On March 2, 2020, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (“VCDPA”) into law, making Virginia only the second state to enact such comprehensive data protection legislation (after California). The law itself becomes effective on January 1, 2023 and will be codified at Virginia Code §59.1-571. The VCDPA applies to all … Continue Reading
The January 31, 2022 deadline for filing your annual minimum fee and related statement of account with SoundExchange under the webcasting statutory licenses under 17 U.S.C. § 112 and 114 allowing radio broadcasters and others to stream sound recordings (the “statutory licenses”) is just around the corner. The easiest way to pay this fee is to … Continue Reading
It’s that time of year again when the biggest event in professional football triggers all sorts of questions from broadcasters and advertisers about how that event may be mentioned in broadcast programming. You guessed it: I’m talking about the Super Bowl. Most people have undoubtedly heard the Super Bowl referred to as “the Big Game” … Continue Reading
The uncertainty regarding the rates that commercial radio broadcasters will pay to play music in the repertory of SESAC, Inc. (SESAC) is over. Following extensive negotiations, the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC) and SESAC reached a new agreement extending the rates and terms of their existing music license agreement for commercial radio stations. That comes … Continue Reading
Commercial radio stations represented by the Radio Music License Committee (“RMLC”) should take note of yet another extension – through March 31, 2020 – of the interim license allowing those stations to play music in the repertory of Global Music Rights (“GMR”) while the RMLC and GMR continue to duke out their music licensing differences … Continue Reading
Let’s get this out of the way: this blog post is going to include an unseemly, in my mind, profane, even obscene, term. I’m just going to put it out there up front, even though I think it’s one of the worst things you can say. And no, the First Amendment doesn’t protect it. It’s … Continue Reading
Remember our April 4, 2019 “CALLING ALL OLDIES STATIONS!” post that alerted you to a simple form you could file to receive certain protections from potentially crippling infringement awards for unauthorized uses of sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972 (aka “pre-72 recordings”)? That post created quite a stir. In fact, we were flooded with … Continue Reading
One of the most famous movie franchises ever is the “Rocky” series. From its origin as an underdog story where an unknown fighter named Rocky Balboa shocks the world by taking heavyweight champion Apollo Creed the distance (spoiler alert: only to lose the fight but get the girl) through sequels II (Rocky Wins!), III (Mr. … Continue Reading
This is the promised follow up to our December 14, 2018 post regarding the compliance obligations for 2019 under the statutory licenses found in Sections 112 and 114 of the Copyright Act (the “statutory licenses”) allowing webcasters to make public performances sound recordings via digital audio transmission and to make related temporary copies of those … Continue Reading
The matchup for the National Football League’s championship game, aka the “Super Bowl”, is set. The Los Angeles Rams will face the New England Patriots on Sunday, February 3 in Atlanta in a game that will be hard pressed to exceed either conference championship game in terms of excitement or controversy. Each of the NFC Championship, … Continue Reading
We usually publish our “Webcaster Wake Up Call!” post each January. This post reminds webcasting services of their compliance obligations for the upcoming year under the statutory licenses found in Sections 112 and 114 of the Copyright Act (the “statutory licenses”) allowing them to publicly perform sound recordings via digital audio transmission. Part of the … Continue Reading
If you read the first part of this two-part post on some bizarre copyright decisions emanating from federal courts in 2018, you know I left you with a cliffhanger. Copyright law was seemingly turned on its head when a federal court judge in New York declared that embedding tweets with photos could be considered direct … Continue Reading
[Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part episode on three copyright decisions issued by federal courts in 2018 that relate to the use of photos in news reporting; the second part will be posted next week.] Picture for a moment a man. Not an ordinary man by any stretch. This man is Tom … Continue Reading
We have been following the ongoing saga that is the dispute-turned-litigation between the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC) and Global Music Rights (GMR) since late 2016, providing several updates along the way. What started as an impasse between a main representative of commercial radio stations in the country on music licensing issues (the RMLC) and … Continue Reading
If you are a commercial radio station that authorized the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC) to represent you in negotiations and litigation against SESAC, then you need to act quickly to receive the full fruits of the RMLC’s labor. Unless you return an executed copy of the RMLC-SESAC radio license to SESAC by March 26, … Continue Reading
Over the past 14 months, we’ve kept our readers updated on the music licensing fight between the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC) and Global Music Rights (GMR). This, of course, started when the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement on the terms of a license that would allow the commercial radio stations represented by the … Continue Reading
Three weeks into 2018, we’ll confess to still writing “2017” on the occasional check. Admit it: you probably have too (we can’t be the ONLY ones still writing checks every now and again). Webcasters complying with the statutory licenses found in Sections 112 and 114 of the Copyright Act – which permit them to webcast … Continue Reading
Attention, noncommercial educational (NCE, a/k/a “public”) broadcasters! If you have been wondering how much you’ll have to pay to broadcast musical compositions this year (and beyond), wonder no more. The rates for 2018 through 2022 were published in the Federal Register on January 19. For those new to the issue, these rates have been administered … Continue Reading
While many outside the nation’s capital were engrossed in this weekend’s football games, those inside the beltway were engrossed in their own local sport: politics (especially because D.C.’s team – who shall remain nameless even as that name may be trademarked – hasn’t played for the Lombardi trophy in 26 years). Specifically, “Shutdown” was THE … Continue Reading
It was around this time last year that one of the most closely watched fights in music licensing history – if not copyright generally – went to the next level as the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC) sued Global Music Rights (GMR). The RMLC lawsuit alleges that Irving Azoff-founded newest Performing Rights Organization (PRO), was … Continue Reading
At CommLawBlog, we follow domain name issues closely. Unlike lightning, we find two recurring problems striking regularly. These problematic issues are: the failure to renew domain names and a continuing tendency to register valuable domain names in someone else’s name. While both may seem innocuous, they can cause major problems down the line. Let’s took … Continue Reading
Florida Finds No Public Performance Right in Pre-1972 Sound Recordings If you have been following the ongoing saga regarding the attempts of pre-1972 (aka “oldies”) sound recording owners to collect royalties when those recordings are performed, you will know that some recent key court rulings have been issued near major holidays. For example, New … Continue Reading
Now until Oct. 31, 2017, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is offering a “Special Limited Registration Period” – a pre-launch opportunity for the registration of .RADIO domain names by radio broadcasters, radio professional, radio amateurs, Internet radios, and radio-related companies. Call letters, corporate names, on-air personality names, and even slogans can all be registered as … Continue Reading
