Temple Repeats CO Wants Section 119 Broadcast License Expiration
The compulsory license that enables satellite operators to import distant broadcast TV network programming without negotiating with local broadcasters should expire, Register of Copyrights Karyn Temple told the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. The Copyright Office believes the Section 119 license is only necessary if there’s market failure, and that’s not the case, she testified. The license is to expire Dec. 31, with the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act up for renewal.
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There's concern expiration would result in thousands losing TV access, said Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., agreed, saying a lack of broadband access could be a problem. The CO analyzed the issue recently at the committee’s request and concluded license royalties plummeted 85 percent to 99 percent between 2014 and 2019. New streaming services like YouTube helped fill the gap for underserved areas, Temple said.
About 800,000 subscribers remain, Temple said, noting many of those are for recreational vehicles and trucks. Because technology has advanced, the CO believes the free market can handle the remaining subscribers by enabling other forms of satellite transmission, if the license expires. She said the CO is awaiting exact details on how many subscriptions are physical residences.
Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, asked if the CO should help establish alternatives to the license or let the market sort itself out. “That license has really reached its limit in terms of effectiveness, and we think the marketplace itself has been able to rise up, so we don’t think there necessarily needs to be an alternative to the Section 119 license,” said Temple.
Expect piracy-related recommendations to Congress from the CO with its Digital Millennium Copyright Act Section 512 study, which should be issued before the end of 2019, Temple said. The study is a look at the effectiveness of 512’s notice and takedown regime with respect to piracy. The office is interested in Congress addressing the issue of illegal streaming, she said. “The penalties are really not on par for violations for the unauthorized use of public performances in contrast to the felony penalties in place for violations of reproduction and distribution rights.” The office received more than 90,000 comments on the topic, she added.
The Digital Media Association is the only applicant for Music Modernization Act digital licensee coordinator, which drew concern from Escobar. She asked if smaller digital music platforms or new entrants have been overlooked by DiMA members like Amazon, Apple, Google, SiriusXM and Spotify. The process to designate a DLC is open, and any group is welcome to apply, Temple said.
If Congress prefers, the CO can study whether blanket licenses for the performance of musical works should be modernized the same way it updated sound recordings and mechanical licenses through the Music Modernization Act, Temple told Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. Broadcasters currently have to buy a blanket license from all four performing rights organizations, Lofgren said: “That seems complicated and expensive.” The CO “would be pleased to” do such a study, Temple responded.
Efforts continue for CO IT system modernization, Temple told Lofgren. It will launch a pilot program for its digital recordation system, which is currently paper-based, in the spring. The office is aiming to launch a separate pilot program for its public records system in late 2020, and it’s developing a modern registration system, with testing expected over the next several months, she said. “We’re on the verge - in the next year we’re going to see a huge change in the IT office, and I think that will benefit rightsholders greatly,” said Lofgren.