Issue 265 -July 14, 2005

Copyright Office Requests Information for Report to Congress on Impact of Satellite Statutory Licenses on Certain Copyright Owners

The Copyright Office solicits comments from interested parties in connection with a study that will examine select portions of the section 119 (satellite) statutory license and determine what, if any, impact sections 119 and 122 of Title 17 have had on copyright owners whose programming is retransmitted by satellite carriers. Part one of the study requires the Copyright Office to determine whether the unserved household limitation has operated “efficiently and effectively” and whether it has promoted the goal of protecting copyright owners whose programs are retransmitted under the section 119 license. It also asks the Office to recommend any amendments necessary to effectively apply the unserved household standard to individual households receiving digital satellite signals. Part two of the study focuses on the harm to the copyright owner. It will explore the extent to which secondary transmissions made under the satellite statutory license harm copyright owners of broadcast programming, and the ameliorative effects of the section 122 statutory license, if any, on such harm.

The Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act of 2004 directs the Copyright Office to conduct the study and report its findings to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees by December 31, 2005.

Comments are due by August 22, 2005. Reply comments are due by September 12, 2005. (Read further information.)