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23 <br /> <br />A RESOLUTION URGING THE CONGRESS OF TttE UNITED STATES TO <br />REMOVE FROM THE OMNIBUS COPYRIGiiT REVISION BILL LANGUAGE <br />REQUIRING A COPYRIGHT PAYMENT FOR CARRIAGE OF BROADCAST <br />SIGNALS ON CABLE TELEVISION. <br /> <br /> ?~tEREAS, the matter of liability of cable television <br />operators and, t~hrough them, cable subscribers to pay copyright <br />royalties on television signals carried on cable television <br />is now before the Congress of the United States in the Omnibus <br />Copyright Revision Bill; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, the 1974 annual meeting of the United States <br />Conference of Mayors in San Diego did unanimously approve <br />Resolution Number 9 u~ging the United States Senate not to <br />adopt legislation which would place an extra surcharge on the <br />viewing of television programming via a cable television <br />system; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, this resolution was ignored and had no effect <br />on the action of the United States in the September 9th passage <br />of Senate Bill S.1361; aD~ <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has twice <br />held that carriage of broadcast signals by cable television <br />is not a performance under Federal copyright law for which <br />copyright royalties are required to be paid; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, as a matter of pure loqic and economic <br />theory, payment of copyright royalties for carriage of broad- <br />cast signals on cable television is improper and can result <br />in consumers paying copyright royalties twice; and <br /> <br /> ~REAS, the cable television industry, still in <br />its infancy, should not be overburdened with required fees <br />and charges, payment of which must be subsidized by the <br />ultimate consumer, the cable television subscriber; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, the quality cable television service in <br />and for the City of Portsmouth is important to the well-being, <br />education, and informed status of our citizens; and <br /> <br /> WHEREAS, adoptlon of this copyright legislation by <br /> the full Conqress of the U~nited States will be inflationary <br />~and will selectively "tax'~ the cable viewing residents of <br /> the City of Portsr~outh. <br /> <br /> NQ?~, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the <br />City of Portsmouth~ Virginia that the Congress of the United <br />States is u~ed to remove from tke Omnibus Copyright Revision <br /> <br /> <br />