Skip to main content
HR 109 101th Congress House

Cable Subscriber Protection Act of 1989

Official title: To amend the copyright laws to provide compulsory licenses only to those cable service providers who provide adequate carriage of local broadcast signals, and for other purposes.

Introduced: April 4, 1989 See on congress.gov
Government Operations and Politics Cable televisionCopyrightLicenses
Sign in to write a letter Sign in to watch
This bill died when the 101st Congress ended
It never became law before the 101st Congress (1989–1990) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 9 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
May 16, 1990
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
May 9, 1990
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Apr 19, 1990
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Mar 1, 1990
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Mar 27, 1989
Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Administration of Justice.
Feb 6, 1989
Referred to the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance.
Jan 3, 1989
Referred to the House Committee on Judiciary.
Jan 3, 1989
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Jan 3, 1989
Introduced in House
 Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

 Latest action May 16, 1990

Subcommittee Hearings Held.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Cable Subscriber Protection Act of 1989 - Amends Federal copyright laws to subject certain secondary transmissions by cable systems to compulsory licensing if: (1) such transmissions take place entirely within the local service area of the primary transmitter and the cable system complies with specified requirements of the Communications Act of 1934; or (2) such transmission takes place wholly or partially beyond the local service area of the primary transmitter. Requires in both instances that carriage of the signals be permissible under Federal Communications Commission rules.

Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to define the must-carry requirements with which cable service providers must comply. Redefines "local service area of a primary transmitter."

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 4
 Cosponsors 2
All 2 Republican 1
FROST, MARTIN
· Jun 27, 1989
 R
Rogers, Harold
Kentucky · Apr 4, 1989
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 109: Cable Subscriber Protection Act of 1989. 101st Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/101-HR-109/
MLA
"H.R. 109: Cable Subscriber Protection Act of 1989." 101st Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/101-HR-109/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 109, 101st Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/101-HR-109/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 109: Cable Subscriber Protection Act of 1989](https://openamerica.io/bill/101-HR-109/)
Report a problem