I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4518

To extend the statutory license for secondary transmissions under section 

119 of title 17, United States Code. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 4, 2004

Mr. SMITH of Texas (for himself, Mr. CONYERS, and Mr. BERMAN) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL

To extend the statutory license for secondary transmissions 

under section 119 of title 17, United States Code.

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization 

6 Act of 2004’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—STATUTORY LICENSE FOR SATELLITE CARRIERS 

Sec. 101. Extension of authority. 

Sec. 102. Reporting of subscribers; significantly viewed and other signals; technical amendments. 
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Sec. 103. Statutory license for satellite carriers outside local markets. 

Sec. 104. Study. 

Sec. 105. Effect on certain proceedings.

1 TITLE I—STATUTORY LICENSE 

2 FOR SATELLITE CARRIERS 

3 SEC. 101. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(a) of the Satellite Home 

5 Viewer Act of 1994 (17 U.S.C. 119 note; Public Law 103–

6 369; 108 Stat. 3481) is amended by striking ‘‘December 

7 31, 2004’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2009’’. 

8 (b) EXTENSION FOR CERTAIN SUBSCRIBERS.—Sec9 tion 119(e) of title 17, United States Code, is amended 

10 by striking ‘‘December 31, 2004’’ and inserting ‘‘Decem11 ber 31, 2009’’. 

12 SEC. 102. REPORTING OF SUBSCRIBERS; SIGNIFICANTLY 

13 VIEWED AND OTHER SIGNALS; TECHNICAL 

14 AMENDMENTS. 

15 Section 119(a) of title 17, United States Code, is 

16 amended—

17 (1) in paragraph (1)—

18 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

19 ‘‘AND PBS SATELLITE FEED’’; 

20 (B) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘(3), 

21 (4), and (6)’’ and inserting ‘‘(5), (6), and (8)’’; 

22 (C) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘or by 

23 the Public Broadcasting Service satellite feed’’; 

24 and 
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1 (D) by striking the second sentence; 

2 (2) in paragraph (2)—

3 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘(3), 

4 (4), (5), and (6)’’ and inserting ‘‘(5), (6), (7), 

5 and (8)’’; and 

6 (B) by amending subparagraph (C) to read 

7 as follows: 

8 ‘‘(C) SUBMISSION OF SUBSCRIBER LISTS

9 TO NETWORKS.—

10 ‘‘(i) INITIAL LISTS.—A satellite car11 rier that makes secondary transmissions of 

12 a primary transmission made by a network 

13 station pursuant to subparagraph (A) 

14 shall, 90 days after commencing such sec15 ondary transmissions, submit to the net16 work that owns or is affiliated with the 

17 network station—

18 ‘‘(I) a list identifying (by name 

19 and street address, including county 

20 and zip code) all subscribers to which 

21 the satellite carrier makes secondary 

22 transmissions of that primary trans23 mission to subscribers in unserved 

24 households; and 
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1 ‘‘(II) a separate list, aggregated 

2 by designated market area (as defined 

3 in section 122(j)) (by name and street 

4 address, including county and zip 

5 code), which shall indicate those sub6 scribers being served pursuant to sub7 section (a)(3), relating to significantly 

8 viewed stations. 

9 ‘‘(ii) MONTHLY LISTS.—After the sub10 mission of the initial lists under clause (i), 

11 on the 15th of each month, the satellite 

12 carrier shall submit to the network—

13 ‘‘(I) a list identifying (by name 

14 and street address, including county 

15 and zip code) any persons who have 

16 been added or dropped as subscribers 

17 under clause (i)(I) since the last sub18 mission under clause (i); and 

19 ‘‘(II) a separate list, aggregated 

20 by designated market area (by name 

21 and street address, including county 

22 and zip code), identifying those sub23 scribers whose service pursuant to 

24 subsection (a)(3), relating to signifi-
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1 cantly viewed stations, has been added 

2 or dropped. 

3 ‘‘(iii) USE OF SUBSCRIBER INFORMA4 TION.—Subscriber information submitted 

5 by a satellite carrier under this subpara6 graph may be used only for purposes of 

7 monitoring compliance by the satellite car8 rier with this subsection. 

9 ‘‘(iv) APPLICABILITY.—The submis10 sion requirements of this subparagraph 

11 shall apply to a satellite carrier only if the 

12 network to whom the submissions are to be 

13 made places on file with the Register of 

14 Copyrights a document identifying the 

15 name and address of the person to whom 

16 such submissions are to be made. The Reg17 ister shall maintain for public inspection a 

18 file of all such documents.’’; 

19 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub20 paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(D) STATES WITH SINGLE COMMERCIAL

22 FULL-POWER NETWORK STATION.—In a State 

23 in which there is licensed by the Federal Com24 munications Commission a single full-power sta25 tion that was a network station on January 1, 
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1 1995, the statutory license provided for in sub2 paragraph (A) shall apply to the secondary 

3 transmission by a satellite carrier of the signal 

4 of that station to any subscriber in a commu5 nity that is located within that State and that 

6 is not within the first 50 major television mar7 kets as listed in the regulations of the Commis8 sion as in effect on such date (47 CFR 

9 76.51).’’; 

10 (4) by striking paragraph (8); 

11 (5) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through 

12 (12) as paragraphs (10) through (13), respectively; 

13 (6) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 

14 (7) as paragraphs (5) through (9), respectively; 

15 (7) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(3) SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS OF SIGNIFI18 CANTLY VIEWED SIGNALS.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the 

20 provisions of paragraph (2)(B), and subject to 

21 subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, the statu22 tory license provided for in paragraphs (1) and 

23 (2) shall apply to the secondary transmission of 

24 the signal of a network station or a supersta25 tion to a subscriber who resides outside the sta-
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1 tion’s local market (as defined in section 

2 122(j)) but within a community in which the 

3 signal of that station is determined to be sig4 nificantly viewed under section 340 of the Com5 munications Act of 1934. 

6 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Subparagraph (A) 

7 shall apply only to secondary transmissions of 

8 network stations and superstations to sub9 scribers who receive secondary transmissions 

10 from a satellite carrier pursuant to the statu11 tory license under section 122.’’; and 

12 (8) in paragraph (2)(B)(i), by adding at the 

13 end the following new sentence: ‘‘The limitation in 

14 this clause shall not apply to secondary trans15 missions under paragraph (3).’’. 

16 SEC. 103. STATUTORY LICENSE FOR SATELLITE CARRIERS 

17 OUTSIDE LOCAL MARKETS. 

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

19 amended as follows: 

20 (1) Subsection (a) is amended by inserting after 

21 paragraph (3), as added by section 102 of this Act, 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(4) STATUTORY LICENSE WHERE RETRANS24 MISSIONS INTO LOCAL MARKET AVAILABLE.—
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1 ‘‘(A) RULES FOR SUBSCRIBERS UNDER

2 SUBSECTION (e).—In the case of a subscriber of 

3 a satellite carrier who is eligible to receive the 

4 signal of a network station solely by reason of 

5 subsection (e) (in this subparagraph referred to 

6 as a ‘distant signal’), the following shall apply: 

7 ‘‘(i) In a case in which the signal of 

8 a local network station affiliated with the 

9 same television network is made available 

10 by that satellite carrier to the subscriber 

11 pursuant to the statutory license under 

12 section 122, the statutory license under 

13 paragraph (2) shall apply only to sec14 ondary transmissions by that satellite car15 rier of the distant signal of such network 

16 station to that subscriber—

17 ‘‘(I) if, within 60 days after re18 ceiving the notice of the satellite car19 rier under section 338(h) of the Com20 munications Act of 1934, the sub21 scriber elects to retain the distant sig22 nal; but 

23 ‘‘(II) only until such time as the 

24 subscriber elects to receive such local 

25 signal. 
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1 ‘‘(ii) Notwithstanding clause (i), the 

2 statutory license under paragraph (2) shall 

3 not apply to any subscriber who is eligible 

4 to receive the signal of a network station 

5 solely by reason of subsection (e) unless 

6 the subscriber’s satellite carrier, within 60 

7 days after the date of the enactment of the 

8 Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Re9 authorization Act of 2004, submits to that 

10 television network a list, aggregated by 

11 designated market area (as defined in sec12 tion 122(j)(2)(C)), that—

13 ‘‘(I) identifies that subscriber by 

14 name and address (street or RFD 

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

16 specifies the distant signals received 

17 by the subscriber; and 

18 ‘‘(II) states, to the best of the 

19 satellite carrier’s knowledge and be20 lief, after having made diligent and 

21 good faith inquiries, that the sub22 scriber is eligible under subsection (e) 

23 to receive the distant signals. 

24 ‘‘(B) RULES FOR OTHER SUBSCRIBERS.—

25 In the case of a subscriber of a satellite carrier 
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1 who is eligible to receive the signal of a network 

2 station under the statutory license under para3 graph (2) (in this subparagraph referred to as 

4 a ‘distant signal’), other than subscribers to 

5 whom subparagraph (A) applies, the following 

6 shall apply: 

7 ‘‘(i) In a case in which the signal of 

8 a local network station affiliated with the 

9 same television network is made available 

10 by that satellite carrier, on the date of the 

11 enactment of the Satellite Home Viewer 

12 Extension and Reauthorization Act of 

13 2004, to the subscriber pursuant to the 

14 statutory license under section 122, the 

15 statutory license under paragraph (2) shall 

16 apply only to secondary transmissions by 

17 that satellite carrier of the distant signal 

18 of such network station to that sub19 scriber—

20 ‘‘(I)(aa) if, on such date of enact21 ment, the subscriber is receiving such 

22 distant signal and is also receiving 

23 such local signal, and 

24 ‘‘(bb) the subscriber’s satellite 

25 carrier, within 60 days after such date 
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1 of enactment, submits to that tele2 vision network a list, aggregated by 

3 designated market area (as defined in 

4 section 122(j)(2)(C)), that identifies 

5 that subscriber by name and address 

6 (street or RFD number, city, State, 

7 and zip code) and specifies the distant 

8 signals received by the subscriber; or 

9 ‘‘(II)(aa) if, on such date of en10 actment, the subscriber is receiving 

11 such distant signal and is not receiv12 ing such local signal; but 

13 ‘‘(bb) only until such time as the 

14 subscriber elects to receive such local 

15 signal. 

16 ‘‘(ii) In a case in which the signal of 

17 a local network station affiliated with the 

18 same television network is not made avail19 able by that satellite carrier, on the date of 

20 the enactment of the Satellite Home View21 er Extension and Reauthorization Act of 

22 2004, to a subscriber pursuant to the stat23 utory license under section 122, the statu24 tory license under paragraph (2) shall 

25 apply only to secondary transmissions by 
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1 that satellite carrier of the distant signal 

2 of such network station to any person—

3 ‘‘(I) who is subscriber of that 

4 satellite carrier on such date of enact5 ment, or 

6 ‘‘(II) who becomes a subscriber 

7 of that satellite carrier after such date 

8 but before the local signal is available, 

9 but only until such time as the subscriber 

10 elects to receive the local signal from that 

11 satellite carrier. 

12 ‘‘(C) FUTURE APPLICABILITY.—The statu13 tory license under paragraph (2) shall not apply 

14 to secondary transmissions by a satellite carrier 

15 of a primary transmission of a network station 

16 to a subscriber in a location to which the signal 

17 of a local network station affiliated with the 

18 same television network was made available by 

19 that satellite carrier, before that person became 

20 a subscriber to that satellite carrier, pursuant 

21 to the statutory license under section 122. 

22 ‘‘(D) NULLIFICATION OF EXISTING WAIV23 ERS.—In the case of any subscriber to whom 

24 subparagraph (B)(i)(II) or (B)(ii) applies, at 

25 such time as the subscriber elects to receive the 
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1 local signal of a network station, any waiver by 

2 that network station under section 339(c)(2) of 

3 the Communications Act of 1934 shall cease to 

4 be effective with respect to that subscriber. 

5 ‘‘(E) OTHER PROVISIONS NOT AF6 FECTED.—This paragraph shall not affect the 

7 applicability of the statutory license to sec8 ondary transmissions under paragraph (3) or to 

9 unserved households included under subsection 

10 (a)(12). ’’. 

11 (2) Subsection (b)(1) is amended by striking 

12 subparagraph (B) and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(B) a royalty fee for that 6-month period, 

14 computed by multiplying the total number of 

15 subscribers receiving each secondary trans16 mission of each superstation or network station 

17 during each calendar month by the appropriate 

18 rate in effect under this section.’’. 

19 (3) Subsection (b)(1) is further amended by 

20 adding at the end the following flush sentence: 

21 ‘‘Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph 

22 (B), a satellite carrier whose secondary trans23 missions are subject to statutory licensing under 

24 paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) shall have no 

25 royalty obligation for secondary transmissions to a 
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1 subscriber who resides outside the station’s local 

2 market (as defined in section 122(j)(2)) but within 

3 a community in which the signal of that station is 

4 determined to be significantly viewed under section 

5 340 of the Communications Act of 1934.’’. 

6 (4) Subsection (c) is amended—

7 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

8 follows: 

9 ‘‘(1) APPLICABILITY AND DETERMINATION OF

10 ROYALTY FEES.—The appropriate rate for purposes 

11 of determining the royalty fee under subsection 

12 (b)(1)(B) shall be the appropriate rate set forth in 

13 part 258 of title 37, Code of Federal Regulations, as 

14 in effect on the date of the enactment of the Sat15 ellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization 

16 Act of 2004, as modified under this subsection.’’; 

17 (B) by striking paragraph (2); 

18 (C) in paragraph (3)—

19 (i) by redesignating that paragraph as 

20 paragraph (2); 

21 (ii) in subparagraph (A)—

22 (I) by striking ‘‘January 1, 

23 1997,’’ and inserting ‘‘January 1, 

24 2005,’’; and 
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1 (II) by striking ‘‘who are not 

2 parties to a voluntary agreement filed 

3 with the Copyright Office in accord4 ance with paragraph (2)’’; 

5 (iii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

6 ‘‘as provided’’ and all that follows through 

7 ‘‘later’’ and inserting ‘‘January 1, 2006’’; 

8 and 

9 (iv) by striking subparagraph (D); 

10 and 

11 (D) by striking paragraphs (4) and (5) 

12 and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(3) COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT.—The roy14 alty rates set forth in subsection (b)(1)(B), as ad15 justed under paragraph (2) of this subsection, shall 

16 be adjusted by the Librarian of Congress—

17 ‘‘(A) on January 1, 2005, to reflect any 

18 changes occurring during the period beginning 

19 on January 1, 2000, and ending on November 

20 30, 2004, in the cost of living as determined by 

21 the most recent Consumer Price Index (for all 

22 consumers and items) published by the Sec23 retary of Labor during that period; and 

24 ‘‘(B) on January 1, 2007, and on January 

25 1 of each year thereafter, to reflect any changes 
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1 occurring during the preceding 12 months in 

2 the cost of living as determined by the most re3 cent Consumer Price Index so published. 

4 ‘‘(4) REDUCTIONS.—The rate of the royalty fee 

5 determined under paragraph (2)—

6 ‘‘(A) for superstations shall be reduced by 

7 30 percent; and 

8 ‘‘(B) for network stations shall be reduced 

9 by 45 percent.’’. 

10 (5) Subsection (d) is amended—

11 (A) by amending paragraph (9) to read as 

12 follows: 

13 ‘‘(9) SUPERSTATION.—The term ‘superstation’ 

14 means a television broadcast station, other than a 

15 network station, licensed by the Federal Commu16 nications Commission that is secondarily transmitted 

17 by a satellite carrier.’’; 

18 (B) in paragraph (10)(D), by striking 

19 ‘‘(a)(11)’’ and inserting ‘‘(a)(12)’’; and 

20 (C) by striking paragraph (12). 

21 SEC. 104. STUDY. 

22 No later than June 30, 2008, the Register of Copy23 rights shall report to the Committee on the Judiciary of 

24 the House of Representatives and the Committee on the 

25 Judiciary of the Senate the Register’s findings and rec-
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1 ommendations on the operation and revision of the statu2 tory licenses under sections 111, 119, and 122 of title 17, 

3 United States Code. The report should include, but not 

4 be limited to, the following: 

5 (1) A comparison of the royalties paid by licens6 ees under such sections, including historical rates of 

7 increases in these royalties, a comparison between 

8 the royalties under each such section and the prices 

9 paid in the marketplace for comparable program10 ming. 

11 (2) An analysis of the differences in the terms 

12 and conditions of the licenses under such sections, 

13 an analysis of whether these differences are required 

14 or justified by historical, technological, or regulatory 

15 differences that affect the satellite and cable indus16 tries, and an analysis of whether either the cable or 

17 satellite industry is placed in a competitive disadvan18 tage due to these terms and conditions. 

19 (3) An analysis of whether the licenses under 

20 such sections are still justified by the bases upon 

21 which they were originally created. 

22 (4) An analysis of the correlation, if any, be23 tween the royalties, or lack thereof, under such sec24 tions and the fees charged to cable and satellite sub25 scribers, addressing whether cable and satellite com-
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1 panies have passed to subscribers any savings real2 ized as a result of the royalty structure and amounts 

3 under such sections. 

4 SEC. 105. EFFECT ON CERTAIN PROCEEDINGS. 

5 Nothing in this Act shall modify any remedy imposed 

6 on a party that is required by a final judgment of a court 

7 in any action that was brought before May 1, 2004, 

8 against that party for a violation of section 119 of title 

9 17, United States Code.

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