CommLawBlog

Enforcement Bureau extracts half-million dollar “civil penalty” AND an extensive compliance plan commitment from Cumulus for spots which it didn’t even sell. The Enforcement Bureau has scored another trophy for its burgeoning trophy room of extravagant penalties. This time, it’s $540,000 extracted from Cumulus for a supposedly inadequate sponsorship identification on a number of spots … Continue Reading

In the closing days of 2015 we reported on the FCC’s long-awaited decision on how it plans to deal with LPTV and TV translator stations as it works its way through the post-auction repack process. The Commission’s decision has now been published in the Federal Register in two separate chunks: the first includes the Report … Continue Reading

Same as it ever was: as they start in on the next five-year period with new rates and terms announced in Webcasting IV, webcasters must again attend to annual SoundExchange homework. It’s been a month since I wrote about Webcasting IV, the decision of the Copyright Royalty Board that set webcasting rates and terms for … Continue Reading

Effective dates, comment deadlines now set It’s been nearly three months since the FCC released its long-awaited AM Revitalization Order. And while the Audio Division staff has done what it could in terms of moving things along, the full range of regulatory changes adopted by the Commission have not taken effect yet because the FCC’s … Continue Reading

If you missed our recent webinar (featuring FCC political broadcasting guru Bobby Baker) covering All Things Political Broadcasting, don’t worry. You can attend ex post facto, in absentia (if that’s such a thing), by listening to the whole two-hour production online. Just click on this link. As with folks who attended the live event, you’ll … Continue Reading

OMB finally approves rules, but expect delays Back in January, 2013, the FCC reorganized and simplified the experimental rules processes. (You can find our post describing the changes here.) The overhaul included creation of several new types of experimental licenses: for example, Program Experimental Licenses, which will eventually make it easier for manufacturers, research universities … Continue Reading

Area Man v. Verizon II – a re-match of the mis-matched. You may pay twice, too, the next time you upgrade. (Blogger’s Note: See that disclaimer over to your right, under “Welcome to Our Readers.” This post reflects the views only of the author, not of the law firm or its clients.) A few days … Continue Reading

Ready or not, here it comes: Campaign 2016. FHH presents the FCC’s political guru, Bobby Baker, to help broadcasters get themselves ready. If you thought 2015 was some kind of something when it came to politics, you can expect 2016 to be even more. Things are about to get considerably more serious on the campaign … Continue Reading

Short-circuiting conventional Paperwork Reduction Act requirements, the Office of Management and Budget has signed off on the strict auction-related rules just in time for the upcoming Broadcast Incentive Auction. The FCC’s Incentive Auction Report and Order, released June 2, 2014, included anti-collusion provisions forbidding– as of the close of the reverse auction application window (i.e., … Continue Reading

Appeals court tosses “disparagement” bar against registration of “offensive” trademarks Last May, our colleague Kevin “the Swami” Goldberg called readers’ attention to an interesting case wending its way through the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. It involves the rejection, by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), of an application for federal … Continue Reading

In addressing LPTV/translator future, FCC declines to loosen several regulatory leashes Low Power Television (LPTV) and TV translator stations face a difficult and uncertain future in the post-incentive auction context. Thanks to the auction (and the consequent spectrum repack), the FCC will reduce the number of channels available for television broadcasting – perhaps eliminating for … Continue Reading

Long-awaited opportunity for AMers now at hand. If you’re an AM licensee interested in taking advantage of the opportunity to file for an FM translator, get your calendar out: the Media Bureau has announced the dates for the two 2016 “modification windows” during which AM stations will have first dibs on available FM translators. These … Continue Reading

Down here in the CommLawBlog bunker, when Davina speaks, we all listen. You should, too. If you’re still feeling a bit lost when people around you start talking about the upcoming Broadcast Incentive auction, check out the podcast of our own Davina Sashkin. Available for streaming or download, free, at Washingtech.com (a relatively new addition … Continue Reading

More than six months ago we reported on some tweaks of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) that the FCC had adopted after analyzing the results of its 2011 national EAS test. While most of the changes kicked in last July, two revised sections of the rules – Sections 11.21(a) and 11.61(a)(3)(iv) – did not. That’s … Continue Reading

Terse provision slides through as part of massive annual appropriations act TV Joint Sales Agreements (JSAs) have been given a new lease on life, thanks to Congress and the President. Back in 2014, the FCC declared certain JSAs to be “attributable interests” and therefore subject to unwinding by June, 2016. But now compliance with that … Continue Reading

Copyright Office inquiry may lead to changes in the law that give consumers greater freedom over their belongings. Most people think that buying a toaster, say, lets you do anything you want with it. That may be wrong. Copyright law may limit your rights even as to products you bought and paid for. Here’s why. … Continue Reading

But District Court decision could be key to a return to the Supreme Court for Aereo-related issues FilmOn X’s fortunes have taken a turn for the worse. But for FilmOn X, that might not be a totally bad thing. Longtime readers will be familiar with FilmOn X, the Aereo doppelganger. When Aereo burst on the … Continue Reading

Online sign-ups start December 21 for hobbyists, March 31 for non-recreational drones As the final day of Hanukkah arrived and Santa’s Christmas Eve trek loomed just ten days ahead, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) complicated the lives of those of us who have given, or plan to give, their nearest and dearest this year’s Hot … Continue Reading

Irony alert: radio astronomy organization hands out fitness devices that threaten interference to radio-telescope operation. Wrist-worn activity monitors like the Fitbit are good for radio astronomers. But not so good for radio astronomy. Much as traditional astronomers use optical telescopes to see with visible light, radio astronomers use “radio telescopes” to observe distant objects by … Continue Reading

Some things to think about before you commit to buying that whiz-bang interconnected device Much has been made about the “Internet of Things” this year, in both the trade press and the popular media. As we’re placing our Amazon and Best Buy orders for holiday gifts, debating the merits of iOS vs. Android, i3 or … Continue Reading

An FCC order requires the resident either to find and fix the source of interference in his house, or else allow FCC staff to come in and do it. Mr. Edward R. Kozol of Lemont, Illinois, you have our sympathy. That cell tower south of where you live, over by I-395, is picking up interference. … Continue Reading

Way back in December of last year the Commission re-vamped its equipment certification rules. It took six months for those revised rules to make it into the Federal Register, and another month for the rules to become effective. The effective date also marked the deadline for petitions for reconsideration of the December order adopting the … Continue Reading

The 2015 elections are now in the books, but the 2016 election season, featuring federal campaigns (Presidential, Vice Presidential, Congressional) galore, is already upon us. Now’s a good time to be sure you’ve got a handle on the rules. The 2016 elections are a year away, but the race for presidential nominations is already heating … Continue Reading

As we reported yesterday, the Commission’s late-October “Second Order on Reconsideration” with respect to its channel sharing rules was published in the Federal Register on November 2, even though its predecessor, last June’s “First Order on Reconsideration” in the same matter, still hadn’t graced the Register’s pages. Whether that occurred by oversight or design, that … Continue Reading

But what happened to the First Order on Recon? its break-neck pace with respect to all things Broadcast Incentive Auction, the Commission has published its most recent order on channel sharing in the Federal Register. (We reported on that order when it was first released by the FCC just last week.). As a result of … Continue Reading

Dueling letters from SESAC and RMLC offer distinct alternatives for radio stations in their dealings with SESAC As we reported several months ago, in July the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC) reached a settlement agreement with SESAC that resolved RMLC’s antitrust lawsuit against SESAC and brought some measure of certainty and stability to the license … Continue Reading