June 21, 2013 Cable operators must file with the U.S. Copyright Office their Statement of Accounts (Form SA1-2 or SA3) and pay any royalty fees due for the January 2013 – June 2013 accounting period by August 29, 2013. The following forms apply:
Recent Increase in Copyright Infringement Claims; The DMCA and Statutory Immunity for ISPs
May 20, 2013 As Internet service providers (“ISPs”), cable operators often receive online infringement notices and subpoena requests from local law enforcement agencies. Recently, we have seen an increase in the number of notices received by cable operators, and highlight an important law that cable operators, as ISPs, must comply with – the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”).
FCC Proposes Fine Against Tower Owner for Violations of Tower Lighting Rules
May 20, 2013 Last week, the FCC issued a Notice of Apparent Liability (“NAL”) against a tower owner for failing to timely repair lighting on a tower. The proposed fine was set at $15,000.
FCC Grants Charter Two-Year Waiver of the Integrated Set-top Box Ban; Acknowledges Court Invalidation of Certain CableCARD Rules
May 3, 2013 The FCC’s Media Bureau recently granted Charter’s request for a waiver of the FCC’s ban on set-top boxes with integrated security. Significantly, the Bureau’s order acknowledged that a recent D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision vacated some of the FCC’s CableCARD rules adopted in 2003, and suggested that the validity of related rules adopted in 2010 may have been undermined.
Elvis Stumbergs, Certified Information Privacy Professional
May 3, 2013 Congratulations to Washington, D.C.-based CM associate Elvis Stumbergs, who recently earned recognition as a Certified Information Privacy Professional/US (CIPP/US) by the International Association of Privacy Professionals.
FCC Adopts Consent Decree with Cable Operator for Delaying Access to Public Inspection File Operator to Make $8,000 Voluntary Contribution to U.S. Treasury
May 3, 2013 On April 23, 2012, the FCC adopted a Consent Decree that settled an investigation and Notice of Apparent Liability (“NAL”) for a cable operator’s failure to make its public inspection file available upon request during regular business hours. While the NAL, released in February 2012, set the potential fine at $10,000, under the terms of the consent decree, the cable operator will make an $8,000 voluntary contribution to the U.S. Treasury.