regula21 tions, as in effect on July 1, 2009, as modified 

22 under this paragraph. 

23 ‘‘(B) FEE SET BY VOLUNTARY NEGOTIA24 TION.—On or before January 4, 2010, Copy25 right Royalty Judges shall cause to be pubVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:56 Sep 15, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1670.IS S1670

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1 lished in the Federal Register of the initiation 

2 of voluntary negotiation proceedings for the 

3 purpose of determining the royalty fee to be 

4 paid by satellite carriers for the secondary 

5 transmission of the primary transmission of 

6 network stations and superstations under sub7 section (b)(1)(B). 

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

9 distributors, and copyright owners entitled to 

10 royalty fees under this section shall negotiate in 

11 good faith in an effort to reach a voluntary 

12 agreement or agreements for the payment of 

13 royalty fees. Any such satellite carriers, dis14 tributors, and copyright owners may at any 

15 time negotiate and agree to the royalty fee, and 

16 may designate common agents to negotiate, 

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

18 identify common agents, Copyright Royalty 

19 Judges shall do so, after requesting rec20 ommendations from the parties to the negotia21 tion proceeding. The parties to each negotiation 

22 proceeding shall bear the cost thereof. 

23 ‘‘(D)(i) AGREEMENTS BINDING ON PAR24 TIES; FILING OF AGREEMENTS; PUBLIC NO25 TICE.—Voluntary agreements negotiated at any 


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1 time in accordance with this paragraph shall be 

2 binding upon all satellite carriers, distributors, 

3 and copyright owners that are parties thereto. 

4 Copies of such agreements shall be filed with 

5 the Copyright Office within 30 days after exe6 cution in accordance with regulations that the 

7 Register of Copyrights shall prescribe. 

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

9 the Federal Register of a notice of the initiation 

10 of voluntary negotiation proceedings, parties 

11 who have reached a voluntary agreement may 

12 request that the royalty fees in that agreement 

13 be applied to all satellite carriers, distributors, 

14 and copyright owners without convening a pro15 ceeding pursuant to subparagraph (F). 

16 ‘‘(II) Upon receiving a request under sub17 clause (I), the Copyright Royalty Judges shall 

18 immediately provide public notice of the royalty 

19 fees from the voluntary agreement and afford 

20 parties an opportunity to state that they object 

21 to those fees. 

22 ‘‘(III) The Copyright Royalty Judges shall 

23 adopt the royalty fees from the voluntary agree24 ment for all satellite carriers, distributors, and 

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1 ceeding unless a party with an intent to partici2 pate in the proceeding and a significant interest 

3 in the outcome of that proceeding objects under 

4 subclause (II). 

5 ‘‘(E) PERIOD AGREEMENT IS IN EF6 FECT.—The obligation to pay the royalty fees 

7 established under a voluntary agreement which 

8 has been filed with the Copyright Office in ac9 cordance with this paragraph shall become ef10 fective on the date specified in the agreement, 

11 and shall remain in effect until December 31, 

12 2014, or in accordance with the terms of the 

13 agreement, whichever is later. 

14 ‘‘(F) PROCEEDING TO ESTABLISH ROY15 ALTY FEES.— 

16 ‘‘(i) NOTICE OF INITIATION OF PRO17 CEEDINGS; VOLUNTARY AGREEMENTS.— 

18 On or before May 3, 2010, the Copyright 

19 Royalty Judges shall cause notice to be 

20 published in the Federal Register of the 

21 initiation of proceedings for the purpose of 

22 determining the royalty fee to be paid for 

23 the secondary transmission of primary 

24 transmission of network stations and 


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

2 by satellite carriers and distributors— 

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

4 agreement filed in accordance with 

5 subparagraph (D) that establishes 

6 royalty fees to be paid by all satellite 

7 carriers and distributors; or 

8 ‘‘(II) if an objection to the fees 

9 from a voluntary agreement submitted 

10 for adoption by the Copyright Royalty 

11 Judges to apply to all satellite car12 riers, distributors, and copyright own13 ers is received under subparagraph 

14 (D) from a party with an intent to 

15 participate in the proceeding and a 

16 significant interest in the outcome of 

17 that proceeding. 

18 Such proceeding shall be conducted as pro19 vided under chapter 8 of this title. 

20 ‘‘(ii) ESTABLISHMENT OF ROYALTY

21 FEES.—In determining royalty fees under 

22 this paragraph, the Copyright Royalty 

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1 tions that most clearly represent the fair 

2 market value of secondary transmissions, 

3 except that the Copyright Royalty Judges 

4 shall adjust those fees to account for the 

5 obligations of the parties under any appli6 cable voluntary agreement filed with the 

7 Copyright Office pursuant to subparagraph 

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

9 the Copyright Royalty Judges shall base 

10 their decision on economic, competitive, 

11 and programming information presented 

12 by the parties, including— 

13 ‘‘(I) the competitive environment 

14 in which such programming is distrib15 uted, the cost of similar signals in 

16 similar private and compulsory license 

17 marketplaces, and any special features 

18 and conditions of the retransmission 

19 marketplace; 

20 ‘‘(II) the economic impact of 

21 such fees on copyright owners and 

22 satellite carriers; and 

23 ‘‘(III) the impact on the contin24 ued availability of secondary trans25 missions to the public. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) PERIOD DURING WHICH DECI2 SION OF COPYRIGHT ROYALTY JUDGES EF3 FECTIVE.—The obligation to pay the roy4 alty fee established under a determination 

5 which is made by the Copyright Royalty 

6 Judges under this paragraph shall be ef7 fective as of January 1, 2010. 

8 ‘‘(iv) PERSONS SUBJECT TO ROYALTY

9 FEE.—The royalty fee referred to clause 

10 (iii) shall be binding on all satellite car11 riers, distributors, and copyright owners, 

12 who are not party to a voluntary agree13 ment filed with the Copyright Office under 

14 subparagraph (D). 

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

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

17 for the secondary transmission of the primary trans18 mission of network stations and superstations shall 

19 be adjusted annually by the Copyright Royalty 

20 Judges to reflect any changes occurring during the 

21 preceding 12 months in the cost of living as deter22 mined by the most recent Consumer Price Index (for 

23 all consumers and items) published by the Secretary 

24 of Labor prior to December 1. Notification of the 


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1 adjusted rates shall be published in the Federal Reg2 ister prior to December 1 of that year.’’; 

3 (4) in subsection (d)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (10)— 

5 (i) by amending subparagraph (A) to 

6 read as follows: 

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

8 which there is no primary network station affili9 ated with such network licensed to a community 

10 within such local market; or 

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

12 conventional, stationary, outdoor rooftop receiv13 ing antenna, an over-the-air signal of a primary 

14 network station affiliated with that network 

15 that does not exceed the signal intensity stand16 ard in section 73.622(e)(1) of title 47 of the 

17 Code of Federal Regulations as in effect on 

18 January 1, 2010;’’; 

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

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

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

22 ‘‘(a)(12)’’ and inserting ‘‘(a)(101’’; 

23 (B) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘, ex24 cept that’’ and all that follows through ‘‘lo25 cated’’; 


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

2 (D) by redesignating paragraph (13) as 

3 paragraph (12); and 

4 (5) by striking subsection (f). 

5 SEC. 3. LIMITATIONS ON EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS: SECONDARY 

6 TRANSMISSIONS BY SATELLITE CARRIERS 

7 WITHIN LOCAL MARKETS. 

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

9 amended— 

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

11 read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(a) SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS OF TELEVISION

13 BROADCAST STATIONS BY SATELLITE CARRIERS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS OF TELE15 VISION BROADCAST STATIONS WITHIN A LOCAL MAR16 KET.—A secondary transmission of a performance 

17 or display of a work embodied in a primary trans18 mission of a television broadcast station into the sta19 tion’s local market shall be subject to statutory li20 censing under this section if— 

21 ‘‘(A) the secondary transmission is made 

22 by a satellite carrier to the public; 

23 ‘‘(B) with regard to secondary trans24 missions, the satellite carrier is in compliance 

25 with the rules, regulations, or authorizations of 


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1 the Federal Communications Commission gov2 erning the carriage of television broadcast sta3 tion signals; and 

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

5 indirect charge for the secondary transmission 

6 to— 

7 ‘‘(i) each subscriber receiving the sec8 ondary transmission; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) a distributor that has contracted 

10 with the satellite carrier for direct or indi11 rect delivery of the secondary transmission 

12 to the public. 

13 ‘‘(2) SIGNIFICANTLY VIEWED AND LOW POWER

14 STATIONS.—A secondary transmission of a perform15 ance or a display of a work embodied in a primary 

16 transmission of a television broadcast station or low 

17 power television station to subscribers who receive 

18 secondary transmissions of primary transmissions 

19 under paragraph (1) shall, if the secondary trans20 mission is made by a satellite carrier that complies 

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

22 to statutory licensing under this paragraph as fol23 lows: 

24 ‘‘(A) SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS OF SIG25 NIFICANTLY VIEWED SIGNALS.—The statutory 


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1 license shall apply to the secondary trans2 mission of the primary transmission of a net3 work station or a superstation to a subscriber 

4 who resides outside the station’s local market 

5 but within a community in which the signal has 

6 been determined by the Federal Communica7 tions Commission, to be significantly viewed in 

8 such community, pursuant to the rules, regula9 tions, and authorizations of the Federal Com10 munications Commission in effect on April 15, 

11 1976, applicable to determining with respect to 

12 a cable system whether signals are significantly 

13 viewed in a community. 

14 ‘‘(B) CARRIAGE OF LOW POWER TELE15 VISION STATIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The statutory li17 cense shall apply to the secondary trans18 mission of the primary transmission of a 

19 network station or a superstation that is li20 censed as a low power television station, to 

21 a subscriber who resides within the same 

22 local market. 

23 ‘‘(ii) NO APPLICABILITY TO REPEAT24 ERS AND TRANSLATORS.—Secondary 

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1 graph (A) shall not apply to any low power 

2 television station that retransmits the pro3 grams and signals of another television 

4 station for more than 2 hours each day. 

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

6 transmission of a performance or a display of a work 

7 embodied in a primary transmission of a television 

8 broadcast station to subscribers who receive sec9 ondary transmissions of primary transmissions 

10 under paragraph (1) shall, if the secondary trans11 mission is made by a satellite carrier that complies 

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

13 to statutory licensing under this paragraph as fol14 lows: 

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

16 NETWORK STATION.—In a State in which there 

17 is licensed by the Federal Communications 

18 Commission a single full-power station that was 

19 a network station on January 1, 1995, the stat20 utory license provided for in this paragraph 

21 shall apply to the secondary transmission by a 

22 satellite carrier of the primary transmission of 

23 that station to any subscriber in a community 

24 that is located within that State and that is not 

25 within the first 50 television markets as listed 


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1 in the regulations of the Commission as in ef2 fect on such date (47 C.F.R. 76.51). 

3 ‘‘(B) STATES WITH ALL NETWORK STA4 TIONS AND SUPERSTATIONS IN SAME LOCAL

5 MARKET.—In a State in which all network sta6 tions and superstations licensed by the Federal 

7 Communications Commission within that State 

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

9 same local market and that local market does 

10 not encompass all counties of that State, the 

11 statutory license provided under this paragraph 

12 shall apply to the secondary transmission by a 

13 satellite carrier of the primary transmissions of 

14 such station to all subscribers in the State who 

15 reside in a local market that is within the first 

16 50 major television markets as listed in the reg17 ulations of the Commission as in effect on such 

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

19 Federal Regulations). 

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

21 of that State in which are located 4 counties 

22 that— 

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

24 markets principally comprised of counties 

25 in another State; and 


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

2 television households, according to the U.S. 

3 Television Household Estimates by Nielsen 

4 Media Research for 2004, 

5 the statutory license provided under this para6 graph shall apply to secondary transmissions by 

7 a satellite carrier to subscribers in any such 

8 county of the primary transmissions of any net9 work station located in that State, if the sat10 ellite carrier was making such secondary trans11 missions to any subscribers in that county on 

12 January 1, 2004. 

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

14 2 adjacent counties in a single State are in a 

15 local market comprised principally of counties 

16 located in another State, the statutory license 

17 provided for in this paragraph shall apply to 

18 the secondary transmission by a satellite carrier 

19 to subscribers in those 2 counties of the pri20 mary transmissions of any network station lo21 cated in the capital of the State in which such 

22 2 counties are located, if— 

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

24 local market that is in the top 100 markets 


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1 for the year 2003 according to Nielsen 

2 Media Research; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the total number of television 

4 households in the 2 counties combined did 

5 not exceed 10,000 for the year 2003 ac6 cording to Nielsen Media Research. 

7 ‘‘(E) NETWORKS OF NONCOMMERCIAL

8 EDUCATIONAL BROADCAST STATIONS.—In the 

9 case of a system of 3 or more noncommercial 

10 educational broadcast stations licensed by a sin11 gle State, political, educational, or special pur12 pose subdivision of a State, or a public agency, 

13 the statutory license provided for in this para14 graph shall apply to the secondary transmission 

15 of that system to any subscriber in any county 

16 or county equivalent within that State that is 

17 located in a designated market that is not oth18 erwise eligible to receive secondary trans19 missions of a noncommercial television broad20 cast station located within that State pursuant 

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

22 secondary transmissions to an adjacent under23 served county, local noncommercial educational 

24 broadcast stations shall not be repositioned in 


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1 the channel lineup as a consequence of these re2 transmissions. 

3 ‘‘(4) SHORT MARKETS.—A secondary trans4 mission of a performance of a display of a work em5 bodied in a primary transmission of a television 

6 broadcast station to subscribers who receive sec7 ondary transmissions of primary transmissions 

8 under paragraph (1) shall be subject to statutory li9 censing under this paragraph if the secondary trans10 mission is of a primary transmission of a network 

11 station from a market adjacent to such local market 

12 and no station affiliated with such network is li13 censed to a community within the local market. 

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

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

16 to the secondary transmissions to which the statu17 tory license under paragraphs (3) and (4) apply. 

18 ‘‘(b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

20 makes secondary transmissions of a primary trans21 mission made by a network station under subsection 

22 (a) shall, within 90 days after commencing such sec23 ondary transmissions, submit to the network that 

24 owns or is affiliated with the network station— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a list, aggregated by designated mar2 ket area (as that term is defined in subsection 

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

4 and street address, including county and zip 

5 code) all subscribers to which the satellite car6 rier makes secondary transmissions of that pri7 mary transmission under subsection (a); and 

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

9 separately from the list required under subpara10 graph (A), aggregated by designated market 

11 area (by name and address, including street or 

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

13 which shall indicate those subscribers being 

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

15 of subsection (a). 

16 ‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT LISTS.—After the list is sub17 mitted under paragraph (1), the satellite carrier 

18 shall, on the 15th of each month, submit to the net19 work— 

20 ‘‘(A) a list, aggregated by designated mar21 ket area (as that term is defined in subsection 

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

23 and street address, including county and zip 

24 code) any subscribers who have been added or 


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1 dropped as subscribers since the last submission 

2 under this subsection; and 

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

4 separately from the list required under subpara5 graph (A), aggregated by designated market 

6 area (by name and street address, including 

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

8 zip code), identifying those subscribers whose 

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

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

11 ‘‘(3) USE OF SUBSCRIBER INFORMATION.—Sub12 scriber information submitted by a satellite carrier 

13 under this subsection may be used only for the pur14 poses of monitoring compliance by the satellite car15 rier with this section. 

16 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS OF NETWORKS.—The sub17 mission requirements of this subsection shall apply 

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

19 submissions are to be made places on file with the 

20 Register of Copyrights a document identifying the 

21 name and address of the person to whom such sub22 missions are to be made. The Register of Copyrights 

23 shall maintain for public inspection a file of all such 

24 documents. 


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

2 SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS.—A satellite carrier whose 

3 secondary transmissions are subject to statutory licensing 

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

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

6 (2) in subsection (f)— 

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

8 and inserting ‘‘$250’’; and 

9 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

10 (i) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by strik11 ing ‘‘$250,000’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘$2,500,000’’; and 

13 (ii) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by strik14 ing ‘‘$250,000’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘$2,500,000’’; and 

16 (3) in subsection (j)— 

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

18 and (5) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respec19 tively; and 

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

21 following new paragraph: 

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

23 term ‘low power television station’ means a low 

24 power television as defined under section 74.701(f) 

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


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

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

3 power television station that has been accorded pri4 mary status as a Class A television licensee under 

5 section 73.6001(a) of title 47, Code of Federal Reg6 ulations.’’. 

7 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

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

9 (47 U.S.C. 338(a)) is amended— 

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

11 as follows: 

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

13 VIEWED, AND SPECIAL EXCEPTION STATIONS OP14 TIONAL.—No station whose signal is provided under 

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

16 United States Code, shall be entitled to insist on 

17 carriage under this section, regardless of whether 

18 the satellite carrier provides secondary transmissions 

19 of the primary transmissions of other stations in the 

20 same local market pursuant to such section 122, nor 

21 shall any such carriage be considered in connection 

22 with the requirements of subsection (c) of this sec23 tion.’’; and 


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

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

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

4 SEC. 5. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY. 

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

6 1994 (17 U.S.C. 119 note; Public Law 103–369) is 

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

8 ‘‘December 31, 2014’’. 

9 SEC. 6. MODIFICATIONS TO THE CABLE STATUTORY LI10 CENSE. 

11 (a) UPDATE AND CLARIFICATION OF ROYALTY CAL12 CULATION METHODOLOGY.—Section 111(d)(1) of title 17, 

13 United States Code, is amended by striking subpara14 graphs (B), (C), and (D) and inserting the following: 

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

16 whose royalty fee is specified in subparagraph 

17 (C) or (D), a total royalty fee for the period 

18 covered by the statement, computed on the 

19 basis of specified percentages of the gross re20 ceipts from subscribers to the cable service dur21 ing said period for the basic service of providing 

22 secondary transmissions of primary broadcast 

23 transmitters, as follows: 

24 ‘‘(i) 1.064 per centum for the privi25 lege of further transmitting any nonnetVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:56 Sep 15, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1670.IS S1670

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1 work programming of a primary trans2 mitter in whole or in part beyond the local 

3 service area of such primary transmitter, 

4 such amount to be applied against the fee, 

5 if any, payable pursuant to clauses (ii) 

6 through (iv). 

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

8 receipts for the first distant signal equiva9 lent. 

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

11 gross receipts for each of the second, third, 

12 and fourth distant signal equivalents. 

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

14 gross receipts for the fifth distant signal 

15 equivalent and each distant signal equiva16 lent thereafter; 

17 ‘‘(C) in computing the amounts payable 

18 under clauses (ii) through (iv), any fraction of 

19 a distant signal equivalent shall be computed at 

20 its fractional value or in the case of any cable 

21 system located partly within and partly without 

22 the local service area of a primary transmitter, 

23 gross receipts shall be limited to those gross re24 ceipts derived from subscribers located without 


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1 the local service area of such primary trans2 mitter; 

3 ‘‘(D) in computing the amounts payable 

4 under clauses (ii) through (iv), if a cable system 

5 provides a secondary transmission of a primary 

6 transmitter to some but not all communities 

7 served by that cable system, the gross receipts 

8 and the distant signal equivalent values for 

9 each secondary transmission shall be derived 

10 solely on the basis of the subscribers in those 

11 communities where the cable system provides 

12 each such secondary transmission, provided, 

13 however, that the total royalty fee for the pe14 riod paid by such system shall in no event be 

15 less than the royalty fee calculated in accord16 ance with clause (i) multiplied by the gross re17 ceipts from all subscribers to the system; and 

18 provided further, that a cable system that on a 

19 statement submitted prior to the date of enact20 ment of the Satellite Television Modernization 

21 Act of 2009, computed its royalty fee consistent 

22 with the methodology in this subparagraph or 

23 that amends a statement filed prior to the date 

24 of enactment of such Act to compute the roy25 alty fee due using this methodology shall not be 


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1 subject to an action for infringement, or eligible 

2 for any royalty refund, arising out of its use of 

3 such methodology on such statement; 

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

5 subscribers to a cable system for the period cov6 ered by the statement for the basic service of 

7 providing secondary transmissions of primary 

8 broadcast transmitters total $263,800 or less, 

9 gross receipts of the cable system for the pur10 pose of this subparagraph shall be computed by 

11 subtracting from such actual gross receipts the 

12 amount by which $263,800 exceeds such actual 

13 gross receipts, except that in no case shall a 

14 cable system’s gross receipts be reduced to less 

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

16 this subparagraph shall be 0.5 of 1 per centum, 

17 regardless of the number of distant signal 

18 equivalents, if any; and 

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

20 subscribers to a cable system for the period cov21 ered by the statement for the basic service of 

22 providing secondary transmissions of primary 

23 broadcast transmitters are more than $263,800 

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

25 under this subparagraph shall be— 


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

2 receipts up to $263,800; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) 1 per centum of any gross re4 ceipts in excess of $263,800 but less than 

5 $527,600 regardless of the number of dis6 tant signal equivalents, if any.’’. 

7 (b) NO QUINQUENNIAL ADJUSTMENTS UNTIL

8 2015.—Section 804(b) of title 17, United States Code, is 

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

10 and inserting ‘‘2015’’. 

11 (c) ACCEPTANCE OF ADDITIONAL DEPOSITS.—Any 

12 royalty fee payments received by the Copyright Office 

13 from cable systems for the secondary transmission of pri14 mary broadcast transmitters (as such terms are defined 

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

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

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

18 111 shall be deemed to have been deposited for the par19 ticular accounting period during which they are received 

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

21 such section 111. 

22 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE OF NEW ROYALTY FEE

23 RATES.—The royalty fee rates established in section 

24 111(d)(1)(B) of title 17, United States Code, as amended 

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


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1 statement of account covering the first accounting period 

2 in 2010. 

Æ 


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