[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 216 (Tuesday, November 8, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69288-69290]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-28939]


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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Copyright Office

[Docket No. 2011-1]


Cable Statutory License: Specialty Station List

AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

ACTION: Notice of objections and specialty station filings.

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SUMMARY: Periodically, the Copyright Office (``Office'') seeks to 
update its list of specialty stations related to the use of the cable 
compulsory license. In response to the publication of an initial list 
of specialty stations for this purpose in April of this year, the 
Office received objections filed by the Motion Picture Association of 
America to the identification of certain stations as being entitled to 
specialty station status in accordance with the Federal Communications 
Commission's (``FCC'') definition of specialty station in effect on 
June 24, 1981. Consequently, before compiling the final list, the 
Office is providing an opportunity for response to the filed 
objections. The Office is also publishing for comment a new list of 
television stations reported in filed affidavits received after 
publication of the initial list in which the owner or licensee of the 
television station attests that the station qualifies as a specialty 
station under the FCC's former rules.

DATES: Objections to the newly designated specialty stations must be 
filed no later than December 8, 2011. Responses to any objections filed 
to the newly designated specialty stations must be received no later 
than January 9, 2012. Responses to any of the MPAA objections noted 
herein must also be filed with the Office no later than January 9, 
2012.

ADDRESSES: All comments and reply comments shall be submitted 
electronically. A comment page containing a comment form is posted on 
the Copyright Office Web site at http://www.copyright.gov/docs/ssl. The 
Web site interface requires submitters to complete a form specifying 
name and organization, as applicable, and to upload comments as an 
attachment via a browser button. To meet accessibility standards, all 
objections, comments, or other filings must be uploaded in a single 
file in either the Adobe Portable Document File (PDF) format that 
contains searchable, accessible text (not an image); Microsoft Word; 
WordPerfect; Rich Text Format (RTF); or ASCII text file format (not a 
scanned document). The maximum file size is 6 megabytes (MB). The name 
of the submitter and organization should appear on both the form and 
the face of the filings. All objections, comments, and other filings 
will be posted publicly on the Copyright Office Web site exactly as 
they are received, along with names and organizations. If electronic 
submission of objections, comments, or other filings is not feasible, 
please contact Tracie Coleman of the Licensing Division at (202)-707-
8150 for special instructions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ben Golant, Assistant General Counsel, 
and Tanya M. Sandros, Deputy 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: Under the cable statutory license, a cable 
operator may retransmit the signal of a distant television station 
identified as a specialty station at the base rate rather than at the 
higher 3.75% rate that is incurred for the carriage of a non-permitted 
signal. 37 CFR 256.2(c). Specialty station status is determined by 
reference to the former regulations of the FCC which defined a 
specialty station as ``a commercial television broadcast station that 
generally carries foreign-language, religious, and/or automated 
programming in one-third of the hours of an average broadcast week and 
one-third of the weekly prime-time hours.'' 47 CFR 76.5(kk) (1981). The 
specialty station designation was part of a complex regulatory 
structure which governed the carriage of distant network station 
signals in the 1970s. However,

[[Page 69289]]

the FCC no longer determines whether a station qualifies as a specialty 
station. It repealed its distant signal carriage rules in 1981 and has 
not reviewed its specialty station policy since that time. 
Nevertheless, the Office still keeps an active list because it is 
relevant to the calculation of royalties under Section 111.
    The Office published its first specialty station list in 1990 under 
a procedure which allowed the owner of the station to file an affidavit 
with the Office attesting to the fact that the station's programming 
comports with the 1981 FCC definition, and hence, qualifies it as a 
specialty station. 55 FR 40021 (October 1, 1990). The Office noted at 
that time that it would periodically update the list.
    Accordingly, on January 28, 2011, the Office published a Notice in 
the Federal Register asking the owner, or a valid agent of the owner, 
to file a sworn affidavit stating that the station's programming 
satisfies the FCC's former requirements for specialty station status. 
76 FR 5213 (January 28, 2011). The Office received affidavits from 63 
broadcast stations for which the owner or licensee of the television 
station had filed the requested affidavit. The Office then published an 
initial specialty station list in the Federal Register on April 22, 
2011. 76 FR 22733 (April 22, 2011).
    Objections. In the aforementioned Notice, the Office stated that 
any party objecting to any claim to specialty station status must 
submit comments with the Office stating his or her objections within 
thirty days of publication of this Notice in the Federal Register. The 
Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (``MPAA'') has made such a 
filing and objected to the inclusion of the following stations for the 
following reasons:
     Stations offering full days of syndicated programming, 
including during prime time, cannot be identified as specialty 
stations:

WBQD-LP, Davenport, IA
WYNA-CA, Albany, NY

     Stations carrying the multicast signals of, and featuring 
the same programs as, a Public Broadcasting Service affiliate cannot be 
identified as specialty stations:

K241C-D, Bellingham, WA: translator that carries multicast signals of 
Public Broadcasting Service affiliate KBTC, Bellingham, WA to 
Vancouver, BC. K241C-D offers the same programs at the same times that 
they are broadcast by KBTC.

     Stations offering home shopping programming throughout the 
day, and during prime time as well as stations solely broadcasting 
infomercials cannot be identified as specialty stations:

KBCB-TV, Bellingham, WA: Home Shopping Network affiliated station.
KHTV-LP, Los Angeles, CA: Home Shopping Network affiliated station.
WNJJ-LD, Paterson, NJ: broadcasts only infomercials.

     Stations currently licensed and silent cannot be 
identified as specialty stations:

KDBK-LP, Caliente, CA.
KEBK-LP, Bakersfield, CA.
KFIQ-LP, Lubbock, TX.
KILA-LP, Cherry Valley, CA.
KMRZ-LP, Moreno Valley, CA .
KRMV-LP, Walnut, CA.
KRPE-LP, Banning, CA.
KRVD-LP, Banning, CA.
KSCZ-LP, Greenfield, CA .
KSGO-LP, Chico, CA .
WXOX-LP, Cleveland, OH.

     ABC and Fox affiliates offering syndicated programming 
throughout the day in English should not be identified as specialty 
stations:

WPRU-LP, Aguadilla, PR.
WSJX-LP, Aguadilla, PR.
WVXF(TV), Charlotte Amalie, USVI.

     Stations offering a radio programming format should not be 
identified as specialty stations:
KFMP-LP, Lubbock, TX.
WLFM-LP, Chicago, IL.

     The following Port Jervis, NY licensed stations for which 
there is no evidence of construction or the type of programming 
broadcast should not be identified as specialty stations:

W20CM.
W26DB.
W34d1.
W42DQ.
W49DK.
W52DW.
W59EA.
Before compiling a new list of specialty stations, television broadcast 
stations that have filed affidavits attesting to their specialty 
station status should have the opportunity to rebut any objections 
filed to their identification as a specialty station and clarify their 
status for the purposes expressed herein. On this point, it should be 
noted that over twenty years ago, the Office implemented policies and 
procedures concerning notice to the public regarding specialty 
stations, the point of which was to provide all interested parties with 
a chance to comment on those stations claiming specialty status. The 
goal was to establish a set of facts so that cable systems can make an 
informed decision as to whether copyright owners might continue to 
contest the carriage of a particular station on a specialty basis. It 
was the Office's intention at that time that the notice, publication, 
and objection procedures would give all parties a chance to cooperate 
in their assessment of the specialty stations on the list. 54 FR 38461, 
38464 (September 18, 1989). To that end, the Office contacted the 
representatives of stations for which it had received written 
objections and gave them an opportunity to respond. See 56 FR 61056 
(November 29, 1991). Today, the Office is requesting written comments 
in response to the objections received from MPAA, which may be viewed 
at http://www.copyright.gov/docs/specialtystations/objections-PS- 
2011.pdf.
    In addition to this notice, the Office will also contact each of 
the broadcast stations informing it that an objection has been filed to 
its representation that it is a specialty station and advising that it 
may respond to that objection. Responses from the broadcaster must be 
filed with the Office no later than January 9, 2012. A broadcaster that 
has determined that its station should not be considered as a specialty 
station at this time may inform the Office of this fact and the station 
will not be included on the final list. However, unless a broadcaster 
asks to be removed from the list of specialty stations, it will be 
included on the final list with an annotation to denote that an 
objection had been filed to the station's characterizing itself as a 
specialty station.
    The Office will place in the public file together with the relevant 
affidavit any objection received and response thereto. With regard to 
the treatment of contested specialty stations after this proceeding 
concludes, it is important to note that the Licensing Division 
examiners will look at these stations in the same way they have done in 
the past. That is, if a cable operator claims specialty station status 
for a contested station on the list, the examiner will inform the 
operator by letter that a particular party objects to the ``specialty 
characterization.'' See 54 FR 38461, 38464 (September 18, 1989). The 
cable operator then has the opportunity to file an amended Statement of 
Account and recalculate royalties, if the operator so chooses.
    MPAA also contended that the Register has the authority to 
determine whether a particular station is properly identified as a 
specialty station. In its objection, MPAA referred to the standards set 
forth in 17 U.S.C. 411(b)(1) regarding the use of a registration 
certificate for purposes of filing an infringement suit, noting that 
the

[[Page 69290]]

certificate of registration would not be valid for this purpose if the 
application contained inaccurate information which, ``if known would 
have caused the Register of Copyrights to refuse registration.'' MPAA 
maintained that the same principle should apply in the case of 
specialty stations where the Office has accurate information to make a 
final determination as to whether a particular station should be 
characterized as a specialty station. The Office, however, has not made 
such determinations in the past and has stated that ``it should not 
itself verify the specialty station status of particular stations,'' 54 
FR 38466 (September 18, 1989), although it has relied on rulings made 
by the Federal Communications Commission with respect to the 
retransmission of English-speaking stations in Puerto Rico. See, e.g., 
letter from Marilyn Kretsinger, Assistant General Counsel, to 
Christopher Cinnamon on February 14, 1997. Rather, the Office provides 
periodically an updated annotated list so that ``cable systems can make 
an informed decision as to whether MPAA or any other party might 
contest the system's carriage of a particular station on a specialty 
basis.'' 56 FR 61056 (November 29, 1991). These policies and practices 
do not support MPAA's contention that the Office can make 
determinations regarding the specialty status of a particular station. 
Nevertheless, the Office seeks comment on MPAA's contention that 17 
U.S.C. 411(b)(1) provides authority for or is relevant to whether the 
Office can make a final determination on the classification of a 
broadcast station as a specialty station.
    New Specialty Station Claims. Since the publication of the initial 
list, the Office has received 24 additional affidavits, attesting to 
the specialty station status of the 24 identified stations. Because the 
Office has received a substantial number of late filed affidavits, the 
Office finds it necessary to seek input from the public regarding the 
asserted specialty station status of these particular stations. Any 
interested party may file an objection to these newly listed stations. 
Such objections are due no later than December 8, 2011 and [a list will 
be] will be posted on the Office's Web site shortly after that 
deadline. The Office will also accept responses to these objections. 
Such responses are due January 9, 2012. After comments or objections 
are received in response to this Notice, the Office plans to publish a 
final list of specialty stations that shall be effective January 1, 
2012, for the accounting period 2012/1 and thereafter. The Office also 
notes that while the current practice is to accept late filed 
affidavits after the publication of the final list, it will be 
reexamining this practice in an upcoming rulemaking proceeding.

New List of Additional Specialty Stations: Call Letter and Cities of 
License

KCGI-CA, Cape Girardeau, MO .
KCSO-LD, Sacramento, CA.
W07DP-D35, Harrisburg, PA .
W14DFD-TV14, Elliotsburg, PA .
W16COD-TV16, Middleburg, PA .
W29CO-TV29, Sharon, PA .
W45BT-TV45, Brookville, PA.
W46EJ-D21, Clarksburg, WV.
WAQP, Saginaw, MI .
WBNF-CA, Buffalo, NY .
WDWO-CA, Detroit, MI .
WDYR-CA, Dyersburg, TN.
WINM, Angola, IN.
WKBS-TV47, Altoona, PA.
WMBC-TV, Newton, NJ .
WNYB, Jamestown, NY .
WPCB-TV40, Greensburg, PA.
WRAY-TV, Wilson, NC .
WRLM, Canton, OH .
WTCT-Marion, IL .
WTLJ, Muskegon, MI.
WXLI, Greensboro, NC .
XERV-TV, Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
XHAB-TV, Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico.

    Dated: November 2, 2011.
Maria A. Pallante,
Register of Copyrights.
[FR Doc. 2011-28939 Filed 11-7-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-30-P