[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6402 Introduced in House (IH)]







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 Representatives 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''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ON EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS: SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS OF 
              DISTANT NETWORK SIGNALS FOR PRIVATE HOME VIEWING BY 
              CERTAIN SATELLITE CARRIERS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 17, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 119 the following:
``Sec. 119A. Limitations on exclusive rights: secondary transmissions 
              of distant network signals for private home viewing by 
              certain satellite carriers
    ``(a) Statutory License Granted.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any injunction issued 
        under section 119(a)(7)(B), a satellite 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 provide 
        a secondary transmission of a performance or display of a work 
        embodied in a primary transmission 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 transmission of a primary transmission made 
        by a network 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 station, subject to the limitations 
                of subparagraphs (B) and (C), of not more than 1 
                network station 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 pursuant to a statutory license under 
                section 122, if the satellite carrier--
                            ``(i) complies with the terms and 
                        conditions 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 subscriber 
                        under this section, whichever is later, that 
                        all subscribers receiving secondary 
                        transmissions pursuant to a statutory 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 
                        deposits required by section 119(b)(1), a 
                        duplicate payment with the Register of 
                        Copyrights in the same amount for each network 
                        station in the local market affiliated with the 
                        same network as the network station being 
                        imported.
                    ``(C) Short markets.--In a local market (as defined 
                in section 122(j)) in which a network station (as 
                defined in section 119(d)) affiliated with the ABC, 
                CBS, NBC, or Fox television network is not licensed by 
                the Federal Communications Commission, a satellite 
                carrier may provide secondary transmission under 
                subparagraph (A) of the primary signals of a network 
                station affiliated with that network, if the satellite 
                carrier--
                            ``(i) complies with the terms and 
                        conditions 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 subscriber 
                        under this section, whichever is later, that 
                        all subscribers receiving secondary 
                        transmissions pursuant to a statutory 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 transmission of those 
                        signals could be provided under paragraph (2).
                            ``(ii) Discontinuance of secondary 
                        transmission when primary signal becomes 
                        available.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (C), a 
                        satellite carrier 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 secondary 
                        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 network 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 authorize the Librarian of Congress to distribute 
semiannually amounts received by the Register of Copyrights as deposits 
under subsection (a)(3)(B)(iii), after deducting the reasonable costs 
incurred by the Copyright Office and the Copyright Royalty Judges under 
this section, in accordance with a process that the Copyright Royalty 
Judges may prescribe by regulation, to a network station (as defined 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 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 multiplied 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 damages 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 proceeding under this section, the satellite 
        carrier shall have the burden of proving that its secondary 
        transmission of a primary transmission by a network station 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 escrow with the Copyright Office. The 
        Copyright Office 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 invested 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 damages 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 
        section against a satellite carrier have been resolved, any 
        amount remaining in the satellite carrier's escrow account 
        after February 17, 2009, after deducting 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 Circuit within 30 days after the later of--
                    ``(A) February 17, 2009; or
                    ``(B) the date on which all amounts in the escrow 
                account have been distributed or returned.
    ``(d) Sunset.--This section shall not apply after February 17, 
2009.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The chapter analysis 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 network signals for private home 
                            viewing by certain satellite carriers.''.
                                 <all>