[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 99 (Wednesday, May 23, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28998-29000]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-9836]


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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Copyright Office

[Docket No. 2007-1]


Section 109 Report to Congress

AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

ACTION: Notice of Public Hearings.

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SUMMARY: The Copyright Office is holding public hearings on issues 
related to the operation of, and continued necessity for, the cable and 
satellite statutory licenses under the Copyright Act.

DATES: Public hearings will be held from July 23, 2007, through July 
26, 2007, in the Copyright Office Hearing Room, 4th Floor, James 
Madison Memorial Building, 101 Independence Avenue, S.E., Washington, 
D.C. 20540. Each daily session will begin at 10 a.m. Persons wishing to 
testify should notify the Copyright Office in writing no later than 
close of business on June 15, 2007. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for 
additional filing requirements.

[[Page 28999]]


ADDRESSES: Notices of intent to testify should be addressed to Ben 
Golant, Senior Attorney, and may be sent by mail or by e-mail to 
[email protected]. The Copyright Office will notify each person 
expressing an intention to testify of the expected date and time of 
his/her testimony. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for alternative means 
of submission and filing requirements.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ben Golant, Senior Attorney, and Tanya 
M. Sandros, Acting General Counsel, Copyright GC/I&R, P.O. Box 70400, 
Southwest Station, Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: (202) 707-8380. 
Telefax: (202) 707-8366.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 8, 2004, the President signed 
the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act of 2004, a 
part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004. See Pub. L. No. 
108-447, 118 Stat. 3394 (2004) (hereinafter ``SHVERA''). Section 109 of 
the SHVERA requires the Copyright Office to examine and compare the 
statutory licensing systems for the cable and satellite television 
industries under Sections 111, 119, and 122 of the Copyright Act and 
recommend any necessary legislative changes no later that June 30, 
2008.
    Under Section 109, Congress indicated that the report shall 
include, but not be limited to, the following: (1) A comparison of the 
royalties paid by licensees under such sections, including historical 
rates of increases in these royalties, a comparison between the 
royalties under each such section and the prices paid in the 
marketplace for comparable programming; (2) An analysis of the 
differences in the terms and conditions of the licenses under such 
sections, an analysis of whether these differences are required or 
justified by historical, technological, or regulatory differences that 
affect the satellite and cable industries, and an analysis of whether 
the cable or satellite industry is placed in a competitive disadvantage 
due to these terms and conditions; (3) An analysis of whether the 
licenses under such sections are still justified by the bases upon 
which they were originally created; (4) An analysis of the correlation, 
if any, between the royalties, or lack thereof, under such sections and 
the fees charged to cable and satellite subscribers, addressing whether 
cable and satellite companies have passed to subscribers any savings 
realized as a result of the royalty structure and amounts under such 
sections; and (5) An analysis of issues that may arise with respect to 
the application of the licenses under such sections to the secondary 
transmissions of the primary transmissions of network stations and 
superstations that originate as digital signals, including issues that 
relate to the application of the unserved household limitations under 
Section 119 and to the determination of royalties of cable systems and 
satellite carriers.
    According to Section 109's legislative history, the Copyright 
Office shall conduct a study of the Section 119 and Section 122 
licenses for satellite, and the Section 111 license for cable, and to 
make recommendations for improvements to Congress no later than June 
30, 2008. The legislative history further instructs that the Copyright 
Office must analyze the differences among the three licenses and 
consider whether they should be eliminated, changed, or maintained with 
the goal of harmonizing their operation. See H.R. Rep. No. 108-660, 
108th Cong., 2d Sess., at 19 (2004).
    Earlier this year, we released a Notice of Inquiry seeking comment 
on several issues associated with the matters identified in Section 109 
of the SHVERA. See 72 FR 19039 (April 16, 2007). To further supplement 
the record, the Office is announcing public hearings for the purpose of 
taking testimony from interested persons. This Notice describes the 
schedule and structure for the public hearings.
    Public Hearings. Because both the cable and satellite carrier 
statutory licenses have an impact on the operations and revenues of a 
number of industries, the Office believes that input from all affected 
industries is critical to a balanced and comprehensive report to 
Congress. Consequently, the Office has determined that a process 
involving both written comments and open hearings is essential to 
gathering the necessary information. We are, therefore, announcing the 
following schedule.
    The Office will conduct public hearings with interested parties in 
the Copyright Office Hearing Room at the Madison Building of the 
Library of Congress beginning on July 23, 2007, and running through 
July 26, 2007, if necessary. The format for these hearings will 
resemble the traditional Congressional hearing model in that there will 
be panels of witnesses that will present testimony to a panel of 
Copyright Office staff, headed by the Register of Copyrights. The 
Register and Office staff will ask questions of the various persons who 
testify, and interested parties may submit written questions to the 
Office by July 2, 2007, which may be addressed to specific witnesses, 
or the witnesses as a whole, at the discretion of the Office.
    The public hearings are open to the general public. However, in 
order to testify, interested persons must inform the Office of their 
intention to testify no later than the close of business on June 15, 
2007. Notification of intention to testify must be in written form, 
either by letter or e-mail, and must be in the possession of the 
Copyright Office by the close of business on June 15th. Because of time 
constraints, and the need for the Copyright Office to schedule the 
panels of witnesses as soon as possible, it is recommended that persons 
wishing to testify deliver their notification by hand or by e-mail by 
the deadline. Notifications received after the June 15th deadline will 
not be accepted, and such person or persons will not be allowed to 
testify.
    The public hearings will begin at 10 a.m. each morning, and will 
continue until 5 p.m., unless otherwise directed by the Register of 
Copyrights. The Office will notify each witness who has filed a timely 
notice of intention to testify several days in advance of the date he/
she is expected to appear and offer testimony. The Office will also 
notify each witness of the other witnesses who will appear on his/her 
panel. Because of space limitations in the Copyright Office Hearing 
Room, witnesses are encouraged to appear only on the date they are 
scheduled to offer testimony.
    Witnesses may bring with them on the day of their testimony a 
written summary of their oral testimony. Witnesses who bring such 
written summaries are asked to provide ten copies of the written 
summaries for use by the Office and others in attendance at the 
hearing.
    Transcription services of the public hearings will be provided by 
the Office. Those parties interested in obtaining transcripts of the 
hearings will need to purchase them from the transcription service.
    Written Statements. All persons who notify the Office of their 
intention to testify must submit a written statement of their testimony 
by the July 2, 2007, deadline. We are cognizant that formal written 
comments in response to the Office's Section 109 NOI are also due on 
that date. Parties may submit these comments as their testimony, but an 
executive summary of such comments also must be submitted by the 
deadline. Because of time limitations, the Office encourages parties 
submitting written statements to deliver them to the Office by hand or 
by e-mail on or before the deadline. Facsimile transmissions of written 
statements will not be accepted.

[[Page 29000]]

    Parties submitting written statements are encouraged to include any 
and all information that they consider relevant to the statutory 
licensing of broadcast retransmissions. Parties may also include any 
exhibits that they deem relevant. Ten copies of each written statement 
must be submitted by the deadline.
    There is no prescribed format for the written statements. Parties 
are encouraged to organize their testimony in as clear and readable 
form as possible, and to provide a glossary of technical terms used in 
the written statement. Parties who do not wish to appear at the public 
hearings are nonetheless permitted, and encouraged, to submit written 
statements or summaries by the July 2, 2007 deadline.
    Reply Comments. After the close of the public hearings, interested 
parties may submit comments in reply to the written statements and oral 
testimony. The reply phase is open to all parties, and is not limited 
to those who testified at the hearings and/or submitted written 
statements. Reply comments must be in the possession of the Copyright 
Office by September 13, 2007. We note that this is the date formal 
reply comments to the Section 109 NOI are due. Reply comments, then, 
should respond to the formal written comments submitted by parties, to 
the oral and written testimony submitted for the hearing, and to any 
other filings parties may wish to submit upon completion of the 
hearing. No facsimile transmissions of reply comments will be accepted.
    Participation and Filing Requirements. Each person wishing to 
testify must submit a formal written statement of his/her testimony no 
later than the close of business on July 2, 2007. Written statements 
will also be accepted from parties who do not wish to testify. 
Summaries of the formal written testimony, for purposes of oral 
testimony, may be submitted on the date of testimony. In addition, 
interested parties may submit written questions, for possible use by 
panel members of the Copyright Office during the course of hearings, no 
later than close of business on July 2, 2007.
    After the close of the hearings, interested parties may submit 
written reply comments to the testimony offered at the hearings, 
including any proposed legislative amendments, no later than close of 
business on September 13, 2007.
    If hand delivered by a private party, an original and five copies 
of any statements or comments should be brought to Library of Congress, 
U.S. Copyright Office, Office of General Counsel, 101 Independence Ave, 
4th floor, Washington, D.C. 20559, between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. The 
envelope should be addressed as follows: Ben Golant, Office of the 
General Counsel, U.S. Copyright Office.
    If delivered by a commercial courier, an original and five copies 
of a comment or reply comment must be delivered to the Congressional 
Courier Acceptance Site (``CCAS'') located at 2nd and D Streets, NE, 
Washington, D.C. between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. The envelope should be 
addressed as follows: Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Copyright 
Office, LM 430, James Madison Building, 101 Independence Avenue, SE, 
Washington, DC. Please note that CCAS will not accept delivery by means 
of overnight delivery services such as Federal Express, United Parcel 
Service or DHL.
    If sent by mail (including overnight delivery using U.S. Postal 
Service Express Mail), an original and five copies of a comment or 
reply comment should be addressed to U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright 
GC/I&R, P.O. Box 70400, Southwest Station, Washington, DC 20024. If 
sent by e-mail, please send to [email protected].
    Scope of the Proceeding. In accordance with the text of Section 109 
of the SHVERA, the Copyright Office will be conducting a global review 
of the cable and satellite carrier statutory licenses. The hearing will 
focus on issues related to the retransmission of over-the-air broadcast 
signals. Any matters raised in the Section 109 NOI are subject to 
discussion and debate.

Conclusion

    We hereby provide notice to the public on the scheduling of 
hearings associated with Section 109 of the SHVERA and the retention, 
reform, or elimination of Sections 111, 119, and 122 of the Copyright 
Act.

    Dated: May 14, 2007
Marybeth Peters,
Register of Copyrights,
U.S. Copyright Office.
[FR Doc. E7-9836 Filed 5-22-06; 8:45 am]
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