[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4861 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4861

To authorize the Federal Communications Commission to impose licensing 
 conditions on digital audio radio to protect against the unauthorized 
                  distribution of transmitted content.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 2, 2006

 Mr. Ferguson (for himself, Mr. Towns, Mrs. Bono, Mr. Gordon, and Mrs. 
  Blackburn) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Federal Communications Commission to impose licensing 
 conditions on digital audio radio to protect against the unauthorized 
                  distribution of transmitted content.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Audio Broadcast Flag Licensing Act 
of 2006''.

SEC. 2. LICENSING OF DEVICES FOR OVER-THE-AIR AND SATELLITE DIGITAL 
              AUDIO BROADCASTING.

    Part I of title III of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 342. GRANT OF LIMITED AUTHORITY REGARDING THE LICENSING OF 
              DEVICES FOR OVER-THE-AIR AND SATELLITE DIGITAL AUDIO 
              BROADCASTING.

    ``(a) Grant of Authority.--The Commission has authority--
            ``(1) to require and enforce, subject to subsections (b) 
        and (c), in conjunction with the in-band, on-channel technical 
        standard for digital audio broadcast transmissions under 
        consideration in MM Docket No. 99-235, or any successor 
        regulations, that--
                    ``(A) all technologies necessary to make 
                transmission and reception devices compliant with such 
                technical standard are licensed on reasonable and 
                nondiscriminatory terms;
                    ``(B) such licenses shall include prohibitions 
                against unauthorized copying and redistribution of 
                transmitted content through the use of a broadcast flag 
                or similar technology, in a manner generally consistent 
                with the purposes of other applicable law; and
                    ``(C) licensees of the Commission providing digital 
                audio broadcast service shall give effect to and comply 
                with such prohibitions; and
            ``(2) to require and enforce, subject to subsections (b) 
        and (c), as part of its regulation of satellite digital audio 
        radio services (SDARS) pursuant to part 25 of the Commission 
        rules, or any successor regulations, that--
                    ``(A) all technologies necessary to make 
                transmission and reception devices capable of receiving 
                satellite digital audio radio transmissions are 
                licensed on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms;
                    ``(B) such licenses shall include prohibitions 
                against unauthorized copying and redistribution of 
                transmitted content through the use of a broadcast flag 
                or similar technology, in a manner generally consistent 
                with the purposes of other applicable law; and
                    ``(C) licensees of the Commission providing 
                satellite digital audio radio services shall give 
                effect to and comply with such prohibitions.
    ``(b) Disclosure.--Any rules and regulations promulgated pursuant 
to subsection (a) that apply to the use of transmissions, or content 
therein, shall require the full disclosure of any information required 
to enable the manufacture of compliant devices.
    ``(c) Limitations on Regulations.--The adoption of any digital 
audio regulations pursuant to this section--
            ``(1) shall not delay the adoption of final operational 
        rules for digital audio broadcasting;
            ``(2) shall not make obsolete any devices already 
        manufactured and distributed in the marketplace before the 
        implementation of such regulations; and
            ``(3) shall not be inconsistent with the customary use of 
        broadcast content by consumers to the extent such use is 
        consistent with the purposes of this act and other applicable 
        law.
    ``(d) Revisions Permitted.--The Commission may reconsider, amend, 
repeal, supplement, and otherwise modify, in whole or in part, any 
regulations adopted pursuant to subsection (a) in order to further the 
purposes of this section, except that any change in such regulations 
shall employ a broadcast flag or similar technology as the means to 
achieve those purposes.
    ``(e) Activities of Performing Rights and Mechanical Rights 
Organizations.--Nothing shall preclude or prevent a performing rights 
organization or a mechanical rights organization, or any entity owned 
in whole or in part by, or acting on behalf of, such organizations, 
from monitoring public performances or other uses of copyrighted works 
contained in such transmissions. The Commission may require that any 
such organization or entity be given a license on either a gratuitous 
basis or for a de minimus fee to cover only the reasonable costs to the 
licensor of providing the license, and on reasonable, non-
discriminatory terms, to access and retransmit as necessary any content 
contained in such transmissions protected by content protection or 
similar technologies, provided that such licenses are for purposes of 
carrying out the activities of such organizations or entities in 
monitoring the public performance or other uses of copyrighted works 
and that such organizations or entities employ reasonable methods to 
protect any such content accessed from further distribution.''.
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