[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 134 (Thursday, December 7, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2117]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      INTRODUCTION OF A BILL TO AMEND TITLE 17, UNITED STATES CODE

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                           HON. RICK BOUCHER

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 6, 2006

  Mr. BOUCHER. Mr. Speaker, today my colleague from Virginia, Mr. 
Goodlatte, and I introduce a bill to amend Section 119 of Title 17 of 
the United States Code. This modest, consumer-focused measure would 
simply allow a court to accept a negotiated settlement between parties 
to a lawsuit in which it is alleged that a satellite television 
provider has engaged in copyright infringement by providing the signals 
of out-of-market television stations to ineligible homes.
  I, like many of our colleagues, have been flooded with phone calls 
over the last several weeks from concerned constituents who subscribe 
to EchoStar's DISH network satellite television service. They are upset 
and confused because their access to the signals of out-of-market 
network television stations was suddenly cut off, and many of them are 
now unable to receive any network television service from DISH. Many of 
the affected households are in rural and underserved areas with a 
limited choice of alternative video programming providers to turn to. 
In my district alone, thousands of people have lost service, and 
nationwide, 800,000 are affected.
  The Satellite Home Viewer Act (SHVA), which was enacted with my 
support in 1988, allows residents to receive by satellite the network 
signals they cannot receive over-the-air from their local broadcast 
television stations. As a result, thousands of Southwest Virginians and 
millions of Americans who cannot view local television signals over the 
air today receive by satellite ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC network channels 
that originate from markets outside of their own communities. In some 
areas of the United States, particularly in mountainous regions like 
Southwest Virginia, a home may be predicted to receive a strong over-
the-air signal from a local television station but not actually get a 
quality picture. Receipt of good local television signals is 
effectively blocked by obstructions between viewers' homes and the 
local station. These households have come to depend on the distant 
network channels for important news and emergency information, as well 
as network programming. Without SHVA, millions of Americans, 
particularly those in remote areas, would be denied network television 
programming.
  Since December 1, 2006, EchoStar's DISH network has been prohibited 
by a permanent injunction from providing out-of-market signals to any 
of its subscribers due to violations of SHVA. The court which enjoined 
EchoStar also rejected a settlement negotiated by EchoStar and 
affiliates of the ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC networks which would have 
avoided mass consumer disruption by allowing DISH to continue to 
provide most out-of-market channels. I am deeply disappointed that the 
court found that it could not accept the settlement, an outcome which 
was acceptable to the defendant and four of five plaintiffs in the case 
and which would not have prevented the fifth plaintiff from availing 
itself of the remedies provided by statute. In virtually any other 
lawsuit, the parties may settle at any time, even after the jury or 
judge has rendered its decision. I am gravely concerned that the result 
of the court's action has been a denial of network programming to 
hundreds of thousands of households located primarily in remote areas.
  The simple, straightforward measure we introduce today would merely 
clarify that the court has the option of accepting a settlement between 
the parties to a distant signal copyright infringement lawsuit. It 
would enable the court to protect consumers, who are the true victims 
here, from the abrupt cutoff of all network television service. The 
ability to receive network television programming is important to 
Southwest Virginians, and I am committed to assuring its availability 
by satellite throughout my district.
  I therefore urge my colleagues to protect rural households by 
adopting this measure and clarifying that a court may adopt a 
settlement to which the parties in a lawsuit have agreed.

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