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PROVISIONS RELATING TO FORFEITURES

SEC. 504. [47 U.S.C. 504] (a) The forfeitures provided for in this Act shall be payable into the Treasury of the United States, and shall be recoverable, except as otherwise provided with respect to a forfeiture penalty determined under section 503(b)(3) of this Act,231 in a civil suit in the name of the United States brought in the district where the person or carrier has its principal operating office or in any district through which the line or system of the carrier runs: Provided, That any suit for the recovery of a forfeiture imposed pursuant to the provisions of this Act shall be a trial de novo: Provided further, That in the case of forfeiture by a ship, said forfeiture may also be recoverable by way of libel in any district in which such ship shall arrive or depart. Such forfeitures shall be in addition to any other general or specific penalties herein provided. It shall be the duty of the various district attorneys, under the direction of the Attorney General of the United States, to prosecute for the recovery of forfeitures under this Act. The costs and expenses of such prosecutions shall be paid from the appropriation for the expenses of the courts of the Unites States.

(b) The forfeitures imposed by title II, parts II and III of title III, and sections 503(b) and 506 232 of this Act shall be subject to remission or mitigation by the Commission, under such regulations and methods of ascertaining the facts as may seem to it advisable, and,

constitute the applicable law with the respect to any act or omission which occurs prior to such thirtieth day.

The former Section 503 was amended to strike out the center heading, to insert “(a)” after "Sec. 503", and to add at the end of the section a subsection (b) by Public Law 86-752, approved Sept. 13, 1960, 74 Stat. 889. Former subsection 503(b) read as follows:

(bX1) Any license or permittee of a broadcast station who—

(A) willfully or repeatedly fails to operate such station substantially as set forth in his license or permit,

(B) willfully or repeatedly fails to observe any of the provisions of this Act or of any rule or regulation of the Commission prescribed under authority of this Act or under authority of any treaty ratified by the United States,

(C) fails to observe any final cease and desist order issued by the Commission,

(D) violates section 317(c) or section 509(a)(4) of this Act, or

(E) violates section 1304, 1343, or 1464 of title 18 of the United States Code,

shall forfeit to the United States a sum not to exceed $1,000. Each day during which such violation occurs shall constitute a separate offense. Such forfeiture shall be in addition to any other penalty provided by this Act.

(2) No forfeiture liability under paragraph (1) of this subsection (b) shall attach unless a written notice of apparent liability shall have been issued by the Commission and such notice has been received by the licensee or permittee or the Commission shall have sent such notice by registered or certified mail to the last known address of the licensee or permittee. A licensee or permittee so notified shall be granted an opportunity to show in writing, within such reasonable period as the Commission shall by regulations prescribe, why he should not be held liable. A notice issued under this paragraph shall not be valid unless it sets forth the date, facts, and nature of the act or omission with which the licensee or permittee is charged and specifically identifies the particular provision or provisions of the law, rule, or regulation or the license, permit, or cease and desist order involved.

(3) No forfeiture liability under paragraph (1) of this subsection (b) shall attach for any violation occurring more than one year prior to the date of issuance of the notice of apparent liability and in no event shall the forfeiture imposed for the acts or omissions set forth in any notice of apparent liability exceed $10,000.

331 The words "except as otherwise provided with respect to a forfeiture penalty determined under section 503(b)(3) of this Act" were added by section 3(a), Public Law 95-234, approved February 21, 1978, 92 Stat. 33.

232 The words "title II, parts II and III of title III, and sections 503(b) and 507" [redesignated 506 by Public Law 96-507] were added, and the words "upon application therefor", which followed the first reference to the Commission, were deleted by section 3(b), Public Law 95-234, approved Feb. 21, 1978, 92 Stat. 33. Previously, section 504(b) was amended to include section 510 by Public Law 87-448, approved May 11, 1962, 76 Stat. 68. The first two lines read "The forfeitures imposed by parts II and III of Title III and sections 503(b) and 507 of this Act.

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if suit has been instituted, the Attorney General, upon request of the Commission, shall direct the discontinuance of any prosecution to recover such forfeitures: Provided, however, That no forfeiture shall be remitted or mitigated after determination by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(c) In any case where the Commission issues a notice of apparent liability looking toward the imposition of a forfeiture under this Act, that fact shall not be used, in any other proceeding before the Commission, to the prejudice of the person to whom such notice was issued, unless (i) the forfeiture has been paid, or (ii) a court of competent jurisdiction has ordered payment of such forfeiture, and such order has become final.233

VENUE OF OFFENSES

SEC. 505. [47 U.S.C. 505] The trial of any offense under this Act shall be in the district in which it is committed; or if the offense is committed upon the high seas, or out of the jurisdiction of any particular State or district, the trial shall be in the district where the offender may be found or into which he shall be first brought. Whenever the offense is begun in one jurisdiction and completed in another it may be dealt with, inquired of, tried, determined, and punished in either jurisdiction in the same manner as if the offense had been actually and wholly committed therein.

233 Section 504 was amended to read as above by Public Law 86-752, approved September 13, 1960, 74 Stat. 889. It formerly read as follows:

PROVISIONS RELATING TO FORFEITURES

SEC. 504. (a) The forfeiture provided for in this Act shall be payable into the Treasury of the United States, and shall be recoverable in a civil suit in the name of the United States brought in the district where the person or carrier has its principal operating office or in any district through which the line or system of the carrier runs: Provided, That in the case of forfeiture by a ship, said forfeiture may also be recoverable by way of libel in any district in which such ship shall arrive or depart. Such forfeitures shall be in addition to any other general or specific penalties herein provided. It shall be the duty of the various district attorneys, under the direction of the Attorney General of the United States, to prosecute for the recovery of forfeitures under this Act. The costs and expenses of such prosecutions shall be paid from the appropriation for the expenses of the courts of the United States.

(b) The forfeitures imposed by title III, part II of this Act shall be subject to remission or mitigation by the Commission, upon application therefor, under such regulations and methods of ascertaining the facts as may seem to it advisable, and, if suit has been instituted, the Attorney General upon request of the Commission, shall direct the discontinuance of any prosecution to recover such forfeitures: Provided, however, That no forfeiture shall be remitted or mitigated after determination by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Before it was amended by Public No. 97, 75th Cong., approved May 20, 1937, 505 Stat. 197, the original section 504 read as follows:

SEC. 504. The forfeitures provided for in this Act shall be payable into the Treasury of the United States, and shall be recoverable in a civil suit in the name of the United States, brought in the district where the person or carrier has its principal operating office, or in any district through which the line or system of the carrier runs. Such forfeiture shall be in addition to any other general or specific penalties herein provided. It shall be the duty of the various district attorneys, under the direction of the Attorney General of the United States, to prosecute for the recovery of forfeitures under this Act. The costs and expenses of such prosecutions shall be paid from the appropriation for the expenses of the courts of the United States.

It was further amended by Section 2 of Public No. 985, 84th Cong., 2d Sess., approved Aug. 6, 1956, 70 Stat. 1048, so as to be made applicable to the forfeitures provided for in connection with the addition of part III (Secs. 381-386) of title III, which were added by Public No. 985. Section 2 of Public 985 deleted the prior references to "part II of title III and section 507", and inserted in lieu thereof "parts II and III of title III and section 507."

VIOLATION OF GREAT LAKES AGREEMENT

SEC. 506.234 [47 U.S.C. 507] (a) Any vessel of the United States that is navigated in violation of the provisions of the Great Lakes Agreement or the rules and regulations of the Commission made in pursuance thereof and any vessel of a foreign country that is so navigated on waters under the jurisdiction of the United States shall forfeit to the United States the sum of $500 recoverable by way of suit or libel. Each day during which such navigation occurs shall constitute a separate offense.

(b) Every willful failure on the part of the master of a vessel of the United States to enforce or to comply with the provisions of the Great Lakes Agreement or the rules and regulations of the Commission made in pursuance thereof shall cause him to forfeit to the United States the sum of $100.

DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN PAYMENTS

SEC. 507.235 [47 U.S.C. 508] (a) Subject to subsection (d), any employee of a radio station who accepts or agrees to accept from

234 Section 506 was formerly numbered section 507. It was redesignated as section 506 by Public Law 96-507, 94 Stat. 2747, Dec. 8, 1980. This section (the former section 507) was first added by Public Law 590, 83d Cong., 2d Sess., approved August 13, 1954, effective November 13, 1954, 68 Stat. 729.

The former section 506 ("Coercive Practices Affecting Broadcasting") was deleted by Public Law 96-507, 94 Stat. 2747, Dec. 8, 1980. The original section 506 was added by Public No. 344, 79th Cong., 2d Sess., approved April 16, 1946, 60 Štat. 89. It read as follows:

COERCIVE PRACTICES AFFECTING BROADCASTING

SEC. 506. (a) It shall be unlawful, by the use or express or implied threat of the use of force, violence, intimidation, or duress, or by the use or express or implied threat of the use of other means, to coerce, compel or constrain or attempt to coerce, compel, or constrain a licensee

(1) to employ or agree to employ, in connection with the conduct of the broadcasting business of such licensee, any person or persons in excess of the number of employees needed by such licensee to perform actual services; or

(2) to pay or give or agree to pay or give any money or other thing of value in lieu of giving, or on account of failure to give, employment to any person or persons, in connection with the conduct of the broadcasting business of such licensee, in excess of the number of employees needed by such licensee to perform actual services; or

(3) to pay or agree to pay more than once for services performed in connection with the conduct of the broadcasting business of such licensee; or

(4) to pay or give or agree to pay or give any money or other thing of value for services, in connection with the conduct of the broadcasting business of such licensee, which are not to be performed; or

(5) to refrain, or agree to refrain, from broadcasting or from permitting the broadcasting of a noncommercial educational or cultural program in connection with which the participants receive no money or other thing of value for their services, other than their actual expenses, and such licensee neither pays nor gives any money or other thing of value for the privilege of broadcasting such program nor receives any money or other thing of value on account of the broadcasting of such program; or

(6) to refrain, or agree to refrain, from broadcasting or permitting the broadcasting of any radio communication originating outside the United States.

(b) It shall be unlawful, by the use or express or implied threat of the use of force, violence, intimidation or duress, or by the use or express or implied threat of the use of other means, to coerce, compel or constrain or attempt to coerce, compel or constrain a licensee or any other person

(1) to pay or agree to pay any exaction for the privilege of, or on account of, producing, preparing, manufacturing, selling, buying, renting, operating, using, or maintaining recordings, transcriptions, or mechanical, chemical, or electrical reproductions; or any other articles, equipment, machines, or materials, used or intended to be used in broadcasting or in the production, preparation, performance, or presentation of a program or programs for broadcasting; or

(2) to accede to or impose any restriction upon such production, preparation, manufacture, sale, purchase, rental, operation, use, or maintenance, if such restriction is for the purpose of preventing or limiting the use of such articles, equipment, machines, or materials in broad

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any person (other than such station), or any person (other than such station) who pays or agrees to pay such employee, any money, service or other valuable consideration for the broadcast of any matter over such station shall, in advance of such broadcast, disclose the fact of such acceptance or agreement to such station.

235 Section 507 was formerly numbered section 508. It was redesignated as section 507 by Public Law 96-507, 94 Stat. 2747, Dec. 8, 1980. This section was added by Public Law 86-752, 74 Stat. 889, Sept. 13, 1960. See also note 234.

(b) Subject to subsection (d), any person who, in connection with the production or preparation of any program or program matter which is intended for broadcasting over any radio station, accepts or agrees to accept, or pays or agrees to pay, any money, service or other valuable consideration for the inclusion of any matter as a part of such program or program matter, shall, in advance of such broadcast, disclose the fact of such acceptance or payment or agreement to the payee's employer, or to the person for which such program or program matter is being produced, or to the licensee of such station over which such program is broadcast.

(c) Subject to subsection (d), any person who supplies to any other person any program or program matter which is intended for broadcasting over any radio station shall, in advance of such broadcast, disclose to such other person any information of which he has knowledge, or which has been disclosed to him, as to any money, service or other valuable consideration which any person has paid or accepted, or has agreed to pay or accept, for the inclusion of any matter as a part of such program or program matter.

(d) The provisions of this section requiring the disclosure of information shall not apply in any case where, because of a waiver made by the Commission under section 317(d), an announcement is not required to be made under section 317.

(e) The inclusion in the program of the announcement required by section 317 shall constitute the disclosure required by this section.

(f) The term "service or other valuable consideration" as used in this section shall not include any service or property furnished without charge or at a nominal charge for use on, or in connection with, a broadcast, or for use on a program which is intended for broadcasting over any radio station, unless it is so furnished in consideration for an identification in such broadcast or in such program of any person, product, service, trademark, or brand name

casting or in the production, preparation, performance, or presentation of a program or programs for broadcasting; or

(3) to pay or agree to pay any exaction on account of the broadcasting, by means of recording or transcriptions, of a program previously broadcast, payment having been made, or agreed to be made, for the services actually rendered in the performance of such program. (c) The provisions of subsection (a) or (b) of this section shall not be held to make unlawful the enforcement or attempted enforcement, by means lawfully employed, of any contract right heretofore or hereafter existing or of any legal obligation heretofore or hereafter incurred or assumed. (d) Whoever willfully violates any provision of subsection (a) or (b) of this section shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment for not more than one year or by a fine not more than $1,000, or both.

(e) As used in this section the term "licensee" includes the owner or owners, and the person or persons having control or management of the radio station in respect of which a station license was granted.

beyond an identification which is reasonably related to the use of such service or property in such broadcast or such program.

(g) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall, for each such violation, be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.236

PROHIBITED PRACTICES IN CASE OF CONTESTS OF INTELLECTUAL
KNOWLEDGE, INTELLECTUAL SKILL, OR CHANCE

SEC. 508.237 [47 U.S.C. 509] (a) It shall be unlawful for any person, with intent to deceive the listening or viewing public—

(1) To supply to any contestant in a purportedly bona fide contest of intellectual knowledge or intellectual skill any special and secret assistance whereby the outcome of such contest will be in whole or in part prearranged or predetermined.

(2) By means of persuasion, bribery, intimidation, or otherwise, to induce or cause any contestant in a purportedly bona fide contest of intellectual knowledge or intellectual skill to refrain in any manner from using or displaying his knowledge or skill in such contest, whereby the outcome thereof will be in whole or in part prearranged or predetermined.

(3) To engage in any artifice or scheme for the purpose of prearranging or predetermining in whole or in part the outcome of a purportedly bona fide contest of intellectual knowledge, intellectual skill, or chance.

(4) To produce or participate in the production for broadcasting of, to broadcast or participate in the broadcasting of, to offer to a licensee for broadcasting, or to sponsor, any radio program, knowing or having reasonable ground for believing that, in connection with a purportedly bona fide contest of intellectual knowledge, intellectual skill, or chance constituting any part of such program, any person has done or is going to do any act or thing referred to in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection.

(5) To conspire with any other person or persons to do any act or thing prohibited by paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4) of this subsection, if one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of such conspiracy.

(b) For the purpose of this section

(1) The term "contest" means any contest broadcast by a radio station in connection with which any money or any other thing of value is offered as a prize or prizes to be paid or presented by the program sponsor or by any other person or persons, as announced in the course of the broadcast.

(2) The term "the listening or viewing public" means those members of the public who, with the aid of radio receiving sets, listen to or view programs broadcast by radio stations. (c) Whoever violates subsection (a) shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. [Sec. 509] 237

236 This section was added by Public Law 86-752, approved September 13, 1960, 74 Stat. 889. 237 Section 508 was formerly numbered section 509. It was redesignated as section 508 by Public Law 96-507, 94 Stat. 2747, Dec. 8, 1980. See also note 235.

This section (formerly section 509) was added by Public Law 86-752, 74 Stat. 889, Sept. 13,

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