Ultimately, Congress could step in and update a cable law governing retransmission fees.
The case went to the Supreme Court which ruled that cable was not infringing copyright law.
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The Sixth Circuit, which is based in Cincinnati, rejected a similar case involving DirecTV challenging a Kentucky law that appeared to favor cable-TV companies.
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After the Supreme Court decided that cable-TV systems could retransmit broadcast signals without violating copyright laws, Congress in 1976 revised the law to require broadcasters to provide compulsory licenses to their cable counterparts.
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Sharon Kleinpeter with the local cable company, Cox Communications, says the law was passed two years ago after long negotiations.
Earlier this month, Business Secretary Vince Cable said that while the case for changing the law was currently "not compelling", if there were co-ordinated and damaging strikes, "the pressure on us to act would ratchet up".
The law applies to not just broadcasters, but cable, satellite and video distributors as well.
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That Harvard law degree is a waste doing news on a cable network.
The new law will widen the agency's monitoring to include all crossborder cable traffic (from the current limitations on the FRA to monitor only military radio communications).
"The problem is that these are global banks and if they've committed breaches of the law in the US they have to be punished accordingly, " Mr Cable told BBC Radio 5 live.
And within a year, even consumers who aren't interested in upgrading from analog to cable won't have a choice if they're buying a new set--the law requires retailers to only carry digital-capable sets by March 1, 2007.
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