Consent is essential for mobile TV: CFTPA

On June 22, the Canadian Film and Television Production Association responded to submissions from broadcasters and telcos on a new exemption order for mobile TV services. Excerpts from their letter to the CRTC appear below. The CFTPA agrees with comments made in the first phase of this proceeding by CTV Television and the CAB with respect to the growing trend towards using mobile phones as de facto television set-top boxes. The technology allowing users to output video programming from their mobile phone to their television in the home already exists. Given the rapid pace of technology innovation and development occurring globally, this type of technology can be expected to proliferate. If and when these mobile devices become widespread, they could make mobile television services ready substitutes for traditional and/or broadcasting programming services. As such, the CFTPA reiterates its recommendation that the commission explicitly exclude such activity in its exemption order by strengthening the wording of the first condition in the proposed exemption order such that the exemption order would only be applicable to portable hand-held mobile devices such as cell phones and personal digital assistants, and not devices that can effectively be used as set-top boxes connecting unregulated mobile content to stationary televisions in the home.... In their submissions, the CWTA, MTS Allstream, and Shaw argued that the proposed obligation to obtain the prior consent of a broadcaster for the retransmission of its signal is unnecessary and inappropriate. The CFTPA respectfully disagrees and submits that it is crucial to ensure that program content delivered via mobile devices is properly authorized by the copyright owner or rightsholder of that content. We note in this regard the submission of FWS Joint Sports Claimants Inc. in which it states that the majority of works broadcast are in fact owned by someone other than the broadcaster. For this reason, we support the CRTC’s proposal to include an exemption condition relating to prior authorization provided the commission strengthens the wording of that condition to ensure that mobile television broadcasting undertakings obtain prior authorization from rightsholders for any content the undertakings intend to retransmit and that they do not gain access to content on a compulsory licence basis under s. 31 of the Copyright Act…. Broadcasters that wish to have their signals retransmitted by mobile television broadcasting services can negotiate for those rights with content producers. We disagree with the CWTA’s suggestion that rightsholders will have their retransmission rights or copyright protected by virtue of the fact that mobile television broadcasting services that do not use the Internet will be subject to the compulsory licence provisions of the Copyright Act. As the CFTPA stated in its initial comments to this proceeding, allowing mobile television broadcasting undertakings to rely on the compulsory licence provisions of the Copyright Act and pay a flat royalty amount would neither provide sufficient compensation to the program producer nor redress the harm done to the Canadian broadcasting system and to rightsholders by such retransmission. While mobile television broadcasting undertakings are deemed to be "broadcasting" services, a broadcast programming undertaking that has licensed copyrighted program content is not in a position to grant a further use of that content without the specific authorization of the content creator and payment of appropriate compensation. The "right" to exploit this separate platform rests with the producer. This is why it is critical that the CRTC include a condition in its new exemption order that fully addresses this point.

Consent is essential for mobile TV: CFTPA

Broadcast | July 25, 2006

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