[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 226 (Tuesday, November 24, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 73118-73119]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-29863]
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Royalty Board
37 CFR Part 386
[Docket No. 15-CRB-0014-SA-COLA (2016)]
Cost of Living Adjustment to Satellite Carrier Compulsory License
Royalty Rates
AGENCY: Copyright Royalty Board, Library of Congress.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Copyright Royalty Judges announce a cost of living
adjustment (COLA) of 0% in the royalty rates satellite carriers pay for
a compulsory license under the Copyright Act. The COLA is based on the
change in the Consumer Price Index from October 2014 to October 2015.
DATES: Effective Date: January 1, 2016.
Applicability Dates: These rates are applicable to the period
January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: LaKeshia Keys, CRB Program Specialist,
by telephone at (202) 707-7658 or by email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The satellite carrier compulsory license
establishes a statutory copyright licensing scheme for the
retransmission of distant television programming by satellite carriers.
17 U.S.C. 119. Congress created the license in 1988 and has
reauthorized the license for additional five-year periods, most
recently with the passage of the STELA Reauthorization Act of 2014,
Public Law 113-200.
On August 31, 2010, the Copyright Royalty Judges (Judges) adopted
rates for the section 119 compulsory license for the 2010-2014 term.
See 75 FR 53198. The rates were proposed by Copyright Owners and
Satellite Carriers \1\ and were unopposed. Id. Section 119(c)(2) of the
Copyright Act provides that, effective January 1 of each year, the
Judges shall adjust the royalty fee payable under Section 119(b)(1)(B)
``to reflect any changes occurring in the cost of living as determined
by the most recent Consumer Price Index (for all consumers and for all
items) [CPI-U] published by the Secretary of Labor before December 1 of
the preceding year.'' Section 119 also requires that ``[n]otification
of the adjusted fees shall be published in the Federal Register at
least 25 days before January 1.'' 17 U.S.C. 119(c)(2).
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\1\ Program Suppliers and Joint Sports Claimants comprised the
Copyright Owners while DIRECTV, Inc., DISH Network, LLC, and
National Programming Service, LLC, comprised the Satellite Carriers.
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The change in the cost of living as determined by the CPI-U during
the period from the most recent index published before December 1,
2014, to the most recent index published before December 1, 2015, is
.2%.\2\ Application of the .2% COLA to the current rate for the
secondary transmission of broadcast stations by satellite carriers for
private home viewing--27 cents per subscriber per month--results in an
unchanged rate of 27 cents per subscriber per month (rounded to the
nearest cent). See 37 CFR 386.2(b)(1). Application of the .2% COLA to
the current rate for viewing in commercial establishments--56 cents per
subscriber per month--results in an unchanged rate of 56 cents per
subscriber per month (rounded to
[[Page 73119]]
the nearest cent). See 37 CFR 386.2(b)(2).
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\2\ On November 17, 2015, the Bureau of Labor Statistics
announced that the CPI-U increased .2% over the last 12 months.
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List of Subjects in 37 CFR Part 386
Copyright, Satellite, Television.
Final Regulations
In consideration of the foregoing, the Judges amend part 386 of
title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows:
PART 386--ADJUSTMENT OF ROYALTY FEES FOR SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS BY
SATELLITE CARRIERS
0
1. The authority citation for part 386 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 17 U.S.C. 119(c), 801(b)(1).
0
2. Section 386.2 is amended by adding paragraphs (b)(1)(vii) and
(b)(2)(vii), and footnotes 3 and 4, to read as follows:
Sec. 386.2 Royalty fee for secondary transmission by satellite
carriers.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(1) * * *
(vii) 2016: 27 cents per subscriber per month (for each month of
2016).\3\
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\3\ This is the 2015 rate adjusted for the amount of inflation
as measured by the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban
Consumers All Items from October 2014 to October 2015.
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(2) * * *
(vii) 2016: 56 cents per subscriber per month (for each month of
2016).\4\
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\4\ This is the 2015 rate adjusted for the amount of inflation
as measured by the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban
Consumers All Items from October 2014 to October 2015.
Dated: November 18, 2015.
Suzanne M. Barnett,
Chief Copyright Royalty Judge.
[FR Doc. 2015-29863 Filed 11-23-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-72-P