[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 17 (Monday, February 4, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S602-S603]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. SPECTER:

[[Page S603]]

  S. 2591. A bill to amend chapter 1 of title 17, United States Code, 
to provide an exemption from exclusive rights in copyright for certain 
nonprofit organizations to display live football games, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation which 
would modify the limitations on churches showing the Super Bowl under 
the NFL copyright franchise. Churches across the country were notified 
by the NFL not to show the Super Bowl on a big screen because it 
infringed their copyright. There is an exception under the copyright 
laws for bars. It is anomalous that you can go to a bar and see the 
Super Bowl, but you cannot go to a church for a social gathering and do 
the same. This legislation will correct that.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that my full statement be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

Introduction of Legislation Exempting Religious Establishments From the 
            Public Performance Right for Sports Programming

       Few images are more distinctly American than that of a 
     religious community coming together not only in prayer but in 
     fellowship to watch a major sporting event. For years, houses 
     of worship across this country have opened up their doors and 
     welcomed their congregation into their halls to watch the 
     Super Bowl. They have provided families with an alternative 
     to going to the local bar down the street to cheer for their 
     favorite team. However, if the National Football League has 
     its way, such gatherings will come to an end.
       A strict reading of the copyright code prohibits virtually 
     anyone from bringing a large group of people together and 
     watching the Super Bowl. The one exception to this general 
     rule is ``food service and drinking establishments.'' This 
     exemption allows sports bars to show a sporting event, so 
     long as they do so on screens that do not exceed fifty-five, 
     55, inches. Although the law is nearly impossible to enforce 
     for Super Bowl parties held in places other than food service 
     and drinking establishments, the NFL has turned its sights on 
     churches and other houses of worship, which use the large 
     screens normally reserved for displaying hymns to show the 
     Super Bowl to their congregation.
       Over the past several years, the NFL has begun sending 
     churches across the country cease-and-desist letters, warning 
     them not to show the game on their big-screen televisions and 
     threatening them with a copyright infringement suit if they 
     do. These religious establishments--many of which do not have 
     enough money to even think about defending themselves against 
     a giant such as the NFL--have had little choice but to shut 
     down these gatherings.
       This is unfortunate because many houses of worship have 
     used these events to reach out to their members, as well as 
     potential new members, particularly young people. As Reverend 
     Thomas Omholt, senior pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran in 
     Washington, DC, stated in a recent Washington Post article, 
     ``It takes people who are not coming frequently, or who have 
     fallen away, and shows them that the church can still have 
     some fun.'' These churches do not charge their members to 
     watch the game nor have they used them as fundraisers. 
     Rather, these events provide churches with a means of 
     connecting with the greater community and new potential 
     members of their congregation. The uniqueness of these events 
     is underscored by the fact that these churches do not use the 
     Academy Awards or other popular television programming as a 
     means of outreach.
       When Congress created the sports bar exemption in 1998, 
     they did so based on the rationale that the display of 
     copyrighted performances--such as football games--in sports 
     bars and similar establishments did not negatively impact the 
     overall viewership for the game and value of the rights to 
     the game. The same rationale applies to churches. Allowing 
     churches to show the game would not diminish the overall 
     viewership for the Super Bowl. If anything, it increases the 
     viewership by making it a social event and bringing people 
     out to watch the game who might not have watched it at home 
     or in a bar.
       Today, I am introducing legislation that will create a new 
     exemption for religious establishments. This legislation will 
     provide churches and other houses of worship with 
     the protection that they need to gather to watch the Super 
     Bowl without fear of being sued for copyright 
     infringement. This exemption will have limitations. For 
     example, in order to qualify for the exemption, a church 
     may not charge a fee to view the game. This will ensure 
     that religious establishments do not unfairly profit from 
     the NFL's copyright. Further, the exemption only applies 
     to the live broadcast of a professional football game at 
     the church or house of worship. A church may not tape the 
     game to show at a later date or rebroadcast the game to 
     another location. In other words, the legislation simply 
     provides churches with a limited yet justifiable exemption 
     to allow them to bring their congregation together to 
     watch the Super Bowl.
       I am aware that some may argue that this bill implicates 
     constitutional concerns. This is not the first time that we 
     have recognized the unique needs of the religious community 
     in the Copyright Code. Indeed, the section of the Copyright 
     Code that we are amending already has an exemption for houses 
     of worship and other religious assemblies for the use of 
     copyrighted works of a religious nature. Although the 
     Constitution does not require the creation of an exception in 
     this case, it is reasonable to pursue one. In preparing this 
     measure, my staff has researched the issue and spoken with 
     some of the foremost experts in the field of First Amendment 
     law. They share our view that this legislation appears 
     consistent with the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. 
     This legislation will not further entangle Government with 
     religion but instead accommodates the needs of houses of 
     worship and recognizes their important role in the 
     communities they serve.
       In a time when our country is divided by war and anxious 
     about a fluctuating economy, these type of events give people 
     a reason to come together in the spirit of camaraderie. We, 
     Congress, need to recognize the unique need that these events 
     satisfy and provide religious establishments with the 
     protection that they need. I urge my colleagues to join me in 
     this effort.

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.

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