Copyright Office Publishes Final Rule Relating to Cable, Satellite, and DART License Reporting Practices and Opens Rulemaking on Proposal to Require Pay.gov Use for Statutory Royalty Payments

The Copyright Office has published a final rule relating to statements of account (SOAs) that cable, satellite, and digital audio recording devices or media (DART) operators must file under section 111 of the Copyright Act.

The rule amends the Office’s regulations prescribing the information to be provided by cable operators on their SOAs, which must be filed biannually to obtain the benefits of section 111’s statutory license for the retransmission of broadcast programming. The rule updates and amends the Office’s regulations related to the reporting of equipment, broadcast, and franchise fees, as well as other information relating to the cable operator’s activities, such as the county in which it is located. The rule also eliminates certain aspects of the SOA that are no longer relevant, in part due to the change from analog to digital video service and in part due to changes in the manner in which cable systems operate. Finally, it makes technical amendments to the regulations governing satellite and DART filings for consistency.

To implement this rule, the Office will shortly issue new SOA forms. In the interim, cable operators are advised to use the current forms available on the Office’s website. For more information, visit the Copyright Office’s website.

Today, the Office also issued a proposal to amend its regulations regarding the submission of royalty fees by cable, satellite, and DART operators to require that these fees be paid using Pay.gov. The notice of proposed rulemaking and instructions on how to submit a comment are available on the website. Written comments in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking published on December 12, 2024 must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. eastern time on January 13, 2025.