I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3210
To amend title 17, United States Code, to reform the copyright law with
respect to satellite retransmissions of broadcast signals, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 12, 1998
Mr. COBLE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Commerce, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned
A BILL
To amend title 17, United States Code, to reform the copy-
right law with respect to satellite retransmissions of
broadcast signals, and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘Copyright Compulsory
License Improvement Act’’.
SEC. 2. SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS BY SATELLITE CAR-
RIERS.
Section 119 of title 17, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) by amending the section heading to read as
follows:
‘‘§ 119. Limitations on exclusive rights: Secondary
transmissions by satellite carriers’’;
and
(2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(a) SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS
BY SATELLITE
CARRIERS FOR PRIVATE HOME VIEWING.—
‘‘(1) SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS OF DISTANT
AND LOCAL BROADCAST SIGNALS SUBJECT TO STAT-
UTORY
LICENSING.—Subject to the provisions of
subsections (b) and (c) of this section and section
114(d), a secondary transmission of a primary
transmission made by a television broadcast station
licensed by the Federal Communications Commission
or by the Public Broadcasting Service satellite feed
and embodying a performance or display of a work
shall be subject to statutory licensing under this sec-
tion if—
‘‘(A) the secondary transmission is permis-
sible under the rules, regulations, and author-
izations of the Federal Communications Com-
mission and is made by a satellite carrier to the
public for private home viewing; and
‘‘(B) the carrier makes a direct or indirect
charge for each retransmission service to each
household receiving the secondary transmission
or to a distributor that has contracted with the
carrier for direct or indirect delivery of the sec-
ondary transmission to the public for private
home viewing.
‘‘(2) SUBMISSION
OF
SUBSCRIBER
LISTS
TO
TELEVISION BROADCAST STATIONS.—
‘‘(A) INITIAL
LISTS.—A satellite carrier
that makes secondary transmissions of a pri-
mary transmission of a television broadcast sta-
tion pursuant to paragraph (1) shall, within 90
days after commencing such secondary trans-
missions, submit to that television broadcast
station—
‘‘(i) a list identifying all subscribers
within the designated market area of that
television broadcast station to whom the
satellite carrier has made such secondary
transmissions; and
‘‘(ii) a list of all television broadcast
stations whose primary transmissions have
been transmitted by the satellite carrier to
those subscribers during that 90-day pe-
riod.
‘‘(B) SUBSEQUENT LISTS.—After the sub-
mission of the lists under subparagraph (A),
the satellite carrier shall, on the 15th day of
each month, submit to each television broadcast
station—
‘‘(i) a list, which shall be dated, that
identifies the name of any subscriber de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) who has been
added or dropped since the last submission
under this paragraph; and
‘‘(ii) a list of all television broadcast
stations whose primary transmissions have
been added or dropped by the satellite car-
rier since the last submission under this
paragraph
‘‘(C) 
IDENTIFYING
INFORMATION.—(i)
Each list of subscribers under this paragraph
shall include the name of each subscriber, to-
gether with the subscriber’s home address,
which shall include the street address or rural
if the content of the particular program in which the
performance or display is embodied, or any commer-
cial advertising or station announcement transmitted
by the primary transmitter during, or immediately
before or after, the transmission of such program, is
in any way willfully altered by the satellite carrier
through changes, deletions, or additions, or is com-
bined with programming from any other broadcast
signal.
‘‘(5) PENALTIES FOR DISCRIMINATION AGAINST
DISTRIBUTOR.—Notwithstanding the provisions of
paragraph (1), the willful or repeated secondary
transmission to the public by a satellite carrier of a
primary transmission made by a television broadcast
station licensed by the Federal Communications
Commission or by the Public Broadcasting Service
satellite feed and embodying the performance or dis-
play of a work is actionable as an act of infringe-
ment under section 501, and is fully subject to the
remedies provided by sections 502 through 506 and
509, if the satellite carrier unlawfully discriminates
against a distributor.
‘‘(6) LICENSE LIMITED TO SECONDARY TRANS-
MISSIONS
TO
HOUSEHOLDS
IN
THE
UNITED
STATES.—The statutory license created by this sec-
tion shall apply only to secondary transmissions to
households located in the United States.’’.
SEC. 3. STATUTORY LICENSE FOR SATELLITE CARRIERS.
Section 119 of title 17, United States Code, is
amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(b) STATUTORY LICENSE FOR SECONDARY TRANS-
MISSIONS FOR PRIVATE HOME VIEWING.—
‘‘(1) DEPOSIT OF ACCOUNTS AND FEES WITH
REGISTER
OF
COPYRIGHTS.—A satellite carrier
whose secondary transmissions are subject to statu-
tory licensing under subsection (a) shall, on a semi-
annual basis, deposit with the Register of Copy-
rights, in accordance with requirements that the
Register shall prescribe by regulation—
‘‘(A) a statement of account, covering the
preceding 6-month period, specifying the names
and locations of all television broadcast stations
whose signals were retransmitted, and listing
the Public Broadcasting Service satellite feed, if
carried, at any time during that period, to sub-
scribers for private home viewing, the total
number of subscribers that received such re-
transmissions, and other such data as the Reg-
ister of Copyrights may from time to time pre-
scribe by regulation; and
‘‘(B) a royalty fee for that 6-month period
for each television broadcast station whose pri-
mary transmission was retransmitted beyond
the local market of the station, and for the
Public Broadcasting Service satellite feed, if
carried, computed by multiplying the total num-
ber of subscribers receiving the secondary
transmission, and the number of subscribers re-
ceiving a secondary transmission of the Public
Broadcasting Service satellite feed, during each
calendar month by the rate in effect for tele-
vision broadcast stations on the day before the
effective date of the Copyright Compulsory Li-
cense Improvement Act.
‘‘(2) INVESTMENT OF FEES.—The Register of
Copyrights shall receive all fees deposited under this
section and, after deducting the reasonable costs in-
curred by the Copyright Office under this section
(other than the costs deducted under paragraph
(4)), shall deposit the balance in the Treasury of the
United States, in such manner as the Secretary of
the Treasury directs. All funds held by the Secretary
of the Treasury shall be invested in interest-bearing
securities of the United States for later distribution
with interest by the Copyright Royalty Adjudication
Board as provided in this title. The Register may,
four or more years after the close of any calendar
year, close out the account for royalty payments
made under this section for that calendar year (in-
cluding payments made under this section as in ef-
fect before the effective date of the Copyright Com-
pulsory License Improvement Act), and may treat
any funds remaining in such account and any subse-
quent deposits that would otherwise be attributable
to that calendar year as attributable to the calendar
year in which the account is closed.
‘‘(3) PERSONS TO WHOM FEES ARE DISTRIB-
UTED.—The royalty fees deposited under paragraph
(2) shall, in accordance with the procedures provided
in paragraph (4), be distributed to those copyright
owners whose works were included in a secondary
transmission for private home viewing made by a
satellite carrier during the applicable 6-month ac-
counting period and who file a claim with the Li-
brarian of Congress under paragraph (4).
‘‘(4) PROCEDURES
FOR
DISTRIBUTION.—The
royalty fees deposited under paragraph (2) shall be
distributed in accordance with the following proce-
dures:
‘‘(A) FILING OF CLAIMS FOR FEES.—Dur-
ing the month of July in each year, each person
claiming to be entitled to statutory license fees
for secondary transmissions for private home
viewing shall file a claim with the Copyright
Royalty Adjudication Board, in accordance with
requirements that the Board shall prescribe by
regulation. For purposes of this paragraph, any
claimants may agree among themselves as to
the proportionate division of statutory license
fees among them, may lump their claims to-
gether and file them jointly or as a single claim,
or may designate a common agent to receive
payment on their behalf.
‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF CONTROVERSY;
DISTRIBUTIONS.—After the first day of August
of each year, the Copyright Royalty Adjudica-
tion Board shall determine whether there exists
a controversy concerning the distribution of roy-
alty fees. If the Board determines that no such
controversy exists, the Board shall, after de-
ducting reasonable administrative costs under
this paragraph, distribute such fees to the copy-
right owners entitled to receive them, or to their
designated agents. If the Board finds the exist-
ence of a controversy, the Board shall, pursuant
to chapter 8 of this title, conduct a proceeding
to determine the distribution of royalty fees.
‘‘(C) WITHHOLDING
OF
FEES
DURING
CONTROVERSY.—During the pendency of any
proceeding under this subsection, the Copyright
Royalty Adjudication Board shall withhold from
distribution an amount sufficient to satisfy all
claims with respect to which a controversy ex-
ists, but shall have discretion to proceed to dis-
tribute any amounts that are not in con-
troversy.’’.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
Section 119 of title 17, United States Code, is
amended by striking subsection (d) and inserting the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section—
‘‘(1) DESIGNATED MARKET AREA.—The term
‘designated market area’ has the meaning given that
term in section 337(g) of the Communications Act
of 1934.
‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTOR.—The term ‘distributor’
means an entity which contracts to distribute sec-
ondary transmissions from a satellite carrier and, ei-
ther as a single channel or in a package with other
programming, provides the secondary transmission
either directly to individual subscribers for private
home viewing or indirectly through other program
distribution entities.
‘‘(3) LOCAL MARKET.—The ‘local market’ for a
television broadcast station has the meaning given
that term in section 337(g) of the Communications
Act of 1934.
‘‘(4) PRIMARY TRANSMISSION.—The term ‘pri-
mary transmission’ has the meaning given that term
in section 111(f) of this title.
‘‘(5) PRIVATE HOME VIEWING.—The term ‘pri-
vate home viewing’ means the viewing, for private
use in a household by means of satellite reception
equipment which is operated by an individual in that
household and which serves only such household, of
a secondary transmission delivered by a satellite car-
rier of a primary transmission of a television station
licensed by the Federal Communications Commission
or of the Public Broadcasting Service satellite feed.
‘‘(6) PUBLIC
BROADCASTING
SERVICE
SAT-
ELLITE
FEED.—The term ‘Public Broadcasting
Service satellite feed’ means the national satellite
SEC. 12. MUST-CARRY FOR SATELLITE CARRIERS RE-
TRANSMITTING TELEVISION BROADCAST SIG-
NALS.
Title III of the Communications Act of 1934 is
amended by inserting after section 336 the following new
section:
‘‘SEC. 337. CARRIAGE OF LOCAL TELEVISION SIGNALS BY
SATELLITE CARRIERS.
‘‘(a) CARRIAGE OBLIGATIONS.—Each satellite carrier
providing direct to home service of a television broadcast
station to subscribers located within the local market of
such station shall carry all television broadcast stations
located within that local market. Carriage of additional
television broadcast stations within the local market shall
be at the discretion of the satellite carrier, subject to sec-
tion 325(b).
‘‘(b) DUPLICATION NOT REQUIRED.—Notwithstand-
ing subsection (a), a satellite carrier shall not be required
to carry the signal of any local television broadcast station
that substantially duplicates the signal of another local tel-
evision broadcast station which is secondarily transmitted
by the satellite carrier, or to carry the signals of more
that one local television broadcast station affiliated with
a particular broadcast network (as the term is defined by
regulation).