
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 47USC325]

 
          TITLE 47--TELEGRAPHS, TELEPHONES, AND RADIOTELEGRAPHS
 
                 CHAPTER 5--WIRE OR RADIO COMMUNICATION
 
          SUBCHAPTER III--SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO RADIO
 
                       Part I--General Provisions
 
Sec. 325. False, fraudulent, or unauthorized transmissions


(a) False distress signals; rebroadcasting programs

    No person within the jurisdiction of the United States shall 
knowingly utter or transmit, or cause to be uttered or transmitted, any 
false or fraudulent signal of distress, or communication relating 
thereto, nor shall any broadcasting station rebroadcast the program or 
any part thereof of another broadcasting station without the express 
authority of the originating station.

(b) Consent to retransmission of broadcasting station signals

    (1) No cable system or other multichannel video programming 
distributor shall retransmit the signal of a broadcasting station, or 
any part thereof, except--
        (A) with the express authority of the originating station;
        (B) under section 534 of this title, in the case of a station 
    electing, in accordance with this subsection, to assert the right to 
    carriage under such section; or
        (C) under section 338 of this title, in the case of a station 
    electing, in accordance with this subsection, to assert the right to 
    carriage under such section.

    (2) This subsection shall not apply--
        (A) to retransmission of the signal of a noncommercial 
    television broadcast station;
        (B) to retransmission of the signal of a television broadcast 
    station outside the station's local market by a satellite carrier 
    directly to its subscribers, if--
            (i) such station was a superstation on May 1, 1991;
            (ii) as of July 1, 1998, such station was retransmitted by a 
        satellite carrier under the statutory license of section 119 of 
        title 17; and
            (iii) the satellite carrier complies with any network 
        nonduplication, syndicated exclusivity, and sports blackout 
        rules adopted by the Commission under section 339(b) of this 
        title;

        (C) until December 31, 2004, to retransmission of the signals of 
    network stations directly to a home satellite antenna, if the 
    subscriber receiving the signal--
            (i) is located in an area outside the local market of such 
        stations; and
            (ii) resides in an unserved household;

        (D) to retransmission by a cable operator or other multichannel 
    video provider, other than a satellite carrier, of the signal of a 
    television broadcast station outside the station's local market if 
    such signal was obtained from a satellite carrier and--
            (i) the originating station was a superstation on May 1, 
        1991; and
            (ii) as of July 1, 1998, such station was retransmitted by a 
        satellite carrier under the statutory license of section 119 of 
        title 17; or

        (E) during the 6-month period beginning on November 29, 1999, to 
    the retransmission of the signal of a television broadcast station 
    within the station's local market by a satellite carrier directly to 
    its subscribers under the statutory license of section 122 of title 
    17.

For purposes of this paragraph, the terms ``satellite carrier'' and 
``superstation'' have the meanings given those terms, respectively, in 
section 119(d) of title 17, as in effect on October 5, 1992, the term 
``unserved household'' has the meaning given that term under section 
119(d) of such title, and the term ``local market'' has the meaning 
given that term in section 122(j) of such title.
    (3)(A) Within 45 days after October 5, 1992, the Commission shall 
commence a rulemaking proceeding to establish regulations to govern the 
exercise by television broadcast stations of the right to grant 
retransmission consent under this subsection and of the right to signal 
carriage under section 534 of this title, and such other regulations as 
are necessary to administer the limitations contained in paragraph (2). 
The Commission shall consider in such proceeding the impact that the 
grant of retransmission consent by television stations may have on the 
rates for the basic service tier and shall ensure that the regulations 
prescribed under this subsection do not conflict with the Commission's 
obligation under section 543(b)(1) of this title to ensure that the 
rates for the basic service tier are reasonable. Such rulemaking 
proceeding shall be completed within 180 days after October 5, 1992.
    (B) The regulations required by subparagraph (A) shall require that 
television stations, within one year after October 5, 1992, and every 
three years thereafter, make an election between the right to grant 
retransmission consent under this subsection and the right to signal 
carriage under section 534 of this title. If there is more than one 
cable system which services the same geographic area, a station's 
election shall apply to all such cable systems.
    (C) Within 45 days after November 29, 1999, the Commission shall 
commence a rulemaking proceeding to revise the regulations governing the 
exercise by television broadcast stations of the right to grant 
retransmission consent under this subsection, and such other regulations 
as are necessary to administer the limitations contained in paragraph 
(2). The Commission shall complete all actions necessary to prescribe 
such regulations within 1 year after November 29, 1999. Such regulations 
shall--
        (i) establish election time periods that correspond with those 
    regulations adopted under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph; and
        (ii) until January 1, 2006, prohibit a television broadcast 
    station that provides retransmission consent from engaging in 
    exclusive contracts for carriage or failing to negotiate in good 
    faith, and it shall not be a failure to negotiate in good faith if 
    the television broadcast station enters into retransmission consent 
    agreements containing different terms and conditions, including 
    price terms, with different multichannel video programming 
    distributors if such different terms and conditions are based on 
    competitive marketplace considerations.

    (4) If an originating television station elects under paragraph 
(3)(B) to exercise its right to grant retransmission consent under this 
subsection with respect to a cable system, the provisions of section 534 
of this title shall not apply to the carriage of the signal of such 
station by such cable system. If an originating television station 
elects under paragraph (3)(C) to exercise its right to grant 
retransmission consent under this subsection with respect to a satellite 
carrier, section 338 of this title shall not apply to the carriage of 
the signal of such station by such satellite carrier.
    (5) The exercise by a television broadcast station of the right to 
grant retransmission consent under this subsection shall not interfere 
with or supersede the rights under section 338, 534, or 535 of this 
title of any station electing to assert the right to signal carriage 
under that section.
    (6) Nothing in this section shall be construed as modifying the 
compulsory copyright license established in section 111 of title 17 or 
as affecting existing or future video programming licensing agreements 
between broadcasting stations and video programmers.
    (7) For purposes of this subsection, the term--
        (A) ``network station'' has the meaning given such term under 
    section 119(d) of title 17; and
        (B) ``television broadcast station'' means an over-the-air 
    commercial or noncommercial television broadcast station licensed by 
    the Commission under subpart E of part 73 of title 47, Code of 
    Federal Regulations, except that such term does not include a low-
    power or translator television station.

(c) Broadcast to foreign countries for rebroadcast to United States; 
        permit

    No person shall be permitted to locate, use, or maintain a radio 
broadcast studio or other place or apparatus from which or whereby sound 
waves are converted into electrical energy, or mechanical or physical 
reproduction of sound waves produced, and caused to be transmitted or 
delivered to a radio station in a foreign country for the purpose of 
being broadcast from any radio station there having a power output of 
sufficient intensity and/or being so located geographically that its 
emissions may be received consistently in the United States, without 
first obtaining a permit from the Commission upon proper application 
therefor.

(d) Application for permit

    Such application shall contain such information as the Commission 
may by regulation prescribe, and the granting or refusal thereof shall 
be subject to the requirements of section 309 of this title with respect 
to applications for station licenses or renewal or modification thereof, 
and the license or permission so granted shall be revocable for false 
statements in the application so required or when the Commission, after 
hearings, shall find its continuation no longer in the public interest.

(e) Enforcement proceedings against satellite carriers concerning 
        retransmissions of television broadcast stations in the 
        respective local markets of such carriers

           (1) Complaints by television broadcast stations

        If after the expiration of the 6-month period described under 
    subsection (b)(2)(E) of this section a television broadcast station 
    believes that a satellite carrier has retransmitted its signal to 
    any person in the local market of such station in violation of 
    subsection (b)(1) of this section, the station may file with the 
    Commission a complaint providing--
            (A) the name, address, and call letters of the station;
            (B) the name and address of the satellite carrier;
            (C) the dates on which the alleged retransmission occurred;
            (D) the street address of at least one person in the local 
        market of the station to whom the alleged retransmission was 
        made;
            (E) a statement that the retransmission was not expressly 
        authorized by the television broadcast station; and
            (F) the name and address of counsel for the station.

           (2) Service of complaints on satellite carriers

        For purposes of any proceeding under this subsection, any 
    satellite carrier that retransmits the signal of any broadcast 
    station shall be deemed to designate the Secretary of the Commission 
    as its agent for service of process. A television broadcast station 
    may serve a satellite carrier with a complaint concerning an alleged 
    violation of subsection (b)(1) of this section through 
    retransmission of a station within the local market of such station 
    by filing the original and two copies of the complaint with the 
    Secretary of the Commission and serving a copy of the complaint on 
    the satellite carrier by means of two commonly used overnight 
    delivery services, each addressed to the chief executive officer of 
    the satellite carrier at its principal place of business, and each 
    marked ``URGENT LITIGATION MATTER'' on the outer packaging. Service 
    shall be deemed complete one business day after a copy of the 
    complaint is provided to the delivery services for overnight 
    delivery. On receipt of a complaint filed by a television broadcast 
    station under this subsection, the Secretary of the Commission shall 
    send the original complaint by United States mail, postage prepaid, 
    receipt requested, addressed to the chief executive officer of the 
    satellite carrier at its principal place of business.

                  (3) Answers by satellite carriers

        Within five business days after the date of service, the 
    satellite carrier shall file an answer with the Commission and shall 
    serve the answer by a commonly used overnight delivery service and 
    by United States mail, on the counsel designated in the complaint at 
    the address listed for such counsel in the complaint.

                            (4) Defenses

        (A) Exclusive defenses

            The defenses under this paragraph are the exclusive defenses 
        available to a satellite carrier against which a complaint under 
        this subsection is filed.

        (B) Defenses

            The defenses referred to under subparagraph (A) are the 
        defenses that--
                (i) the satellite carrier did not retransmit the 
            television broadcast station to any person in the local 
            market of the station during the time period specified in 
            the complaint;
                (ii) the television broadcast station had, in a writing 
            signed by an officer of the television broadcast station, 
            expressly authorized the retransmission of the station by 
            the satellite carrier to each person in the local market of 
            the television broadcast station to which the satellite 
            carrier made such retransmissions for the entire time period 
            during which it is alleged that a violation of subsection 
            (b)(1) of this section has occurred;
                (iii) the retransmission was made after January 1, 2002, 
            and the television broadcast station had elected to assert 
            the right to carriage under section 338 of this title as 
            against the satellite carrier for the relevant period; or
                (iv) the station being retransmitted is a noncommercial 
            television broadcast station.

                     (5) Counting of violations

        The retransmission without consent of a particular television 
    broadcast station on a particular day to one or more persons in the 
    local market of the station shall be considered a separate violation 
    of subsection (b)(1) of this section.

                         (6) Burden of proof

        With respect to each alleged violation, the burden of proof 
    shall be on a television broadcast station to establish that the 
    satellite carrier retransmitted the station to at least one person 
    in the local market of the station on the day in question. The 
    burden of proof shall be on the satellite carrier with respect to 
    all defenses other than the defense under paragraph (4)(B)(i).

                           (7) Procedures

        (A) Regulations

            Within 60 days after November 29, 1999, the Commission shall 
        issue procedural regulations implementing this subsection which 
        shall supersede procedures under section 312 of this title.

        (B) Determinations

            (i) In general

                Within 45 days after the filing of a complaint, the 
            Commission shall issue a final determination in any 
            proceeding brought under this subsection. The Commission's 
            final determination shall specify the number of violations 
            committed by the satellite carrier. The Commission shall 
            hear witnesses only if it clearly appears, based on written 
            filings by the parties, that there is a genuine dispute 
            about material facts. Except as provided in the preceding 
            sentence, the Commission may issue a final ruling based on 
            written filings by the parties.
            (ii) Discovery

                The Commission may direct the parties to exchange 
            pertinent documents, and if necessary to take prehearing 
            depositions, on such schedule as the Commission may approve, 
            but only if the Commission first determines that such 
            discovery is necessary to resolve a genuine dispute about 
            material facts, consistent with the obligation to make a 
            final determination within 45 days.

                             (8) Relief

        If the Commission determines that a satellite carrier has 
    retransmitted the television broadcast station to at least one 
    person in the local market of such station and has failed to meet 
    its burden of proving one of the defenses under paragraph (4) with 
    respect to such retransmission, the Commission shall be required 
    to--
            (A) make a finding that the satellite carrier violated 
        subsection (b)(1) of this section with respect to that station; 
        and
            (B) issue an order, within 45 days after the filing of the 
        complaint, containing--
                (i) a cease-and-desist order directing the satellite 
            carrier immediately to stop making any further 
            retransmissions of the television broadcast station to any 
            person within the local market of such station until such 
            time as the Commission determines that the satellite carrier 
            is in compliance with subsection (b)(1) of this section with 
            respect to such station;
                (ii) if the satellite carrier is found to have violated 
            subsection (b)(1) of this section with respect to more than 
            two television broadcast stations, a cease-and-desist order 
            directing the satellite carrier to stop making any further 
            retransmission of any television broadcast station to any 
            person within the local market of such station, until such 
            time as the Commission, after giving notice to the station, 
            that the satellite carrier is in compliance with subsection 
            (b)(1) of this section with respect to such stations; and
                (iii) an award to the complainant of that complainant's 
            costs and reasonable attorney's fees.

      (9) Court proceedings on enforcement of Commission order

        (A) In general

            On entry by the Commission of a final order granting relief 
        under this subsection--
                (i) a television broadcast station may apply within 30 
            days after such entry to the United States District Court 
            for the Eastern District of Virginia for a final judgment 
            enforcing all relief granted by the Commission; and
                (ii) the satellite carrier may apply within 30 days 
            after such entry to the United States District Court for the 
            Eastern District of Virginia for a judgment reversing the 
            Commission's order.

        (B) Appeal

            The procedure for an appeal under this paragraph by the 
        satellite carrier shall supersede any other appeal rights under 
        Federal or State law. A United States district court shall be 
        deemed to have personal jurisdiction over the satellite carrier 
        if the carrier, or a company under common control with the 
        satellite carrier, has delivered television programming by 
        satellite to more than 30 customers in that district during the 
        preceding 4-year period. If the United States District Court for 
        the Eastern District of Virginia does not have personal 
        jurisdiction over the satellite carrier, an enforcement action 
        or appeal shall be brought in the United States District Court 
        for the District of Columbia, which may find personal 
        jurisdiction based on the satellite carrier's ownership of 
        licenses issued by the Commission. An application by a 
        television broadcast station for an order enforcing any cease-
        and-desist relief granted by the Commission shall be resolved on 
        a highly expedited schedule. No discovery may be conducted by 
        the parties in any such proceeding. The district court shall 
        enforce the Commission order unless the Commission record 
        reflects manifest error and an abuse of discretion by the 
        Commission.

               (10) Civil action for statutory damages

        Within 6 months after issuance of an order by the Commission 
    under this subsection, a television broadcast station may file a 
    civil action in any United States district court that has personal 
    jurisdiction over the satellite carrier for an award of statutory 
    damages for any violation that the Commission has determined to have 
    been committed by a satellite carrier under this subsection. Such 
    action shall not be subject to transfer under section 1404(a) of 
    title 28. On finding that the satellite carrier has committed one or 
    more violations of subsection (b) of this section, the District 
    Court shall be required to award the television broadcast station 
    statutory damages of $25,000 per violation, in accordance with 
    paragraph (5), and the costs and attorney's fees incurred by the 
    station. Such statutory damages shall be awarded only if the 
    television broadcast station has filed a binding stipulation with 
    the court that such station will donate the full amount in excess of 
    $1,000 of any statutory damage award to the United States Treasury 
    for public purposes. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a 
    station shall incur no tax liability of any kind with respect to any 
    amounts so donated. Discovery may be conducted by the parties in any 
    proceeding under this paragraph only if and to the extent necessary 
    to resolve a genuinely disputed issue of fact concerning one of the 
    defenses under paragraph (4). In any such action, the defenses under 
    paragraph (4) shall be exclusive, and the burden of proof shall be 
    on the satellite carrier with respect to all defenses other than the 
    defense under paragraph (4)(B)(i). A judgment under this paragraph 
    may be enforced in any manner permissible under Federal or State 
    law.

                            (11) Appeals

        (A) In general

            The nonprevailing party before a United States district 
        court may appeal a decision under this subsection to the United 
        States Court of Appeals with jurisdiction over that district 
        court. The Court of Appeals shall not issue any stay of the 
        effectiveness of any decision granting relief against a 
        satellite carrier unless the carrier presents clear and 
        convincing evidence that it is highly likely to prevail on 
        appeal and only after posting a bond for the full amount of any 
        monetary award assessed against it and for such further amount 
        as the Court of Appeals may believe appropriate.

        (B) Appeal

            If the Commission denies relief in response to a complaint 
        filed by a television broadcast station under this subsection, 
        the television broadcast station filing the complaint may file 
        an appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the 
        District of Columbia Circuit.

                             (12) Sunset

        No complaint or civil action may be filed under this subsection 
    after December 31, 2001. This subsection shall continue to apply to 
    any complaint or civil action filed on or before such date.

(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title III, Sec. 325, 48 Stat. 1091; Pub. L. 
102-385, Sec. 6, Oct. 5, 1992, 106 Stat. 1482; Pub. L. 106-113, div. B, 
Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title I, Sec. 1009], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 
1501A-537.)


                               Amendments

    1999--Subsec. (b)(1), (2). Pub. L. 106-113, Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title 
I, Sec. 1009(a)(1)], amended pars. (1) and (2) generally. Prior to 
amendment, pars. (1) and (2) read as follows:
    ``(1) Following the date that is one year after October 5, 1992, no 
cable system or other multichannel video programming distributor shall 
retransmit the signal of a broadcasting station, or any part thereof, 
except--
        ``(A) with the express authority of the originating station; or
        ``(B) pursuant to section 534 of this title, in the case of a 
    station electing, in accordance with this subsection, to assert the 
    right to carriage under such section.
    ``(2) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to--
        ``(A) retransmission of the signal of a noncommercial 
    broadcasting station;
        ``(B) retransmission directly to a home satellite antenna of the 
    signal of a broadcasting station that is not owned or operated by, 
    or affiliated with, a broadcasting network, if such signal was 
    retransmitted by a satellite carrier on May 1, 1991;
        ``(C) retransmission of the signal of a broadcasting station 
    that is owned or operated by, or affiliated with, a broadcasting 
    network directly to a home satellite antenna, if the household 
    receiving the signal is an unserved household; or
        ``(D) retransmission by a cable operator or other multichannel 
    video programming distributor of the signal of a superstation if 
    such signal was obtained from a satellite carrier and the 
    originating station was a superstation on May 1, 1991.
For purposes of this paragraph, the terms `satellite carrier', 
`superstation', and `unserved household' have the meanings given those 
terms, respectively, in section 119(d) of title 17 as in effect on 
October 5, 1992.''
    Subsec. (b)(3)(C). Pub. L. 106-113, Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title I, 
Sec. 1009(a)(2)], added subpar. (C).
    Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 106-113, Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title I, 
Sec. 1009(a)(3)], inserted at end ``If an originating television station 
elects under paragraph (3)(C) to exercise its right to grant 
retransmission consent under this subsection with respect to a satellite 
carrier, section 338 of this title shall not apply to the carriage of 
the signal of such station by such satellite carrier.''
    Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 106-113, Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title I, 
Sec. 1009(a)(4)], substituted ``338, 534, or 535 of this title'' for 
``534 or 535 of this title''.
    Subsec. (b)(7). Pub. L. 106-113, Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title I, 
Sec. 1009(a)(5)], added par. (7).
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 106-113, Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title I, 
Sec. 1009(b)], added subsec. (e).
    1992--Subsecs. (b) to (d). Pub. L. 102-385 added subsec. (b) and 
redesignated former subsecs. (b) and (c) as (c) and (d), respectively.


                    Effective Date of 1992 Amendment

    Section 28 of Pub. L. 102-385 provided that: ``Except where 
otherwise expressly provided, the provisions of this Act [enacting 
sections 334, 335, 534 to 537, 544a, 548, and 555a of this title, 
amending this section and sections 332, 522, 532, 533, 541 to 544, 546, 
551 to 555, and 558 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as 
notes under sections 521, 531, 543, and 554 of this title] and the 
amendments made thereby shall take effect 60 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act [Oct. 5, 1992].''


                              Severability

    Pub. L. 106-113, div. B, Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title I, Sec. 1010], Nov. 
29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A-543, provided that: ``If any provision 
of section 325(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b)), 
or the application of that provision to any person or circumstance, is 
held by a court of competent jurisdiction to violate any provision of 
the Constitution of the United States, then the other provisions of that 
section, and the application of that provision to other persons and 
circumstances, shall not be affected.''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 309, 338, 402, 534, 573 of 
this title.
