Copyright term, film labeling, and film preservation legislation : hearings before the Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourth Congress, first session, on H.R. 989, H.R. 1248, and H.R. 1734 ... June 1 and July 13, 1995 (1996)

114 tion of Billboard magazine and found that 90 percent of them were in compliance with the voluntary labeling program. The voluntary label in use today informs the consumer without disparaging the video product. It says: "This film has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to fit your television set." And I will show an example or two of that in a minute. This voluntary labeling system applies to home video, cable, payper-view, broadcast television, and every other medium. It is likely that the film that was shown on your flight from Washington to Los Angeles was labeled under this system. In our opinion, the legislation before you is a quintessential example of unnecessary Government regulation. Congressman Frank's bill represents Government intrusion into a marketplace that is working successfully for the industry and for the consumer. This legislation, Mr. Chairman, would seem to have all the characteristics of a solution in search of a problem. While the supporters of this legislation may quarrel with the precise wording on the voluntary label, that does not mean that Government needs to step in in this case. This is an issue that the industry can and should resolve on its own. The labels included in this legislation would mislead consumers by making it appear that they are getting an inferior product when they buy or rent a video. Under H.R. 1248, if an artistic author objects to any alterations, pay-per-view, cable, and network television broadcasters would be required to note the objection in a signboard warning at the beginning of the film. The home video release would carry the additional burden of permanently noting the objection not once, but twice, on the video boxes which serve as the primary means of marketing the video product. Mr. Chairman, I would like to take a moment and show you a video that demonstrates the voluntary labeling program that I have been speaking about. I will show you several labeling examples, including home video, broadcast television, and pay-per-view; and I will compare these labels to the Government mandate label for automobiles. I think you will see how much more effective the voluntary labels are when compared to the Government-mandated label. If you will play the tape, the first clip is taken from the home video of Disney's "Angels in the Outfield." As you can see here, the label is in legible type and displayed in a conspicuous and readable basis. The second example comes from a Universal film, "The River Wild", with Meryl Streep. Mr. Herman. Is this on TV or video? Mr. Eves. This is on videocassette. Again, this clip comes from a video; and it is available in stores all over the country. Next, I would like to give you a couple of examples of how these labels appear on the home video package. I have copies of a couple of movies here, and I think you may have copies of this as well. And you will see the labeling in both cases appearing on the back side of the videocassette. It says: "The film has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to fit your television set." One just like the one