Mechanical licensing issues come back to haunt Spotify — despite the Music Modernization Act’s pending passage. A federal court in Tennessee has denied Spotify’s bid to dismiss a massive copyright infringement lawsuit. The company had sought to …
Category archives: Copyright
EU Article 13: The Law Of Unintended Consequences
The European Parliament has passed Article 13,. The controversial copyright directive will force Google, YouTube, Facebook and others to do much more to stop the spread of copyrighted material on their platforms. But according to MIDiA’s Mark Mulligan, the legislation has some important unintended consequences. ____________________________ By Mark Mulligan of…
Led Zeppelin Must Face a New Trial as Stairway to Heaven Verdict Gets Tossed
On the group’s 50th anniversary, Led Zeppelin has just received an unexpected surprise – a forced retrial. A U.S. Court of Appeals has just forced Led Zeppelin to face a new trial over its hit song, ‘Stairway to Heaven.’ The 9th Circuit Court of Appeal…
Understanding The Music Modernization Act: Highlights And Benefits For Artists, Songwriters
A massive piece of legislation, the Music Modernization Act has, at long last, finally passed through both the House and the Senate. Here entertainment industry lawyer Wallace Collins looks at what some of highlights and benefits will be for artists and songwriters as the the bill takes effect. ________________________________ By…
Court Rules Against SoundExchange In CRB Rate Dispute
On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the Copyright Royalty Board rate determination for non-interactive web streams for the period of 2016-2020. In 2015, the CRB established rates of $0.0017 per song play from ad-supported services, up from $0.0014 in the prior period. The CRB…
Exclusive: U.S. Court of Appeals Upholds Webcaster Royalty Rates for 2016-2020
The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. has just issued its determinations for webcaster royalty rates for 2016-2020. Yes, there’s something else going on in Washington this week. Today (September 18th), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Di…
Breaking: Russian Search Giant Yandex Relents to Piracy Takedown Demands
Russian search giant Yandex caved in the 11th hour to demands from top Russian broadcasters. Major Russian copyright holders filed a copyright infringement complaint on August 24th, alleging that the search indexer was not doing enough to keep pirated …
The Supreme Court Formally Asked to Review the DMCA — By a Porn Company
Why hasn’t the Supreme Court reviewed the Constitutional legality of the DMCA? That’s a complex question, though numerous entertainment industries would certainly invite the process. That includes the adult entertainment industry, whose bu…
BMG Wins a ‘Substantial Settlement’ Against Cox Communications Over Copyright Infringement Claims
After years of litigation, publishing and music rights heavyweight BMG has just scored a ‘substantial settlement’ against ISP Cox Communications. The following is a developing story; please check back for ongoing updates throughout the day …
You Can’t ‘Remaster’ a Brand-New Copyright, U.S. Court of Appeals Rules
Remastered oldies sound better. But they’re ultimately technical improvements that don’t constitute a brand-new copyright, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals just ruled. The complexity of U.S. Copyright Law is now becoming outright absurd, e…