House Judiciary Hearing on Copyright, Compensation, and Licensing

The bright lines between industries, as well as some intersecting lines, continued to be drawn Wednesday as Congress held its second and third hearings on changes to the law circumscribing cable and satellite's licenses to carry TV station signals. In a House Judiciary Committee hearing, "Copyright Licensing in a Digital Age: Competition, Compensation and the Need to Update the Cable and Satellite TV Licenses," NCTA President Kyle McSlarrow and NAB President David Rehr weighed in, joined by representatives of the satellite, programmer and consumer sides. The most pressing issue is reauthorization of the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA), which deals with satellite's compulsory license to import distant signals to un-served customers. That is because that license expires at the end of the year. But, per the Copyright Office's suggestions for reforming and/or harmonizing related permanent compulsory licenses for cable and satellite distant and local signals, Congress is looking to deal with those issues as well.