Statements of Account covering compulsory licenses for secondary transmissions by cable systems.
37 C.F.R. § 201.17
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01(a) General. This section prescribes rules pertaining to the deposit of Statements of Account and royalty fees in the Copyright Office as required by 17 U.S.C. 111(d)(1) in order for secondary transmissions of cable systems to be subject to compulsory licensing.
(b) Definitions. (1) Gross receipts for the “basic service of providing secondary transmissions of primary broadcast transmitters” include the full amount of monthly (or other periodic) service fees for any and all services or tiers of services which include one or more secondary transmissions of television or radio broadcast signals, for additional set fees, and for converter fees. In no case shall gross receipts be less than the cost of obtaining the signals of primary broadcast transmitters for subsequent retransmission. All such gross receipts shall be aggregated and the distant signal equivalent (DSE) calculations shall be made against the aggregated amount. Gross receipts for secondary transmission services do not include installation (including connection, relocation, disconnection, or reconnection) fees, separate charges for security, alarm or facsimile services, charges for late payments, or charges for pay cable or other program origination services: Provided That, the origination services are not offered in combination with secondary transmission service for a single fee.
(2) A cable system is a facility, located in any State, Territory, Trust Territory, or Possession, that in whole or in part receives signals transmitted or programs broadcast by one or more television broadcast stations licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, and makes secondary transmissions of such signals or programs by wires, cables, microwave, or other communications channels to subscribing members of the public who pay for such service. A system that meets this definition is considered a “cable system” for copyright purposes, even if the FCC excludes it from being considered a “cable system” because of the number or nature of its subscribers or the nature of its secondary transmissions. The Statements of Account and royalty fees to be deposited under this section shall be recorded and deposited by each individual cable system desiring its secondary transmissions to be subject to compulsory licensing. The owner of each individual cable system on the last day of the accounting period covered by a Statement of Account is responsible for depositing the Statement of Account and remitting the copyright royalty fees. For these purposes, and the purpose of this section, an “individual” cable system is each cable system recognized as a distinct entity under the rules, regulations, and practices of the Federal Communications Commission in effect on the last day of the accounting period covered by a Statement of Account, in the case of the preparation and deposit of a Statement of Account and copyright royalty fee. For these purposes, two or more cable facilities are considered as one individual cable system if the facilities are either:
(i) In contiguous communities under common ownership or control or
(ii) Operating from one headend.
(3) FCC means the Federal Communications Commission.
(4) In the case of cable systems which make secondary transmissions of all available FM radio signals, which signals are not electronically processed by the system as separate and discrete signals, an FM radio signal is “generally receivable” if:
(i) It is usually carried by the system whenever it is received at the system's headend, and
(ii) As a result of monitoring at reasonable times and intervals, it can be expected to be received at the system's headend, with the system's FM antenna, at least three consecutive hours each day at the same time each day, five or more days a week, for four or more weeks during any calendar quarter, with a strength of not less than fifty microvolts per meter measured at the foot of the tower or pole to which the antenna is attached.
(5) The terms primary transmission, secondary transmission, local service area of a primary transmitter, distant signal equivalent, network station, independent station, noncommercial educational station, primary stream, multicast stream, simulcast, primary transmitter, subscriber, and subscribe have the meanings set forth in 17 U.S.C. 111(f), as amended by Public Laws 94-553, 103-369, and 111-175.
(6) A primary transmitter is a “distant” station, for purposes of this section, if the programming of such transmitter is carried by the cable system in whole or in part beyond the local service area of such primary transmitter.
(7) A translator station is, with respect to programs both originally transmitted and retransmitted by it, a primary transmitter for the purposes of this section. A translator station which retransmits the programs of a network station will be considered a network station; a translator station which retransmits the programs of an independent station shall be considered an independent station; and a translator station which retransmits the programs of a noncommercial educational station shall be considered a noncommercial educational station. The determination of whether a translator station should be identified as a “distant” station depends on the local service area of the translator station.
(8) For purposes of this section, the “rules and regulations of the FCC in effect on October 19, 1976,” which permitted a cable system, at its election, to omit the retransmission of a particular program and substitute another program in its place, refers to that portion of former 47 CFR 76.61(b)(2), revised June 25, 1981, and § 76.63 (referring to § 76.61(b)(2)), deleted June 25, 1981, concerning the substitution of a program that is primarily of local interest to the distant community (e.g., a local news or public affairs program).
(9) For purposes of this section, the “rules and regulations of the FCC,” which require a cable system to omit the retransmission of a particular program and substitute another program in its place, refers to 47 CFR 76.67.
(10) For purposes of this section, a cable system “lacks the activated channel capacity to retransmit on a full-time basis all signals which it is authorized to carry” only if:
(i) All of its activated television channels are used exclusively for the secondary transmission of television signals; and
(ii) The number of primary television transmitters secondarily transmitted by the cable system exceeds the number of its activated television channels.
(c) Accounting periods and deposit. (1) Statements of Account shall cover semiannual accounting periods of January 1 through June 30, and July 1 through December 31, and shall be deposited in the Copyright Office, together with the total royalty fee for such accounting periods as prescribed by 17 U.S.C. 111(d)(1)(B) through (F), by no later than the immediately following August 29, if the Statement of Account covers the January 1 through June 30 accounting period, and by no later than the immediately following March 1, if the Statement of Account covers the July 1 through December 31 accounting period.
(2) Upon receiving a Statement of Account and royalty fee, the Copyright Office will make an official record of the actual date when such Statement and fee were received in the Copyright Office.
Thereafter, the Office will examine the Statement and fee for obvious errors or omissions appearing on the face of the documents, and will require that any such obvious errors or omissions be corrected before final processing of the documents is completed. If, as the result of communications between the Copyright Office and the cable system, an additional fee is deposited or changes or additions are made in the Statement of Account, the date that additional deposit or information was actually received in the Office will be added to the official record of the case. However, completion by the Copyright Office of the final processing of a Statement of Account and royalty fee deposit shall establish only the fact of such completion and the date or dates of receipt shown in the official record. It shall in no case be considered a determination that the Statement of Account was, in fact, properly prepared and accurate, that the correct amount of the royalty fee had been deposited, that the statutory time limits for filing had been met, or that any other requirements to qualify for a compulsory license have been satisfied.
(3) Statements of Account and royalty fees received before the end of the particular accounting period they purport to cover will not be processed by the Copyright Office. Statements of Account and royalty fees received after the filing deadlines of August 29 or March 1, respectively, will be accepted for whatever legal effect they may have, if any.
(4) In the Register's discretion, four years after the close of any calendar year, the Register may, close out the royalty payments account for that calendar year, and may treat any funds remaining in such account and any subsequent deposits that would otherwise be attributable to that calendar year as attributable to the succeeding calendar year.
(d) Statement of Account forms and submission. Cable systems should submit each Statement of Account using an appropriate form provided by the Copyright Office on its Web site and following the instructions for completion and submission provided on the Office's Web site or the form itself.
(2) The forms prescribed by the Copyright Office are designated “Statement of Account for Secondary Transmissions By Cable Systems”:
(i) Form SA1-2—“Short Form” for use by cable systems whose semiannual gross receipts for secondary transmission total less than $527,600; and
(ii) Form SA3—“Long Form” for use by cable systems whose semiannual gross receipts for secondary transmission total $527,600 or more.
(e) Contents. Each Statement of Account shall contain the following information:
(1) A clear designation of the accounting period covered by the Statement.
(2) The designation “Owner,” followed by:
(i) The full legal name of the owner of the cable system. The owner of the cable system is the individual or entity that provides the retransmission service and collects payment from the end user either directly or indirectly through a third party. If the owner is a partnership, the name of the partnership is to be followed by the name of at least one individual partner;
(ii) Any other name or names under which the owner conducts the business of the cable system; and
(iii) The full mailing address of the owner.
(3) The designation “System,” followed by:
(i) Any business or trade names used to identify the business and operation of the system, unless these names have already been given under the designation “Owner”; and
(ii) The full mailing address of the system, unless such address is the same as the address given under the designation “Owner”.
(4) The designation “Area Served”, followed by the name of the community or communities served by the system. For this purpose a “community” is the same as a “community unit” as defined in FCC rules and regulations.
(5) The designation “Channels,” followed by:
(i) The number of channels, including multicast streams on which the cable system made secondary transmissions to its subscribers, and
(ii) The cable system's total activated channel capacity, in each case during the period covered by the Statement.
(iii) A multicast stream is considered a channel for purposes of this section.
(6) The designation “Secondary Transmission Service: Subscribers and Rates”, followed by:
(i) A brief description of each subscriber category for which a charge is made by the cable system for the basic service of providing secondary transmissions of primary broadcast transmitters;
(ii) The number of subscribers to the cable system in each such subscriber category; and
(iii) The charge or charges made per subscriber to each such subscriber category for the basic service of providing such secondary transmissions. Standard rate variations within a particular category should be summarized; discounts allowed for advance payment should not be included. For these purposes:
(A) The description, the number of subscribers, and the charge or charges made shall reflect the facts existing on the last day of the period covered by the Statement; and
(B) Each entity (for example, the owner of a private home, the resident of an apartment, the owner of a motel, or the owner of an apartment house) which is charged by the cable system for the basic service of providing secondary transmissions shall be considered one subscriber.
(7) The designation “Gross Receipts”, followed by the gross amount paid to the cable system by subscribers for the basic service of providing secondary transmissions of primary broadcast transmissions during the period covered by the Statement of Account.
(i) If the cable system maintains its revenue accounts on an accrual basis, gross receipts for any accounting period includes all such amounts accrued for secondary transmission service furnished during that period, regardless of when accrued:
(A) Less the amount of any bad debts actually written-off during that accounting period;
(B) Plus the amount of any previously written-off bad debts for secondary transmission service which were actually recovered during that accounting period.
(ii) If the cable system maintains its revenue accounts on a cash basis, gross receipts of any accounting period includes all such amounts actually received by the cable system during that accounting period.
(8) The designation “Services Other Than Secondary Transmissions: Rates,” followed by a description of each package of service which consists solely of services other than secondary transmission services, for which a separate charge was made or established, and which the cable system furnished or made available to subscribers during the period covered by the Statement of Account, together with the amount of such charge. However, no information need be given concerning services furnished at cost. Specific amounts charged for pay cable programming need not be given if the rates are on a variable, per-program basis. (The fact of such variable charge shall be indicated.)
(9) The designation “Primary Transmitters: Television”, followed by an identification of all primary television transmitters whose signals were carried by the cable system during the period covered by the Statement of Account, other than primary transmitters of programs carried by the cable system exclusively pursuant to rules, regulations, or authorizations of the FCC in effect on October 19, 1976, permitting the substitution of signals under certain circumstances, and required to be specially identified by paragraph (e)(11) of this section, together with the information listed below:
(i) The station call sign of the primary transmitter.
(ii) The name of the community to which that primary transmitter is licensed by the FCC (in the case of domestic signals) or with which that primary transmitter is identified (in the case of foreign signals).
(iii) The number of the channel upon which that primary transmitter broadcasts in the community to which that primary transmitter is licensed by the FCC (in the case of domestic signals) or with which that primary transmitter is identified (in the case of foreign signals).
(iv) A designation as to whether that primary transmitter is a “network station”, an “independent station”, or a “noncommercial educational station”.
(v) A designation as to whether that primary transmitter is a “distant” station.
(vi) If that primary transmitter is a “distant” station, a specification of whether the signals of that primary transmitter are carried:
(A) On a part-time basis where full-time carriage is not possible because the cable system lacks the activated channel capacity to retransmit on a full-time basis all signals which it is authorized to carry; or
(B) On any other basis.
(vii) A designation as to whether the channel carried is a multicast stream, and if so, the sub-channel number assigned to that stream by the television broadcast licensee.
(viii) Simulcasts must be reported and labeled on the Statement of Accounts form in an easily identifiable manner (e.g., WETA-simulcast).
(ix) The information indicated by paragraph (e)(9), paragraphs (v) through (viii) of this section, is not required to be given by any cable system that appropriately completed Form SA1-2 for the period covered by the Statement.
(x) Notwithstanding the requirements of this section, where a cable system carried a distant primary transmitter under FCC rules and regulations in effect on October 19, 1976 which permitted carriage of specific network programs on a part-time basis in certain circumstances (former 47 CFR 76.59 (d) (2) and (4), 76.61(e) (2) and (4), and 76.63, referring to § 76.61(e) (2) and (4), all of which were deleted June 25, 1981), carriage of that primary transmitter on that basis need not be reported, and that carriage is to be excluded in computing the distant signal equivalent of that primary transmitter.
(10) The designation “Primary Transmitters: Radio”, followed by an identification of primary radio transmitters whose signals were carried by the cable system during the period covered by the Statement of Account, together with the information listed below:
(i) A designation as to whether each primary transmitter was electronically processed by the system as a separate and discrete signal.
(ii) The station call sign of each:
(A) AM primary transmitter;
(B) FM primary transmitter, the signals of which were electronically processed by the system as separate and discrete signals; and
(C) FM primary transmitter carried on an all-band retransmission basis, the signals of which were generally receivable by the system.
(iii) A designation as to whether the primary transmitter is AM or FM.
(iv) The name of the community to which that primary transmitter is licensed by the FCC (in the case of domestic signals) or with which that primary transmitter is identified (in the case of foreign signals).
(11) A special statement and program log, which shall consist of the information indicated below for all nonnetwork television programming that, during the period covered by the Statement, was carried in whole or in part beyond the local service area of the primary transmitter of such programming under (i) rules or regulations of the FCC requiring a cable system to omit the further transmission of a particular program and permitting the substitution of another program in place of the omitted transmission; or (ii) rules, regulations, or authorizations of the FCC in effect on October 19, 1976, permitting a cable system, at its election, to omit the further transmission of a particular program and permitting the substitution of another program in place of the omitted transmission:
(A) The name or title of the substitute program.
(B) Whether the substitute program was transmitted live by its primary transmitter.
(C) The station call sign of the primary transmitter of the substitute program.
(D) The name of the community to which the primary transmitter of the substitute program is licensed by the FCC (in the case of domestic signals) or with which that primary transmitter is identified (in the case of foreign signals).
(E) The date when the secondary transmission of the substitute program occurred, and the hours during which such secondary transmission occurred on that date accurate to the nearest 5 minutes.
(F) A designation as to whether deletion of the omitted program was permitted by the rules, regulations, or authorizations of the FCC in effect on October 19, 1976, or was required by the rules, regulations, or authorizations of the FCC.
(12) A statement of the total royalty fee payable for the period covered by the Statement of Account, together with a royalty fee analysis which gives a clear, complete, and detailed presentation of the determination of such fee. This analysis shall present in appropriate sequence all facts, figures, and mathematical processes used in determining such fee, and shall do so in such manner as required in the appropriate form so as to permit the Copyright Office to verify readily, from the face of the Statement of Account, the accuracy of such determination and fee. The royalty fee analysis is not required to be given by any cable system whose gross receipts from subscribers for the period covered by the Statement of Account, for the basic service of providing secondary transmissions of primary broadcast transmissions, total $137,100 or less.
(13) The name, address, and telephone number of an individual who may be contacted by the Copyright Office for further information about the Statement of Account.
(14) A legally binding signature, including an electronic signature as defined in 15 U.S.C. 7006, of:
(i) The owner of the cable system or a duly authorized agent of the owner, if the owner is not a partnership or a corporation; or
(ii) A partner, if the owner is a partnership; or
(iii) An officer of the corporation, if the owner is a corporation. The signature shall be accompanied by:
(A) The printed name of the person signing the Statement of Account;
(B) The date of signature;
(C) If the owner of the cable system is a partnership or a corporation, by the title or official position held in the partnership or corporation by the person signing the Statement of Account;
(D) A certification of the capacity of the person signing; and
(E) A declaration of the veracity of the statements of fact contained in the Statement of Account and the good faith of the person signing in making such statement of fact.
(f) Computation of distant signal equivalents. (1) A cable system that elects to delete a particular television program and substitute for that program another television program (“substitute program”) under rules, regulations, or authorizations of the FCC in effect on October 19, 1976, which permit a cable system, at its election, to omit the retransmission of a particular program and substitute another program in its place shall compute the distant signal equivalent (“DSE”) of each primary transmitter that broadcasts one or more substitute programs by dividing:
(i) The number of the primary transmitter's live, nonnetwork, substitute programs that were carried by the cable system, during the period covered by the Statement of Account, in substitution for programs deleted at the option of the system; by
(ii) The number of days in the year in which the substitution occurred.
(2)(i) Where a cable system carries a primary transmitter on a full-time basis during any portion of an accounting period, the system shall compute a DSE for that primary transmitter as if it was carried full-time during the entire accounting period.
(ii) Where a cable system carries a primary transmitter solely on a substitute or part-time basis, in accordance with paragraph (f)(3) of this section, the system shall compute a DSE for that primary transmitter based on its cumulative carriage on a substitute or part-time basis. If that primary transmitter is carried on a full-time basis as well as on a substitute or part-time basis, the full DSE for that primary transmitter shall be the full DSE type value for that primary transmitter, for the entire accounting period.
(3) In computing the DSE of a primary transmitter in a particular case of carriage on or after July 1, 1981, the cable system may make no prorated adjustments other than those specified in 17 U.S.C. 111(f)(5)(B), and which remain in force under that provision. Two prorated adjustments, as prescribed in that section, are permitted under certain conditions where:
(i) A station is carried on a part-time basis where full-time carriage is not possible because the cable system lacks the activated channel capacity to retransmit on a full-time basis all signals which it is authorized to carry; and
(ii) A station is carried on a “substitute” basis under rules, regulations, or authorizations of the FCC in effect on October 19, 1976 (as defined in 17 U.S.C. 111(f)(5)(B)(ii)), which permitted a cable system, at its election, to omit the retransmission of a particular program and substitute another program in its place.
(4) In computing a DSE, a cable system may round off to the third decimal point. If a DSE is rounded off in any case in a Statement of Account, it must be rounded off throughout the Statement. Where a cable system has chosen to round off, and the fourth decimal point for a particular DSE value would, without rounding off, have been 1, 2, 3, or 4, the third decimal point remains unchanged; if, in such a case, the fourth decimal point would, without rounding off, be 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9, the third decimal point must be rounded off to the next higher number.
(5) For the purposes of computing DSE values, specialty primary television transmitters in the United States and all Canadian and Mexican primary television transmitters shall be assigned a value of one.
(g) Computation of copyright royalty fee: subscriber groups. (1) If a cable system provides a secondary transmission of a primary transmitter to some, but not all, communities served by that cable system—
(i) The gross receipts and the distant signal equivalent values for such secondary transmission shall be derived solely on the basis of the subscribers in those communities where the cable system provides such secondary transmission; and
(ii) The total royalty fee for the period paid by such system shall not be less than the minimum fee multiplied by the gross receipts from all subscribers to the system.
(2) A cable system that, on a statement submitted before the date of the enactment of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010, computed its royalty fee consistent with the methodology under paragraph (i)(1) of this section or that amends a statement filed before such date of enactment to compute the royalty fee due using such methodology, shall not be subject to an action for infringement, or eligible for any royalty refund or offset, arising out of the use of such methodology on such statement.
(3) Any royalty fee payments received by the Copyright Office from cable systems for the secondary transmission of primary transmissions that are in addition to the payments calculated and deposited in accordance with this subsection shall be deemed to have been deposited for the particular accounting period for which they are received and shall be distributed as specified under subsection 111(d) of title 17, United States Code. Such payments shall be considered as part of the base rate royalty fund.
(4) The royalty fee rates established by the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act shall take effect commencing with the first accounting period occurring in 2010.
(h) Computation of the copyright royalty fee: Partially distant stations. A cable system located partly within and partly without the local service area of a primary television transmitter (“partially distant station”) computes the royalty fee specified in section 111(d)(1)(B) (ii), (iii), and (iv) of the Copyright Act (“DSE fee”) by excluding gross receipts from subscribers located within that station's local service area from total gross receipts. A cable system which carries two or more partially distant stations with local service areas that do not exactly coincide shall compute a separate DSE fee for each group of subscribers who are located outside of the local service areas of exactly the same complement of distant stations. Computation of the DSE fee for each subscriber group is to be based on:
(1) The total distant signal equivalents of that group's complement of distant stations, and
(2) The total gross receipts from that group of subscribers. The copyright royalty fee for that cable system is:
(i) The total of the subscriber group royalty fees thus computed, or
(ii) 1.013 of 1 percent of the system's gross receipts from all subscribers, whichever is larger.
(i) Computation of the copyright royalty fee pursuant to the 1982 cable rate adjustment. (1) For the purposes of this paragraph, in addition to the definitions of paragraph (b) of this section, the following definitions shall also apply:
(i) Current base rate means the applicable royalty rates in effect on December 31, 1982, as reflected in 37 CFR 256.2(a).
(ii) If the 3.75% rate does not apply to certain DSE's in the case of a cable system located wholly or in part within a top 100 television market, the current base rate together with the surcharge shall apply. However, the surcharge shall not apply for carriage of a particular signal first carried prior to March 31, 1972. With respect to statements of account covering the filing period beginning January 1, 1990, and subsequent filing periods, the current base rate together with the surcharge shall apply only to those DSE's that represent commercial VHF signals which place a predicted Grade B contour, in whole or in part, over a cable system. The surcharge will not apply if the signal is exempt from the syndicated exclusivity rules in effect on June 24, 1981.
(iii) The 3.75% rate means the rate established by 37 CFR 256.2(c), in effect on March 15, 1983.
(iv) Top 100 television market means a television market defined or interpreted as being within either the “top 50 television markets” or “second 50 television markets” in accordance with 47 CFR 76.51, in effect on June 24, 1981.
(v) The 1982 cable rate adjustment means the rate adjustment adopted by the Copyright Royalty Tribunal on October 20, 1982 (CRT Docket No. 81-2, 47 FR 52146, November 19, 1982).
(2) A cable system filing Form SA3 shall compute its royalty fee in the following manner:
(i) The cable system shall first determine those DSE's to which the 3.75% rate established by 37 CFR 256.2(c) applies.
(ii) If the 3.75% rate does not apply to certain DSE's in the case of a cable system located wholly or in part within a top 100 television market, the current base rate together with the surcharge shall apply. However, the surcharge shall not apply for carriage of a particular signal first carried prior to March 31, 1972. With respect to statements of account covering the filing period beginning January 1, 1990, and subsequent filing periods, the current base rate together with the surcharge shall apply only to those DSE's that represent commercial VHF signals which place a predicted Grade B contour, in whole or in part, over a cable system. The surcharge will not apply if the signal is exempt from the syndicated exclusivity rules in effect on June 24, 1981.
(iii) If the 3.75% rate does not apply to certain DSE's, in the case of a cable system located wholly outside a top 100 television market, the current base rate shall apply.
(iv) Commencing with the semiannual accounting period of January 1, 1998, through June 30, 1998, the 3.75% rate applies to certain DSE's with respect to the communities within the cable system where carriage would not have been permitted under the rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission in effect on June 24, 1981, but in all other communities within the cable system, the current base rate and the syndicated exclusivity surcharge, where applicable, shall apply. Such computation shall be made as provided for on Form SA3. The calculations shall be based upon the gross receipts from all subscribers, within the relevant communities, for the basic service of providing secondary transmissions of primary broadcast transmitters, without regard to whether those subscribers actually received the station in question. For partially-distant stations, gross receipts shall be the total gross receipts from subscribers outside the local service area.
(3) It shall be presumed that the 3.75% rate of 37 CFR 308.2(c) applies to DSEs accruing from newly added distant signals, carried for the first time by a cable system after June 24, 1981. The presumption of this section can be rebutted in whole or in part:
(i) By actual carriage of a particular distant signal prior to June 25, 1981, as reported in Statements of Account duly filed with the Copyright Office (“actual carriage”), unless the prior carriage was not permitted by the FCC; or
(ii) By carriage of no more than the number of distant signals which was or would have been allotted to the cable system under the FCC's quota for importation of network and nonspecialty independent stations (47 CFR 76.59(b), 76.61(b) and (c), and 76.63, referring to § 76.61(b) and (c), in effect on June 24, 1981).
(4) To qualify as an FCC-permitted signal on the ground of individual waiver of the FCC rules (47 CFR 76.7 in effect on June 24, 1981), the waiver must have actually been granted by the FCC, and the signal must have been first carried by the cable system after April 15, 1976.
(5) Expanded geographic carriage after June 24, 1981, of a signal previously carried within only certain parts of a cable system is governed by the current base rate and the surcharge, if applicable.
(6) In cases of expanded temporal carriage of the same signal, previously carried pursuant to the FCC's former part-time or substitute carriage rules (47 CFR 76.61(b)(2), 76.61 (e)(1) and (e)(3), and 76.63, referring to 76.61 (e)(1) and (e)(3), in effect on June 24, 1981), the 3.75% rate shall be applied to any additional fraction of a DSE accruing from the expanded temporal carriage of that signal. To identify such additional DSE's, a comparison shall be made of DSE's reported for that signal in any single accounting period prior to the July 1, 1981, to December 31, 1981, period (81-2), as designated by the cable system, with the DSE's for that same signal reported in the current relevant accounting period.
(7) Substitution of like signals pursuant to 37 CFR 256.2(c) is possible at the relevant non-3.75% rate (the surcharge together with the current base rate, or the current base rate alone) only if the substitution does not exceed the number of distant signals which was or would have been allotted to the cable system under the FCC's television market quota for importation of network and nonspecialty independent stations (47 CFR 76.59(b), 76.61 (b) and (c), and 76.63, referring to 76.61 (b) and (c), in effect on June 24, 1981.
(8) The 3.75% rate does not apply to distant multicast streams retransmitted by cable systems.
(j) Multicasting. (1) A royalty payment shall be made for the retransmission of non-network television programming carried on each multicast stream of a distant digital television signal under the following circumstances:
(i) If the distant multicast stream was first retransmitted by a cable system on or after February 27, 2010, or
(ii) If the distant multicast stream is retransmitted by a cable operator on or after July 1, 2010.
(2) In any case in which a distant multicast stream is the subject of a written agreement entered into on or before June 30, 2009, between a cable system or an association representing the cable system and a primary transmitter or an association representing the primary transmitter, a distant signal equivalent value shall not be assigned to a distant multicast stream that is made on or before the date on which such written agreement expires.
(3) No royalties are due for carrying a distant multicast stream that “simulcasts” (i.e., duplicates) a primary stream or another multicast stream of the same station that the cable system is carrying. However, simulcast streams must be reported on the Statement of Accounts.
(4) Multicast streams of digital broadcast programming shall not be subject to the 3.75% fee or the syndicated exclusivity surcharge.
(k) Royalty fee payment. (1) All royalty fees must be paid by electronic funds transfer, and must be received in the designated bank by the filing deadline for the relevant accounting period. The following information must be provided as part of the EFT and/or as part of the remittance advice as provided for in circulars issued by the Copyright Office:
(i) Remitter's name and address;
(ii) Name of a contact person, telephone number and extension, and e-mail address;
(iii) The actual or anticipated date that the EFT will be transmitted;
(iv) Type of royalty payment (i.e., cable);
(v) Total amount submitted via the EFT;
(vi) Total amount to be paid by year and period;
(vii) Number of Statements of Account that the EFT covers;
(viii) ID numbers assigned by the Licensing Section;
(ix) Legal name of the owner for each Statement of Account;
(x) Identification of the first community served (city and state).
(2) The remittance advice shall be attached to the Statement(s) of Account. In addition, a copy of the remittance advice shall be emailed or sent by facsimile to the Licensing Section.
(3) The Office may waive the requirement for payment by electronic funds transfer as set forth in paragraph (i)(1) of this section. To obtain a waiver, the remitter shall submit to the Licensing Section at least 60 days prior to the royalty fee due date a certified statement setting forth the reasons explaining why payment by an electronic funds transfer would be virtually impossible or, alternatively, why it would impose a financial or other hardship on the remitter. The certified statement must be signed by a duly authorized representative of the entity making the payment. A waiver shall cover only a single payment period. Failure to obtain a waiver may result in the remittance being returned to the remitter.
(4) Royalty fee payments submitted as a result of late or amended filings shall include interest. Interest shall begin to accrue beginning on the first day after the close of the period for filing statements of account for all late payments and underpayments of royalties for the cable statutory license occurring within that accounting period. The accrual period shall end on the date the electronic payment submitted by a cable operator is received. The accrual period shall end on the date the electronic payment submitted by a satellite carrier is received by the Copyright Office. In cases where a waiver of the electronic funds transfer requirement is approved by the Copyright Office, and royalties payments are either late or underpaid, the accrual period shall end on the date the payment is postmarked. If the payment is not received by the Copyright Office within five business days of its date, then the accrual period shall end on the date of the actual receipt by the Copyright Office. Interest is not required to be paid on any royalty underpayment or late payment from a particular accounting period if the interest charge is less than or equal to five dollars.
(l) Corrections, supplemental payments, and refunds. (1) Royalty fee obligations under 17 U.S.C. 111 prior to the effective date of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010, Public Law 111-175, are determined based on carriage of each distant signal on a system-wide basis. Refunds for an overpayment of royalty fees for an accounting period prior to January 1, 2010, shall be made only when all outstanding royalty fee obligations have been met, including those for carriage of each distant signal on a system-wide basis.
(2) Upon compliance with the procedures and within the time limits set forth in paragraph (m)(4) of this section, corrections to Statements of Account will be placed on record, supplemental royalty fee payments will be received for deposit, or refunds will be issued, in the following cases:
(i) Where, with respect to the accounting period covered by a Statement of Account, any of the information given in the Statement filed in the Copyright Office is incorrect or incomplete; or
(ii) Where, for any reason except that mentioned in paragraph (m)(2)(iii) of this section, calculation of the royalty fee payable for a particular accounting period was incorrect, and the amount deposited in the Copyright Office for that period was either too high or too low.
(3) Corrections to Statements of Account will not be placed on record, supplemental royalty fee payments will not be received for deposit, and refunds will not be issued, where the information in the Statements of Account, the royalty fee calculations, or the payments were correct as of the date on which the accounting period ended, but changes (for example, addition or deletion of a distant signal) took place later.
(4) Requests that corrections to a Statement of Account be placed on record, that fee payments be accepted, or requests for the issuance of refunds, shall be made only in the cases mentioned in paragraph (m)(2) of this section. Such requests shall be addressed to the Licensing Section of the Copyright Office, and shall meet the following conditions:
(i) The request must be in writing, must clearly identify its purpose, and, in the case of a request for a refund, must be received in the Copyright Office before the expiration of 60 days from the last day of the applicable Statement of Account filing period, or before the expiration of 60 days from the date of receipt at the Copyright Office of the royalty payment that is the subject of the request, whichever time period is longer. Telephone or similar unsigned requests that meet these conditions may be permitted, where a follow-up written request detailing the same information is received by the Copyright Office within fourteen days after the required sixty-day period.
(ii) The Statement of Account to which the request pertains must be sufficiently identified in the request (by inclusion of the name of the owner of the cable system, the community or communities served, and the accounting period in question) so that it can be readily located in the records of the Copyright Office.
(iii) The request must contain a clear statement of the facts on which it is based and provide a clear basis on which a refund may be granted, in accordance with the following procedures:
(A) In the case of a request filed under paragraph (m)(2)(i) of this section, where the information given in the Statement of Account is incorrect or incomplete, the request must clearly identify the erroneous or incomplete information and provide the correct or additional information;
(B) In the case of a request filed under paragraph (m)(2)(ii) of this section, where the royalty fee was miscalculated and the amount deposited in the Copyright Office was either too high or too low, the request must be accompanied by an amended Statement of Account. The amended Statement shall include an explanation of why the royalty fee was improperly calculated and a detailed analysis of the proper royalty calculations.
(iv)(A) All requests filed under this paragraph (m) must be accompanied by a filing fee in the amount prescribed in § 201.3(e) of this part for each Statement of Account involved. Payment of this fee may be in the form of a personal or company check, or of a certified check, cashier's check or money order, payable to: Register of Copyrights. No request will be processed until the appropriate filing fees are received; and
(B) All requests that a supplemental royalty fee payment be received for deposit under this paragraph (m) must be accompanied by a remittance in the full amount of such fee. Payment of the supplemental royalty fee must be in the form of a certified check, cashier's check, or money order, payable to: Register of Copyrights; or an electronic payment. No such request will be processed until an acceptable remittance in the full amount of the supplemental royalty fee has been received.
(v) All requests submitted under this paragraph (m) must be signed by the cable system owner named in the Statement of Account, or the duly authorized agent of the owner, in accordance with paragraph (e)(14) of this section.
(vi) A request for a refund is not necessary where the Licensing Section, during its examination of a Statement of Account or related document, discovers an error that has resulted in a royalty overpayment. In this case, the Licensing Section will forward the royalty refund to the cable system owner named in the Statement of Account without regard to the time limitations provided for in paragraph (m)(4)(i) of this section.
(5) Following final processing, all requests submitted under this paragraph (m) will be filed with the original Statement of Account in the records of the Copyright Office. Nothing contained in this paragraph shall be considered to relieve cable systems from their full obligations under title 17 of the United States Code, and the filing of a correction or supplemental payment shall have only such effect as may be attributed to it by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(m) Satellite carriers not eligible. Satellite carriers and satellite resale carriers are not eligible for the cable compulsory license based upon an interpretation of the whole of section 111 of title 17 of the United States Code.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-37.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026