[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2060 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2060
To nullify the March 2, 2007, determination of the Copyright Royalty
Judges with respect to webcasting, to modify the basis for making such
a determination, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 26, 2007
Mr. Inslee introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy
and 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 committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To nullify the March 2, 2007, determination of the Copyright Royalty
Judges with respect to webcasting, to modify the basis for making such
a determination, and for other purposes.
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 ``Internet Radio Equality Act''.
SEC. 2. NULLIFICATION OF DECISION OF COPYRIGHT ROYALTY JUDGES.
The March 2, 2007, Determination of Rates and Terms of the United
States Copyright Royalty Judges regarding rates and terms for the
digital performance of sound recordings and ephemeral recordings,
including that determination as modified by the April 17, 2007, Order
Denying Motions for Rehearing and any subsequent modification to that
determination by the Copyright Royalty Judges that is published in the
Federal Register, is not effective, and shall be deemed never to have
been effective.
SEC. 3. COMPUTATION OF ROYALTY FEES FOR COMMERCIAL INTERNET RADIO
SERVICES OFFERING DIGITAL PERFORMANCES OF SOUND
RECORDINGS.
(a) Standard for Determining Rates and Terms.--Section 114(f)(2)(B)
of title 17, United States Code, is amended by striking ``Such rates
and terms shall distinguish'' and all that follows through the end of
clause (ii) and inserting the following: ``The Copyright Royalty Judges
shall establish rates and terms in accordance with the objectives set
forth in section 801(b)(1). Such rates and terms may include a minimum
annual royalty of not more than $500 for each provider of services that
are subject to such rates and terms, which shall be the only minimum
royalty fee and shall be assessed only once annually to that
provider.''.
(b) Transition Rule.--Except for services covered by section 118 of
title 17, United States Code, each provider of digital audio
transmissions that otherwise would have been subject to the rates and
terms of the determination of the Copyright Royalty Judges made
ineffective by section 2 of this Act shall instead pay royalties for
each year of the 5-year period beginning on January 1, 2006, at one of
the following rates, as selected by the provider for that year:
(1) 0.33 cents per hour of sound recordings transmitted to
a single listener.
(2) 7.5 percent of the revenues received by the provider
during that year that are directly related to the provider's
digital transmissions of sound recordings.
SEC. 4. COMPUTATION OF ROYALTY FEES FOR NONCOMMERCIAL STATIONS OFFERING
DIGITAL PERFORMANCES OF SOUND RECORDINGS.
(a) Amendments to Section 118 of Title 17, United States Code.--
Section 118 of title 17, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by striking ``and published pictorial'' and inserting ``,
sound recordings, and published pictorial'';
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by
striking ``and published pictorial'' and inserting ``,
sound recordings, and published pictorial''; and
(B) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``or nonprofit
institution or organization'' after ``broadcast
station''; and
(3) in subsection (f), by striking ``paragraph (2)'' and
inserting ``paragraph (1) or (2)''.
(b) Transition Rule.--For each calendar year (or portion thereof)
beginning after December 31, 2004, until an applicable voluntary
license agreement is filed with the Copyright Royalty Judges pursuant
to section 118 of title 17, United States Code (as amended by
subsection (a) of this section) or an applicable determination is
issued by the Copyright Royalty Judges pursuant to section 118 of such
title (as so amended), the annual royalty that a public broadcasting
entity shall pay to owners of copyrights in sound recordings for the
uses provided under section 118(c) of such title (as so amended) shall
be an amount equal to the 1.5 times the total fees paid by that entity
(or in the case of a group of related entities, the fees paid by such
group) pursuant to section 114(f)(2) of title 17, United States Code,
for such uses during the calendar year ending December 31, 2004.
SEC. 5. REPORT BY THE NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION
ADMINISTRATION.
Upon the publication in the Federal Register under section
803(b)(1) of title 17, United States Code, of the commencement of
proceedings of the Copyright Royalty Judges under section 114(f) or 118
of title 17, United States Code, to determine rates and terms for
Internet radio service providers under the statutory license provided
under section 114(d)(2) or 118 (as the case may be), the Assistant
Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, after
consulting with representatives of copyright owners, nonprofit
educational institutions, and commercial and noncommercial Internet
radio providers, shall submit to the Copyright Royalty Judges a report
on the competitiveness of the Internet radio marketplace and the effect
on Internet radio providers of proposed rate determinations in the
proceedings. The Assistant Secretary shall submit the report to the
Copyright Royalty Judges in a timely manner before the conclusion of
the proceedings.
SEC. 6. REPORT BY THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION.
Upon the publication in the Federal Register under section
803(b)(1) of title 17, United States Code, of the commencement of
proceedings of the Copyright Royalty Judges under section 114(f) or 118
of title 17, United States Code, to determine rates and terms for
Internet radio service providers under the statutory license provided
under section 114(d)(2) or 118 (as the case may be), the Federal
Communications Commission shall submit to the Copyright Royalty Judges
a report on the effect of proposed rate determinations in the
proceedings on localism, diversity, and competition in the Internet
radio marketplace. The report shall include the Commission's views on
the effects of the proposed rate determinations on--
(1) localism, diversity, and competition in rural areas;
(2) diversity of programming, including foreign language
programming; and
(3) competitive barriers to entry into the Internet radio
market.
The Commission shall submit the report to the Copyright Royalty Judges
in a timely manner before the conclusion of the proceedings.
SEC. 7. REPORT BY CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING.
Upon the publication in the Federal Register under section
803(b)(1) of title 17, United States Code, of the commencement of
proceedings of the Copyright Royalty Judges under section 114(f) or 118
of title 17, United States Code, to determine rates and terms for
Internet radio service providers under the statutory license provided
under section 114(d)(2) or 118 (as the case may be), Corporation for
Public Broadcasting, in consultation with public radio licensees or
permittees, or their designated representatives, shall submit to the
Congress a report on the effect of the proposed rate determinations on
such licensees and permittees. The Corporation shall submit the report
to the Copyright Royalty Judges in a timely manner before the
conclusion of the proceedings.
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