Five groups representing manufacturers, dealers and owners of RVs, as well as the RV campgrounds, sent a letter to the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee urging them to vote to preserve the provision of copyright law that allows DirecTV and DISH Network to provide Distant Network Signals to RVs and long-haul truckers, among others. These groups represent the 25 million RVers who are affected by this copyright law.
The letter, signed by the RV Industry Association, the RV Dealers Association, the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds, the Family Motor Coach Association and the Escapees RV Club, called on Congress to reauthorize Section 119 of the Copyright Act, which would sunset at the end of 2019, absent Congressional action.
Although it may be unfamiliar to many of the RVers who use satellite providers, Section 119 provides the narrow copyright law exemption that makes it possible for RVers to access their favorite TV programming regardless of where they happen to be traveling. Without this exemption, it would be a violation of copyright law for a satellite provider to allow an RVer to access a New York broadcast while camping at remote national park in a different market.
