Statement from MPAA Chairman and CEO Senator Chris Dodd on the FCC’s revised set-top box proposal

WASHINGTON – The following is a statement from Senator Chris Dodd, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), on the Federal Communications Commission’s revised set-top box proposal:

“We have made clear from the start that we support set-top competition. However, we have also made clear that any FCC action to advance that cause must fully respect copyright law.

If Chairman Wheeler’s revised proposal is as it has been described to MPAA members and others in meetings, it still amounts to a compulsory copyright license that the FCC does not have authority to grant. The MPAA does not support compulsory licenses, has never supported compulsory licenses, and we cannot do so here. Whether through a licensing body subject to FCC review or otherwise, the FCC must not encroach upon copyright holders’ discretion in how they exercise or license the exclusive rights Congress granted them in section 106 of the Copyright Act, or jeopardize the security of their content, as the Copyright Office explained in its expert analysis.”

About the MPAA
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) serves as the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries from its offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Its members include: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal City Studios LLC; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

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For more information, contact:

MPAA Washington, D.C.
Chris Ortman
(202) 293-1966
Chris_Ortman@motionpictures.org