Statutory License for Secondary Transmissions for Satellite Carriers - Section 119

The Satellite Home Viewer Act, originally enacted in 1988 in section 119 of the Copyright Act, created a statutory license for certain secondary transmissions made by satellite to distant television programming viewers. The types of covered uses have changed since then, most recently with the enactment of the Satellite Television Community Protection and Promotion Act of 2019. The satellite carrier compulsory license requires the filing of semiannual statements of account (SOAs) and payment of royalty fees by those parties availing themselves of the license,. 37 CFR 201.11. For more information about the STCPPA, see the FAQs.

TO FILE YOUR STATEMENTS OF ACCOUNT ELECTRONICALLY:

• The Licensing Section has released an Excel version of its satellite statement of account form to submit via email:
• eSatellite Form
• Filers must sign the form using an electronic or “s-signature” (for example, /s/ John Smith).
• Filers must submit the form in its native Excel format, along with the remittance advice, via email to [email protected].
• NOTE: Copyright Office Excel forms that have been converted to a PDF prior to submission will not be accepted. Please send the signed Excel file.
• FILE SIZE LIMITATION: [email protected] has a file size limitation of 20 MB for each submission. Submit one email for each statement of account. The Office may not be able to accept multiple or batch statement of account filings in one email.
• When filing your eSatellite by email, do not also mail or fax your form to the Licensing Section.

When filing a statement of account, you must also submit the fully completed remittance advice via email to [email protected] or fax to 202-707-0905. Ensure that your remittance advice includes all the required information as specified by federal regulations [see 37 CFR §201.11(f)].