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
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
An Enhanced Version of CPNI — But Will the New Administration “Undo” The New Rules? Attentive readers of this Blog know that in October, the FCC adopted new rules primarily designed to enhance the privacy and data security requirements imposed on providers of Broadband Internet Access Service (“BIAS”). Some of the new rules have been … 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
We previously informed you about the Radio Music License Committee’s (RMLC) antitrust lawsuit filed against the “fourth” performing rights organization (“PRO”), Global Music Rights (“GMR”) for engaging in anticompetitive conduct designed to drive up music licensing prices. Now, GMR has filed an antitrust lawsuit of its own in a different federal court against the RMLC. … Continue Reading
A recent D.C. Circuit Court decision may significantly impact the access charges billed by over-the-top VoIP carriers. In 2015 the Commission issued a declaratory ruling (In re Connect America Fund, 30 FCC Rcd. 1587 (2015) regarding the classification of end office local switching when internet service providers (“ISPs”) collaborate with over-the-top VoIP providers to complete interexchange … 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
A Hotly Contested Proceeding Expands the Commission’s Regulatory Authority, But Will Likely End Up in Court After a massive Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, extensive and contentious advocacy from all sides, and public revision of its own proposals, the FCC has just approved an Order enacting rules that impose a wide range of new regulations on Internet … 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
$202k fine reduced to $40k … but there’s a catch. Three years ago – doesn’t the time just fly? – we told you about Towerstream, a wireless Internet service provider (WISP) whose transmitters had caused interference to airport weather radars. The FCC proposed a fine of $202,000, apparently in keeping with its rumored policy of … Continue Reading
Despite what your Cloud provider may suggest, there’s room for you to negotiate – and plenty of reasons to do so. Have you been thinking about moving some, maybe all, of your services or data to the Cloud? The push to get you to do just that is on, spurred by Amazon, Google and various … Continue Reading
With the voice of experience, the FCC’s sister Commission provides support, criticism. As we alerted you a couple of months ago, the FCC is in the process of crafting rules intended to protect the private/propriety information (PI) of those of us accessing the Internet through Internet Service Providers (ISPs). If eventually adopted, the rules would … Continue Reading
We suspect that a lot of our readers have been anxiously awaiting the D.C. Circuit’s latest decision in the Net Neutrality proceeding. Here it is, just released. We here in the CommLawBlog bunker haven’t yet had a chance to review and digest the 115-page majority opinion (co-authored by Judges David Tatel and Sri Srinivasan), much … Continue Reading
In petitions for reconsideration, wireless Internet service providers and car manufacturers go head to head over out-of-band emissions limits. This was supposed to be a simple rule fix. Why are we still talking about it? An unlicensed band at 5.8 GHz is heavily used for Wi-Fi, among other things. It is a particular favorite of … Continue Reading
Investigation of BDS tariff provisions, further data analysis lead to new standards and a proposed new regulatory regime The market for special access service – also known by some (including the FCC) as “business data services” or “BDS” – is under the Commission’s regulatory microscope. In a sprawling, two-pronged decision, the FCC has (a) ordered … 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
We recently reported on the Commission’s decision to impose numerous additional obligations upon rate-of-return regulated incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs), while leaving many rural ILECs with the same or even less compensation to satisfy the significant broadband build-out expenditures mandated by the new regulations. The FCC’s Report and Order, Order and Order on Reconsideration in … Continue Reading
Massive proposal would impose new limits, obligations on ISP use of private/proprietary customer data. Continuing its advance into the realm of privacy regulation, the FCC has proposed extensive rules that, if adopted, would impose a wide range of new regulations on Internet service providers (ISPs) in their provision of broadband Internet access service (BIAS). According … Continue Reading
Cost support for ILECs goes down while network obligations go up On March 30, 2016, the FCC released a Report and Order, Order and Order on Reconsideration, and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, imposing numerous additional obligations upon rate-of-return regulated incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs), while leaving many rural ILECs with the same or even … Continue Reading
New services promise exceptional performance. Just not everywhere. And not soon. After the successes of 3G and 4G mobile services, something called 5G was inevitable. It’s still a ways off, but the outlines are taking shape. The hallmark of 5G mobile service will be blindingly fast data speeds, possibly in the gigabit-per-second range, faster than … Continue Reading
The Internet’s stunning growth, from its beginnings through maturity in 2005, relied on common carrier rules. (Blogmeister’s note: Even more than usual, this post reflects the views of its author and not necessarily those of Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, its other lawyers, or its clients.) The FCC’s latest effort at net neutrality rules is a … Continue Reading
Temporary moratorium in place since 1998 now permanent. For nearly 20 years most of you have been free from state and local taxes on your Internet access – and also from multiple or discriminatory state/local taxes on e-commerce. You’ve got Congress to thank for that. You may not have realized, however, that that freedom has … Continue Reading
It’s that time of year again – time for our annual reminder to most (but not necessarily all) telecommunications carriers and interconnected VoIP providers that your CPNI certifications are due by March 1, 2016. As described by the Enforcement Bureau, CPNI – Customer Proprietary Network Information to the uninitiated – includes “some of the most … 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
