Section 109 Study on the Cable and Satellite Statutory Licenses
under the Copyright Act

Background

Section 109 of the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA) of 2004, requires the Register of Copyrights to prepare a report for Congress regarding the operation and revision of the Sections 111, 119, and 122 statutory licenses under the Copyright Act, including her findings and recommendations.

Under Section 109, Congress indicated that the report shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

1. A comparison of the royalties paid by licensees under such sections, including historical rates of increases in these royalties, a comparison between the royalties under each such section and the prices paid in the marketplace for comparable programming;

2. An analysis of the differences in the terms and conditions of the licenses under such sections, an analysis of whether these differences are required or justified by historical, technological, or regulatory differences that affect the satellite and cable industries, and an analysis of whether the cable or satellite industry is placed in a competitive disadvantage due to these terms and conditions;

3. An analysis of whether the licenses under such sections are still justified by the bases upon which they were originally created;

4. An analysis of the correlation, if any, between the royalties, or lack thereof, under such sections and the fees charged to cable and satellite subscribers, addressing whether cable and satellite companies have passed to subscribers any savings realized as a result of the royalty structure and amounts under such sections; and

5. An analysis of issues that may arise with respect to the application of the licenses under such sections to the secondary transmissions of the primary transmissions of network stations and superstations that originate as digital signals, including issues that relate to the application of the unserved household limitations under Section 119 and to the determination of royalties of cable systems and satellite carriers.

The Register must recommend any necessary legislative changes no later than June 30, 2008.

The Copyright Office issued a Notice of Inquiry (“NOI”) on April 16, 2007, to begin efforts to collect information necessary to address the issues posed by Congress in Section 109 of the SHVERA. The Copyright Office will hold hearings on matters raised in this NOI on July 23-July 25, 2007 to further supplement the record. Interested parties will be provided an opportunity to testify at the hearings and respond to testimony submitted at those hearings.

Written comments were due July 2, 2007. Reply comments were due October 1, 2007.