PREPARED STATEMENT OF BOB C. MAYER, GENERAL MANAGER, TULSA CONVENTION CENTER, TULSA, OK

Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee:

1. INTRODUCTION

Good Morning. My name is Bob C. Mayer. I am the General Manager of the Tulsa Convention Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is municipally owned and operated by the City of Tulsa. Our facility includes a 9,000 seat sports and entertainment arena, a 100,000 square foot exhibit hall, a 20,000 square foot conference hall, a ballroom, and fourteen meeting rooms. Our facility has hosted a variety of events from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, to wedding receptions, banquets, hockey games, basketball games, and major national conventions such as the National Governors' Association Annual Meeting which was held in Tulsa last summer.

I have been associated with the public assembly facility management industry for the past twenty-years in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. In addition, I am t!: Immediate Past President of the International Association of Auditorium Managers (IAAM), which represents over 1,250 public assembly facility managers throughout the United States. My testimony today is on behalf of the City of Tulsa but also represents the feelings of many of my colleagues in the industry.

Mr. Chairman, before I begin, and on behalf of Mayor Susan Savage and the City of Tulsa, I would like to thank you and the other Subcommittee members for examining the impact of the Federal Copyright Act of 1976 upon state and local authorities and for this opportunity to testify regarding the effect of such Copyright Legislation on public assembly facilities in the United States. Because we play an important and unique role within our respective local communities, it is important that

Congress understands how current Copyright Legislation impacts the operations of our industry and the people we serve back home.

To be concise, we feel that existing Copyright Legislation makes public assembly facility managers and their state or local governmental employers potential defendants in copyright infringement cases due to the legal concept of vicarious liability. As you know, vicarious liability is the imposition of liability on parties who have done no wrong, but who are perceived as being tangentially responsible for a wrongful act. The Federal Copyright Act provides authors and composers with fundamental protection against copyright infringement and we as an organization and an industry are not opposed to such protection. In fact, it is vital for authors and composers to be well compensated for their works if our society is to benefit from the diversity of entertainment we all enjoy. It is our belief, however, that those who promote, perform, and cause recorded music to be played during an event should bare sole responsibility for payment of copyright license fees, unless the public assembly facility is, indeed the promoter or co-promoter of the

event.

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To explain that belief, my testimony will first examine the nature of the public assembly facility management industry the public we serve, the events we house, and types of facilities we use. I will then explain why we are of the opinion that current Copyright Legislation places an undue burden on public assembly facility managers and the communities we serve. Finally, it must be noted that many of the examples used in my testimony are drawn upon my own experiences. However, based on my considerable experience in the industry and numerous conversations with my colleagues, I can assure you that the principles and problems are applicable to similar publicly owned public assembly facilities in other cities and states.

II. THE NATURE OF THE PUBLIC ASSEMBLY FACILITY MANAGEMENT

INDUSTRY

A. In General

In the United States, virtually every city has at least one public assembly facility which, for the purposes of this discussion, is defined as an arena, a stadium, an auditorium, a performing arts theatre, an exhibition hall, a conference center and other similar facilities where the public might gather. There are over 1,250 such facilities located throughout the country. Seating capacities for such venues can range from less than 100 to over 100,000.

During a given year, these facilities serve their respective communities at large by providing a forum for business and political conventions, trade shows, and professional examinations. In addition, they house a wide variety of entertainment and sporting events, which appeal to almost every age group and social stratum. These events include: professional and amateur sporting events; jazz, classical, rock, and country music concerts; and such forms of family entertainment as circuses, fairs, plays, musicals, and novelty acts like the Harlem Globetrotters.

B. Public Assembly Use

Management of public assembly facilities is complex and challenging. Because of varying rules, regulations, policies and local ordinances, some such facilities are able to fully promote or co-promote events in their communities. Managers of public assembly facilities who can promote or co-promote events should not be exempt from compliance with Copyright Legislation. since, by the very nature of promotion, they share in the profits (and occasionally losses) of the production.

Others facility managers are restricted to renting the facilities to outside promoters and event organizers and providing, for a fee, related services to make the

outcome of the event presentation as successful as possible. Public assembly facility rental arrangements in this instance will range from a flat rental fee to a minimum rental guarantee plus a percentage of any ticket sales. In either case the facility and the state, county, or local owners and operators of the facility do not participate in the risk of presenting the event. It is this type of rental arrangement and facility operation which should be exempt from the doctrine of vicarious liability as it relates to existing Copyright Legislation.

C. Event Types

As was explained earlier, the nature of public assembly facilities is such that an incredible variety of events take place in them. Most professional promoters, performers, sporting organizations and meeting managers realize the importance of paying copyright license fees and pay such as a standard practice. Other event presenters either do not realize their responsibility under Copyright Legislation or do not feel that it is important enough for them to bother with, in spite of attempts by public assembly facility managers to remind them of their obligations. Examples of these types of event presenters include individuals planning a wedding reception; civic organizations planning a dinner and dance; or non-profit associations setting the stage for a "fund raiser." The events may or may not contain any copyrighted music. Typically the public assembly facility manager would not know because he/she is not involved in every facet and detail of each event presented in the facility. For example, if an individual signs an agreement to hold a wedding reception it is unlikely that the facility manager will know whether or not any music is being played at all, let alone which specific tunes are being presented.

In most cases, public assembly facilities in concert with attorneys in the local jurisdictions, will have provided for appropriate contractual language assuring that all copyrighted music will be played with the permission of the copyright owner, that they will pay all obligations under the copyright license, and that they will hold harmless and indemnify the facility and its employees. Unfortunately, in spite of the best efforts of the public assembly facility manager to inform the event organizer of their responsibilities

under the Copyright Law, he/she and the state or local authority could still be at risk of copyright infringement liability.

III. CONCLUSION

Mr. Chairman, we feel that a provision should be considered by the Intellectual Property and Judicial Administration Subcommittee that would overturn the doctrine of vicarious liability under the current Copyright Legislation specifically for publicly owned public assembly facilities. Further, it would be appropriate to include a proviso which would only exempt publicly owned public assembly facilities if they informed their tenants that they, indeed, have certain responsibilities in accordance with the Federal Copyright Act of 1976.

We are pleased that this Subcommittee is examining the effects of the Federal Copyright Act of 1976 on states, counties, and municipalities and hope that the insight presented by this testimony will be helpful to your deliberations.

Mr. Chairman, on behalf of the City of Tulsa, Oklahoma and my colleagues who manage public assembly facilities, it has been a pleasure to testify before you today. Once again, thank you for this opportunity to bring to light some of our concern relative to current Copyright Legislation. I would be happy to answer any questions that you or the other Subcommittee members might have regarding this issue.