[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 129 (Thursday, July 7, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 39178-39180]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-13331]


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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Copyright Office

37 CFR Part 258

[Docket No. 2005-4 CARP SRA-Digital]


Rate Adjustment for the Satellite Carrier Compulsory License

AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is publishing 
the royalty rates for the retransmission of digital over-the-air 
television broadcast signals by satellite carriers under the statutory 
license.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David O. Carson, General Counsel, or 
Tanya M. Sandros, Associate General Counsel, Copyright Arbitration 
Royalty Panel (CARP), P.O. Box 70977, Southwest Station, Washington, DC

[[Page 39179]]

20024. Telephone: (202) 707-8380. Telefax: (202) 252-3423.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 8, 2004, the President signed 
the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act 
(``SHVERA''), a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2005, 
Pub. L. No. 108-447. SHVERA extends for an additional five years the 
statutory license for satellite carriers retransmitting over-the-air 
television broadcast stations to their subscribers, 17 U.S.C. 119, as 
well as making a number of amendments to the license. One of the 
amendments to section 119 sets forth a process, for the first time, for 
adjusting the royalty fees paid by satellite carriers for the 
retransmission of digital broadcast signals. 17 U.S.C. 119(c)(2). The 
law set the initial rates as the rates set by the Librarian in 1997 for 
the retransmission of analog broadcast signals, 37 CFR 258.3(b)(1)&(2), 
reduced by 22.5 percent. 17 U.S.C. 119(c)(2)(A). These rates are to be 
adjusted in accordance with the procedures set forth in section 
119(c)(1) of the Copyright Act.
    On March 8, 2005, the Copyright Office received a letter from 
EchoStar Satellite, L.L.C., DirecTV, Inc., Program Suppliers, and the 
Joint Sports Claimants requesting that the Office begin the process of 
setting the rates for the retransmission of digital broadcast signals 
by initiating a voluntary negotiation period so that rates for both 
digital and analog signals ``will be in place before the July 31, 2005 
deadline for satellite carriers to pay royalties for the first 
accounting period of 2005.'' Letter at 2. The Office granted the 
request and, pursuant to section 119(c)(1), published a notice in the 
Federal Register initiating a voluntary negotiation period and 
requesting that any agreements reached during this period be submitted 
no later than April 25, 2005. See 70 FR 15368 (March 25, 2005).
    In accordance with the March 25 notice, the Office received one 
agreement, submitted jointly by the satellite carriers EchoStar 
Satellite L.L.C. and DirecTV, Inc., the copyright owners of motion 
pictures and syndicated television series represented by the Motion 
Picture Association of America, and the copyright owners of sports 
programming represented by the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball. 
The agreement proposed rates for the private home viewing of distant 
superstations and distant network stations for the 2005-2009 period, as 
well as the viewing of those signals for commercial establishments. The 
agreement specifies that distant superstations and network stations 
that are significantly viewed do not require a royalty payment, which 
is consistent with 17 U.S.C. 119(a)(3), as amended. In addition, the 
agreement proposed that, in the case of multicasting of digital 
superstations and network stations, each digital stream that is 
retransmitted by a satellite carrier must be paid for at the prescribed 
rate but no royalty payment is due for any program-related material 
contained on the stream within the meaning of WGN v. United Video, 
Inc., 693 F.2d 622, 626 (7th Cir. 1982) and Second Report and Order and 
First Order on Reconsideration in CS Doc. No. 98-120, FCC 05-27 at ] 44 
& n.158 (February 23, 2005).
    The statute requires the Library to ``provide public notice of the 
royalty fees from the voluntary agreement and afford parties an 
opportunity to state that they object to those fees.'' 17 U.S.C. 
119(c)(1)(D)(ii)(II). The Library published a Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking on May 17, 2005, to fulfill this requirement. 70 FR 28231 
(May 17, 2005). The Office received no objections as a result of this 
notice. Consequently, the Library is adopting the rates as set forth in 
the voluntary agreement as final.

List of Subjects in 37 CFR Part 258

    Copyright, Satellite, Television.

Final Regulations

0
For the reasons set forth above, the Copyright Office amends 37 CFR 
chapter II as follows:

PART 258--ADJUSTMENT OF ROYALTY FEE FOR SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS BY 
SATELLITE CARRIERS

0
1. The authority citation for part 258 is revised to read as follows:

    Authority: 17 U.S.C. 119, 702, 802.


Sec.  258.2  [Amended]

0
2. In Sec.  258.2, paragraph (b) is amended by removing ``Sec.  
258.3(b)'' and adding ``Sec.  258.3(a)'' in its place.
0
3. Section 258.3 is amended by revising the section heading and in 
paragraphs (a) through (h), by adding ``analog signals of'' before 
``broadcast stations'' each place it appears.
    The revisions to Sec.  258.3 read as follows:


Sec.  258.3  Royalty fee for secondary transmission of analog signals 
of broadcast stations by satellite carriers.

    * * * * *
0
4. Add a new Sec.  258.4 to read as follows:


Sec.  258.4  Royalty fee for secondary transmission of digital signals 
of broadcast stations by satellite carriers.

    (a) Commencing January 1, 2005, the royalty rate for secondary 
transmission of digital signals of broadcast stations by satellite 
carriers shall be as follows:
    (1) For private home viewing-
    (i) 20 cents per subscriber per month for distant superstations.
    (ii) 17 cents per subscriber per month for distant network 
stations.
    (2) For viewing in commercial establishments, 40 cents per 
subscriber per month for distant superstations.
    (b) Commencing January 1, 2006, the royalty rate for secondary 
transmission of digital signals of broadcast stations by satellite 
carriers shall be as follows:
    (1) For private home viewing-
    (i) 21.5 cents per subscriber per month for distant superstations.
    (ii) 20 cents per subscriber per month for distant network 
stations.
    (2) For viewing in commercial establishments, 43 cents per 
subscriber per month for distant superstations.
    (c) Commencing January 1, 2007, the royalty rate for secondary 
transmission of digital signals of broadcast stations by satellite 
carriers shall be as follows:
    (1) For private home viewing-
    (i) 23 cents per subscriber per month for distant superstations.
    (ii) 23 cents per subscriber per month for distant network 
stations.
    (2) For viewing in commercial establishments, 46 cents per 
subscriber per month for distant superstations.
    (d) Commencing January 1, 2008, the royalty rate for secondary 
transmission of digital signals of broadcast stations by satellite 
carriers shall be as follows:
    (1) For private home viewing-
    (i) The 2007 rate per subscriber per month for distant 
superstations adjusted for the amount of inflation as measured by the 
change in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers from January 
2007 to January 2008.
    (ii) The 2007 rate per subscriber per month for distant network 
stations adjusted for the amount of inflation as measured by the change 
in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers from January 2007 
to January 2008.
    (2) For viewing in commercial establishments, the 2007 rate per 
subscriber per month for viewing distant superstations in commercial 
establishments adjusted for the amount of inflation as measured by the 
change in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers from January 
2007 to January 2008.
    (e) Commencing January 1, 2009, the royalty rate for secondary 
transmission of digital signals of broadcast stations by satellite 
carriers shall be as follows:

[[Page 39180]]

    (1) For private home viewing-
    (i) The 2008 rate per subscriber per month for distant 
superstations adjusted for the amount of inflation as measured by the 
change in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers from January 
2008 to January 2009.
    (ii) The 2008 rate per subscriber per month for distant network 
stations adjusted for the amount of inflation as measured by the change 
in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers from January 2008 
to January 2009.
    (2) For viewing in commercial establishments, the 2008 rate per 
subscriber per month for viewing distant superstations in commercial 
establishments adjusted for the amount of inflation as measured by the 
change in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers from January 
2008 to January 2009.
    (f) For purposes of calculating the royalty rates for secondary 
transmission of digital signals of broadcast stations by satellite 
carriers-
    (1) In the case of digital multicasting, the rates in paragraphs 
(a) through (e) of this section apply to each digital stream that a 
satellite carrier or distributor retransmits pursuant to section 119; 
provided, however that no additional royalty shall be paid for the 
carriage of any material related to the programming on such stream; and
    (2) Satellite carriers and distributors are not required to pay a 
section 119 royalty for the retransmission of a digital signal to a 
subscriber who resides in a community where that signal is 
``significantly viewed,'' within the meaning of 17 U.S.C. 119(a)(3) and 
(b)(1), as amended.

    Dated: June 21, 2005.
Marybeth Peters,
Register of Copyrights.
    Approved by:
James H. Billington,
The Librarian of Congress.
[FR Doc. 05-13331 Filed 7-6-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-33-S