The Copyright Office has launched its Notice of Inquiry on phasing out the compulsory licenses for MVPD's to carry local and distant broadcast TV station signals. It is seeking comment on a variety of possible marketplace mechanisms to replace the blanket license.
The report is one of the mandates in Congress' long and tortured reauthorization of that license in the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELA).
To get the bill passed, a number of different legislator's concerns were addressed, including through the promise of the Copyright Office study of the phase-out.
Comments will be due 45 days after the notice is published in the federal register, which usually happens within a week or so. Reply comments will be due 30 days after that.
