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What Washington Has in Store for Broadcasters and Digital Media Companies in...

Last month, we wrote about the FCC issues facing broadcasters in 2015.  Today, we’ll look at decisions that may come in other venues that could affect broadcasters and media companies in the remaining...

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Beware of Music in Your Podcasts – SoundExchange, ASCAP, BMI and SESAC Don’t...

Last week, I listened in to presentation by RAIN News providing an excellent overview of the digital music industry (their Whitepaper setting out the findings reported during the presentation is...

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Copyright Office Issues its Report on Music Licensing – Issues Include...

The Copyright Office this past week released its Report following its study of music licensing in the US; a comprehensive report addressing a number of very controversial issues concerning music rights...

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FCC Extends Comment Dates in Proceeding Looking to Regulate Online Video...

The FCC yesterday released a public notice extending the comment dates in their proceeding to regulate Online (or “over-the-top”) Video, particularly Internet video providers who provide multiple...

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March Madness is a Trademarked Term – Use Caution in Using it in Advertising...

We are in March, which means that the minds of many turn to basketball, specifically March Madness as the NCAA hosts its annual championship tournament to crown college basketball’s national champion....

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Songwriter’s Equity Act Reintroduced – What Does It Propose?

The Songwriter’s Equity Act has once again been introduced in Congress (see our article about that Act when it was introduced in the last Congress). It proposes to make changes in provisions of the...

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Copyright Office Calls for Greater Independence – What Would that Mean?

Could the Copyright Office become an independent agency with rulemaking power? Congress is examining all phases of copyright law, as well as the functioning of the Copyright Office. In connection with...

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How Misunderstandings about Big Numbers Distort the Debate over Songwriter...

Press reports indicate that the Department of Justice is nearing the completion of its study of whether to suggest the revision of the antitrust consent decrees that have bound ASCAP and BMI for over a...

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Copyright Office Starts New Study on Enforcing Copyrights on Photos and Other...

We have written in the past about the concerns that broadcasters face about the unauthorized use of photos on station websites. Some broadcasters have had problems when they found that photos posted on...

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Copyright Royalty Board Begins Hearings on Webcasting Royalty Rates for...

The Copyright Royalty Board has begun the hearing phase of its proceeding to set the royalties to be paid by webcasters (or noninteractive digital music services) for public performances of sound...

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Understanding the Murky State of the Performance Right in Pre-1972 Sound...

It’s another summer with music copyright issues hitting the press almost every day. Over the next week or two, we will try to catch up on some of the legal issues raised by all the music news. First,...

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July Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – Quarterly Issues Programs Lists and...

Another month is upon us, with the typical list of FCC dates of importance – and some new issues (including incentive auction developments that will probably be a regular part of our news through a...

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Does a Local Business Need Licenses from ASCAP, BMI and SESAC to Play My...

Twice this morning, I was faced with the question of whether a business needs a license to play a radio or TV station on their premises, once in a story in one of the broadcast trade publications (see...

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FCC Asks for Comments on Petition for Rulemaking that Would Tie TV License...

The FCC issued a public notice seeking comment on a Petition for Rulemaking filed by cable operator Mediacom asking for the FCC to require TV stations, in their license renewal applications, to certify...

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Radio Music License Committee Settles Antitrust Suit Against SESAC – What...

Yesterday, it was announced that the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC) settled its lawsuit with SESAC (see the press release here, and the full agreement here), where the RMLC had charged that...

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House Judiciary Committee Begins Nationwide Listening Tour on Copyright...

The US House of Representatives has been looking at potential reform of the Copyright Act for some time, holding a number of hearings before the Committee here in Washington DC (see, for instance, our...

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Understanding Music Royalties – Congressional Research Service Releases...

The legal issues surrounding the use of music in broadcast and digital media is one of those topics that is usually enough to make eyes glaze over.  The importance of understanding these issues is...

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Dueling Letters about SESAC Radio Station Royalties – What’s A Station to Do?

This week, many radio stations received a letter from SESAC, asking the stations to renew their last SESAC agreement for three years at a rate 5% lower than the rate at which they are currently paying....

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November Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – Incentive Auction and Biennial...

November is another of those months with no regular filing obligations – no EEO public file and Mid-Term reports, no noncommercial ownership reports, and no quarterly issues programs lists or...

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Highlighting the Scope of Legal Issues that Can Arise in a Media Company’s...

What legal issues should a broadcaster be concerned about when expanding its use of digital media?  Two weeks ago, I did a presentation for the CBI National Student Electronic Media Conference on...

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