(Our Annual Reminder to be careful how you use “Super Bowl”® and other NFL trademarks) If I had my way, I’d probably never write on this topic again. Every year I rack my brain for a hook to help re-remind readers about the dangers of using the term “Super Bowl”® – and any “Super Bowl”®-related … Continue Reading
SoundExchange reports, payments due soon On February 2nd the groundhog best known as “Punxsutawney Phil” will be plucked from the comfort of his underground lair and ceremoniously asked to “predict” the end of winter. Of course, this tradition was memorably portrayed in the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day” in which Bill Murray’s Phil Connors relives a … Continue Reading
(Stations Fearing a Difficult Choice Before January 1 now have until January 31 to opt in to an interim license agreement and continue playing GMR songs through September.) If you are a radio station, especially a commercial radio station primarily playing music, you are probably aware of the dueling lawsuits filed by the Radio Music … Continue Reading
In what comes as an early Christmas gift for those who play “oldies” music – think Sirius XM Radio, radio broadcasters, and webcasters – and coal in the stockings of the owners of those recordings, New York’s highest state court ruled today that New York does not recognize a public performance right in sound recordings. … Continue Reading
Copyright Royalty Judges Reinstate Reporting Relief for Most Noncommercial Broadcasters You may recall that in August 2016, we reported that the Copyright Royalty Judges had proposed to modify the rules governing how noncommercial broadcasters are supposed to report the sound recordings that they stream to SoundExchange. That proposal was published at the urging of the … Continue Reading
(Notice of Inquiry latest opportunity to weigh in on the future of the DMCA Safe Harbor) “I was dreamin’ when I wrote this, so sue me if I go too fast…” Those are lyrics from the dearly beloved and extremely talented musician Prince’s epic 1982 hit “1999” from the album of the same name. He … Continue Reading
On October 26, 2016, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) announced agreements it had reached with two major record labels that relieve radio broadcasters from certain compliance conditions associated with the sound recording streaming statutory license that are inconsistent with traditional broadcasting practices. They do not, however, alter radio broadcasters’ royalty payment obligations under the … Continue Reading
Completing a process which began one year and one week earlier, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a final rule in the Federal Register on October 21, 2016 which will change the fees for forty-two different trademark filings. The upshot is that anyone in the very small universe of people who still … Continue Reading
By agreeing to hear “The Slants” case, Court may decide whether USPTO can cancel “Redskins” trademark registrations. [Blogmeister’s Note: To say our blogger, Kevin “The Swami” Goldberg, is opinionated is something of an understatement. One particular bug up his butt: the NFL team which is titularly Washington, D.C.’s, even though it practices in Virginia and … Continue Reading
News Editors’ website highlights post addressing permissible media use of “user-generated” photo/video content obtained from social media and other Internet sources. I’m fortunate to represent a number of press-related trade associations. As part of my work for them, I provide a “Legal Hotline” service through which association members get to ask me questions without incurring massive … Continue Reading
BMI strategy begins to pay dividends. You may recall our report last August that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) had closed a two-year inquiry into the ASCAP and BMI Consent Decrees by determining that no changes to the Decrees were necessary. DOJ also weighed in on a particularly controversial issue – the licensing of … Continue Reading
Proposed change would include noncommercial broadcasters among “Eligible Minimum Fee Webcasters.” It looks like noncommercial broadcasters who stream may be in for a little more clarity in their reporting responsibilities. The Copyright Royalty Judges (we’ll call them “Judges” here) have proposed to modify the rules governing how those broadcasters are supposed to report the sound … Continue Reading
Siding with music users, DOJ concludes that Decrees call for “full-work” – rather than “fractional” – music licensing; ASCAP and BMI head to court and Congress. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has formally closed its two-year-long review of the decades-old ASCAP and BMI Consent Decrees. Those Decrees mandate federal court oversight of the rates … Continue Reading
D.C. Circuit reverses longstanding – if illogical – policy of many agencies. The federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and its state equivalents remain a useful tool for anyone wishing to keep an eye on our governments’ activities. FOIA requests have led to the exposure of waste, fraud and abuse in government programs. Such revelations, … Continue Reading
A week or two ago we introduced you to Karyn Ablin, a new arrival at FHH but an old-hand in a number of practice areas, including particularly copyright law. We should have held off on the welcoming post, because no sooner had we put it up but Karyn added yet another honor that we could … Continue Reading
Answer: Unclear, but it could be more often that you might think. In the ongoing litigation over whether recording artists are entitled to performance right royalties for the public performance of pre-February 15, 1972 recordings, we have a new wrinkle. A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has … Continue Reading
Back in December I reported on the Final Rule and Order adopted by the Copyright Royalty Board in its Webcasting IV proceeding (official name: “Determination of Royalty Rates and Terms for Ephemeral Recording and Webcasting Digital Performance of Sound Recordings”. And now, a mere four or five months after the CRB first announced its decision (which … Continue Reading
Same as it ever was: as they start in on the next five-year period with new rates and terms announced in Webcasting IV, webcasters must again attend to annual SoundExchange homework. It’s been a month since I wrote about Webcasting IV, the decision of the Copyright Royalty Board that set webcasting rates and terms for … Continue Reading
You’ve got until February 4 to ante up to participate in any or all of the three. A lot of attention has been devoted to the Webcasting IV decision which the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) announced on December 16, 2015 (and then promptly revised on December 24). (Don’t be embarrassed if you’re not up to … Continue Reading
Appeals court tosses “disparagement” bar against registration of “offensive” trademarks Last May, our colleague Kevin “the Swami” Goldberg called readers’ attention to an interesting case wending its way through the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. It involves the rejection, by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), of an application for federal … Continue Reading
Copyright Office inquiry may lead to changes in the law that give consumers greater freedom over their belongings. Most people think that buying a toaster, say, lets you do anything you want with it. That may be wrong. Copyright law may limit your rights even as to products you bought and paid for. Here’s why. … Continue Reading
Some uncertainties still need to be tied down, and “Small Broadcasters” may not be happy, but the new rates themselves are likely to please broadcasters If you’re a webcaster (or planning to be one between now and 2020), you’ll need to know that the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has at long last announced the webcasting … Continue Reading
But District Court decision could be key to a return to the Supreme Court for Aereo-related issues FilmOn X’s fortunes have taken a turn for the worse. But for FilmOn X, that might not be a totally bad thing. Longtime readers will be familiar with FilmOn X, the Aereo doppelganger. When Aereo burst on the … Continue Reading
Dueling letters from SESAC and RMLC offer distinct alternatives for radio stations in their dealings with SESAC As we reported several months ago, in July the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC) reached a settlement agreement with SESAC that resolved RMLC’s antitrust lawsuit against SESAC and brought some measure of certainty and stability to the license … Continue Reading
