I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6402 
To provide for secondary transmissions of distant network signals for private 
home viewing by certain satellite carriers. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 6, 2006 
Mr. MOLLOHAN (for himself and Mr. RAHALL) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To provide for secondary transmissions of distant network 
signals for private home viewing by certain satellite carriers. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Satellite Consumer 
Protection Act of 2006’’. 
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SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ON EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS: SECONDARY 
TRANSMISSIONS OF DISTANT NETWORK SIG-
NALS FOR PRIVATE HOME VIEWING BY CER-
TAIN SATELLITE CARRIERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 17, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 119 the 
following: 
‘‘§ 119A. Limitations on exclusive rights: secondary 
transmissions of distant network signals 
for private home viewing by certain sat-
ellite carriers 
‘‘(a) STATUTORY LICENSE GRANTED.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any in-
junction issued under section 119(a)(7)(B), a sat-
ellite carrier found to have engaged in a pattern or 
practice 
of 
violations 
pursuant 
to 
section 
119(a)(7)(B) is granted a statutory license to pro-
vide a secondary transmission of a performance or 
display of a work embodied in a primary trans-
mission made by a network station in accordance 
with the provisions of this section. 
‘‘(2) SIGNIFICANTLY VIEWED SIGNALS.—Under 
the statutory license granted by paragraph (1), a 
satellite carrier may provide a secondary trans-
mission of a primary transmission made by a net-
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work station as provided in paragraph (2)(C) or (3) 
of section 119(a). 
‘‘(3) DISTANT SIGNALS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Under the statutory 
license granted by paragraph (1), a satellite 
carrier may provide a secondary transmission of 
a performance or display of a work embodied in 
a primary transmission made by a network sta-
tion, subject to the limitations of subparagraphs 
(B) and (C), of not more than 1 network sta-
tion in a single day for each television network. 
‘‘(B) NON-LOCAL-INTO-LOCAL MARKETS.— 
A satellite carrier may provide a secondary 
transmission under subparagraph (A) in a local 
market (as defined in section 122(j)) in which 
a satellite carrier does not currently provide, 
and has not ever provided, a transmission pur-
suant to a statutory license under section 122, 
if the satellite carrier— 
‘‘(i) complies with the terms and con-
ditions for a statutory license under section 
119; and 
‘‘(ii) certifies to the Copyright Office 
within 30 days after the date of enactment 
of the Satellite Consumer Protection Act of 
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2006, or before initiating service to a sub-
scriber under this section, whichever is 
later, that all subscribers receiving sec-
ondary transmissions pursuant to a statu-
tory license under this section in that local 
market reside in unserved households, as 
determined under section 119(a)(2)(B)(ii); 
and 
‘‘(iii) deposits, in addition to the de-
posits required by section 119(b)(1), a du-
plicate payment with the Register of Copy-
rights in the same amount for each net-
work station in the local market affiliated 
with the same network as the network sta-
tion being imported. 
‘‘(C) SHORT MARKETS.—In a local market 
(as defined in section 122(j)) in which a net-
work station (as defined in section 119(d)) af-
filiated with the ABC, CBS, NBC, or Fox tele-
vision network is not licensed by the Federal 
Communications Commission, a satellite carrier 
may provide secondary transmission under sub-
paragraph (A) of the primary signals of a net-
work station affiliated with that network, if the 
satellite carrier— 
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‘‘(i) complies with the terms and con-
ditions for a statutory license under section 
119; and 
‘‘(ii) certifies to the Copyright Office 
within 30 days after the date of enactment 
of the Satellite Consumer Protection Act of 
2006, or before initiating service to a sub-
scriber under this section, whichever is 
later, that all subscribers receiving sec-
ondary transmissions pursuant to a statu-
tory license under this section in that local 
market reside in unserved households, as 
determined under section 119(a)(2)(B)(ii). 
‘‘(D) SHORT MARKET EXCEPTION.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 
subparagraph (C), a satellite carrier may 
not provide secondary transmission of the 
primary signals of a network station under 
that subparagraph if secondary trans-
mission of those signals could be provided 
under paragraph (2). 
‘‘(ii) 
DISCONTINUANCE
OF
SEC-
ONDARY
TRANSMISSION
WHEN
PRIMARY 
SIGNAL
BECOMES
AVAILABLE.—Notwith-
standing subparagraph (C), a satellite car-
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rier that has been providing secondary 
transmission of the primary signals of a 
network station under subparagraph (C) in 
a local market may not provide such sec-
ondary transmission in that local market 
more than 30 days after the date on which 
a network station affiliated with the same 
network begins to broadcast or rebroadcast 
the basic programming service of that net-
work in that local market and could be 
carried pursuant to a license under section 
122. 
‘‘(b) 
DISTRIBUTION
OF
DUPLICATE
DEPOSIT 
AMOUNTS.—The Copyright Royalty Judges shall author-
ize the Librarian of Congress to distribute semiannually 
amounts received by the Register of Copyrights as depos-
its under subsection (a)(3)(B)(iii), after deducting the rea-
sonable costs incurred by the Copyright Office and the 
Copyright Royalty Judges under this section, in accord-
ance with a process that the Copyright Royalty Judges 
may prescribe by regulation, to a network station (as de-
fined in section 119(d)(2)) affiliated with the network 
whose signals are being carried under this section to a 
community within the local market (as defined in section 
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122(j)) in which such signals are being provided under 
this section. 
‘‘(c) STATUTORY DAMAGES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The violation by a satellite 
carrier of subsection (a) is actionable as an act of 
infringement under section 501 and is subject to 
statutory damages equal to $100 per month multi-
plied by the number of subscribers with respect to 
which the violation was committed for each month 
during which the violation was committed (treating 
each month of a continuing violation as a separate 
violation). 
‘‘(2) PETITION.—A petition for statutory dam-
ages may be made to the Copyright Royalty Judges, 
pursuant to such rules as may be prescribed by the 
Copyright Royalty Judges by regulation. In any pro-
ceeding under this section, the satellite carrier shall 
have the burden of proving that its secondary trans-
mission of a primary transmission by a network sta-
tion is to a subscriber who is eligible to receive the 
secondary transmission under this section. 
‘‘(3) ESCROW.—As a condition of using the 
statutory license under subsection (a), a satellite 
carrier must deposit the sum of $20,000,000 in es-
crow with the Copyright Office. The Copyright Of-
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fice shall deposit the escrow funds in an account in 
the Treasury of the United States, in such manner 
as the Secretary of the Treasury directs, and in-
vested in interest-bearing securities of the United 
States with any interest from such investment to be 
credited to the account. The Copyright Royalty 
Judges shall have exclusive jurisdiction to determine 
liability for and entitlement to the statutory dam-
ages owed to the petitioning party in accordance 
with a process to be prescribed by regulation and 
they shall authorize the Librarian of Congress to 
distribute funds from the escrow account to satisfy 
this determination. After all petitions under this sec-
tion against a satellite carrier have been resolved, 
any amount remaining in the satellite carrier’s es-
crow account after February 17, 2009, after deduct-
ing the reasonable costs incurred by the Copyright 
Office and the Copyright Royalty Judges under this 
section, shall be returned to the satellite carrier. 
‘‘(4) JUDICIAL
REVIEW.—A satellite carrier 
may seek judicial review of all determinations of the 
Copyright Royalty Judges on a consolidated basis in 
a single petition of appeal to the United States 
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Cir-
cuit within 30 days after the later of— 
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‘‘(A) February 17, 2009; or 
‘‘(B) the date on which all amounts in the 
escrow account have been distributed or re-
turned. 
‘‘(d) SUNSET.—This section shall not apply after 
February 17, 2009.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal-
ysis for chapter 1 of title 17, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
119 the following: 
‘‘119A. Limitations on exclusive rights: secondary transmissions of distant net-
work signals for private home viewing by certain satellite car-
riers.’’. 
Æ 
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