[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 131 (Thursday, July 9, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 37234-37235]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-18203]



[[Page 37233]]

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Part V





Federal Trade Commission





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16 CFR Part 432



Trade Regulation Rule Relating to Power Output Claims for Amplifiers 
Utilized in Home Entertainment Products; Final Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 131 / Thursday, July 9, 1998 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 37234]]



FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 432


Trade Regulation Rule Relating to Power Output Claims for 
Amplifiers Utilized in Home Entertainment Products

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (``Commission'' or ``FTC''), has 
completed its regulatory review of the Rule relating to Power Output 
Claims for Amplifiers Utilized in Home Entertainment Products (the 
``Amplifier Rule'' or the ``Rule''). Pursuant to that review, the 
Commission concludes that the Amplifier Rule continues to be valuable 
both to consumers and firms and that certain substantive amendments to 
the Rule may be appropriate. The Commission publishes the results of 
the regulatory review and an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(``ANPR'') in a separate document elsewhere in this Federal Register. 
The regulatory review record suggests that a non-substantive technical 
amendment be made to the Rule to clarify the Rule's applicability to 
self-powered loudspeakers for use in the home. This document sets forth 
that amendment.

DATES: The effective date of this amendment is July 9, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dennis Murphy, Economist, Division of Consumer Protection, Bureau of 
Economics, (202) 326-3524 or Robert E. Easton, Esq., Special Assistant, 
Division of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, (202) 326-3029, 
Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C. 20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission is publishing this document 
pursuant to Section 18 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 57a et seq., the 
provisions of Part 1, Subpart B of the Commission's Rules of Practice, 
16 CFR 1.7 et seq., and 5 U.S.C. 551 et seq. This authority permits the 
Commission to make a non-substantive amendment to a rule by seeking 
comment and announcing the amendment in the Federal Register.
    The Amplifier Rule was promulgated on May 3, 1974 (39 FR 15387), to 
assist consumers in purchasing ``sound power amplification equipment 
manufactured or sold for home entertainment purposes'' by standardizing 
the measurement and disclosure of various performance characteristics 
of the equipment.\1\ As examples of covered equipment, the Rule lists 
radios, record and tape players, radio-phonograph and/or tape 
combinations, component audio amplifiers ``and the like.'' \2\
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    \1\ 16 CFR 432.1(a).
    \2\ Id.
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    On April 7, 1997, the Commission published a Federal Register 
Notice (``FRN'') seeking comment on the Rule as part of a continuing 
review of its trade regulation rules to determine their current 
effectiveness and impact (62 FR 16500). This FRN sought comment on 
issues relating to the costs and benefits of the Rule, what changes in 
the Rule would increase its benefits to purchasers and how those 
changes would affect compliance costs, and whether technological or 
marketplace changes have affected the Rule. The FRN also sought comment 
on the Rule's coverage of self-powered speakers for home use. 
Specifically, the Commission announced its tentative conclusion that 
the Rule covers self-powered speakers for use with home computers, home 
sound systems, home multimedia systems and other sound power 
amplification equipment for home computers.\3\ The FRN noted that, 
although there were few self-amplified home entertainment speakers when 
the Rule was promulgated in 1974, self-powered speakers fit within the 
Rule's definition of covered products and are very similar to the 
examples given in the Rule. The Commission also solicited comment on 
additional issues related to coverage of self-powered speakers under 
the Rule, including whether the standard test conditions set out in the 
Rule are appropriate for such equipment.\4\
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    \3\ 62 FR 16500.
    \4\ The appropriateness of the standard test procedures for 
self-powered speakers is addressed as part of the ANPR appearing 
elsewhere in this Federal Register.
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    The FRN elicited six written comments,\5\ four of which addressed 
the issue of the rule's coverage of self-powered speakers. Two 
manufacturers of self-powered loudspeakers for use with home sound 
systems expressed unqualified support for including such equipment 
within the Rule's coverage. One of these commenters stated that there 
is a great deal of consumer confusion regarding amplifier performance 
in self-powered speakers and that manufacturers ``are now engaging in 
the same type of misleading practices that led to the creation of the 
Amplifier Rule in 1974.'' \6\ One additional commenter appeared to 
support including such equipment under the Rule, but expressed concern 
that the Rule's current testing format and disclosures are not 
compatible with combination speaker systems consisting of two or more 
amplifiers.\7\ The principal trade association of the U.S. consumer 
electronics industry supported applying the Rule to self-powered 
speakers and including such products in the scope of the Rule.\8\
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    \5\ The commenters were: Phillips Sound Labs [Phillips](1); 
Fultron Car Audio [Fultron](2); Klipsch Audio and Home Theater 
Products [Klipsch](3); Miller & Kreisel Sound Corporation [MK](4); 
Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association [CEMA](5); and Labtec 
Multimedia Speakers [Labtec](6). The comments are cited as ``[name 
of commenter], Comment (designated number), p. __.'' All Rule review 
comments are on the public record and are available for public 
inspection in the Public Reference Room, Room 130, Federal Trade 
Commission, 6th and Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC, from 8:30 
a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.
    \6\ See MK, (4), P. 1; Klipsch, (3), p. 1.
    \7\ Labtec, (6), p.4. The commenter proposed that the Commission 
amend the Rule to specify a separate testing protocol and disclosure 
format for three-piece multimedia speaker systems comprised of a 
subwoofer and two or more satellite speakers that are powered by 
separate amplifiers that share a common power supply. This issue is 
addressed in the ANPR appearing elsewhere in this Federal Register.
    \8\ CEMA, (5), pp. 2, 7. This comment also recommended that the 
Rule be amended at a future date to incorporate a standard for 
measuring the volume of sound that a powered speaker can deliver 
into the listening environment, rather than the power that the 
amplifier can deliver to the speaker. This commenter stated that a 
voluntary industry standard for measuring the loudness of powered 
speakers was currently under development and could be incorporated 
into the Rule.
    The Commission has concluded that Rule coverage of such self-
powered speaker equipment should not be delayed until an industry 
standard is developed for measuring and disclosing the sound output 
of such speaker systems. The Commission lacks a sufficient basis to 
conclude that the as-yet unspecified testing and disclosure format 
would provide more useful information to consumers than would the 
Rule's power rating protocol. In addition, even if the industry 
should develop a loudness standard, some manufacturers may continue 
to provide power output specifications that would be covered by the 
current Rule. The Commission believes that the Rule's continuous 
power output protocol and a future industry loudness protocol could 
coexist in a complementary fashion should such a standard be 
developed.
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    On the basis of the plain language and intent of the Rule, as 
supplemented by record comments, the Commission has concluded that 
self-powered speaker systems for use with home computers, home 
multimedia systems, and home sound systems are within the coverage of 
the Rule. Self-powered speakers are ``sound power amplification 
equipment'' which can be ``manufacture or sold for home entertainment 
purposes.'' These speakers perform the same functions as the other 
amplification equipment listed in the examples cited in the Rule. 
Consequently, the Commission has determined to adopt a clarifying non-

[[Page 37235]]

substantive amendment to the Rule that adds self-powered speakers for 
use in home computer and sound systems to the list of examples of 
covered sound power amplification equipment provided in Sec. 432.1(a) 
of the Rule.
    This non-substantive amendment to the Rule does not raise any 
issues under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (``RFA''), 5 U.S.C. 601 et 
seq. The amendment does not change the requirements of the Rule in any 
manner. It simply clarifies the scope of the Rule by naming as examples 
certain products that already are covered. The Commission, therefore, 
certifies, pursuant to section 605 of the RFA, 5 U.S.C. 605, that the 
amendment will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of 
small entities. Similarly, the amendment does not raise any issues 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. The 
PRA requires government agencies, before promulgating rules or other 
regulations that require ``collections of information'' (i.e., record 
keeping, reporting, or third-party disclosure requirements), to obtain 
approval from the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB''), 44 U.S.C. 
3502. Because the amendment does not impose any collection of 
information requirements, OMB approval is unnecessary.

List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 432

    Amplifiers, Electronic products, Home entertainment products, Trade 
practices.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 16 CFR Part 432 is 
amended as follows:

PART 432--POWER OUTPUT CLAIMS FOR AMPLIFIERS UTILIZED IN HOME 
ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTS

    1. The authority citation for part 432 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 38 Stat. 717, as amended; (15 U.S.C. 41-58).

    2. Section 432.1(a) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 432.1  Scope.

    (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, this part 
shall apply whenever any power output (in watts or otherwise), power 
band or power frequency response, or distortion capability or 
characteristic is represented, either expressly or by implication, in 
connection with the advertising, sale, or offering for sale, in 
commerce as ``commerce'' is defined in the Federal Trade Commission 
Act, of sound power amplification equipment manufactured or sold for 
home entertainment purposes, such as for example, radios, record and 
tape players, radio-phonograph and/or tape combinations, component 
audio amplifiers, self-powered speakers for computers, multimedia 
systems and sound systems, and the like.
* * * * *
Benjamin I. Berman,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-18203 Filed 7-8-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-M