In November, New York judge Colleen McMahon ruled against Sirius XM’s request for summary dismissal of a lawsuit filed by The Turtles that seeks $100 million in royalties from the satellite radio company. This week, she reaffirmed that ruling, rejecting Sirius XM’s arguments that Flo & Eddie did not own copyrights for recordings by The Turtles made before Feb. 15, 1972, which are not protected by federal law. Continue Reading
Pandora has entered the ring to defend itself against the lawsuit filed by the Turtles, which seeks royalty payments for songs dating to before 1972. The online radio company filed a response in California, claiming that the lawsuit infringes its freedom of speech and asking that the court block the band’s demands. Continue Reading
U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez has denied Sirius XM’s motion to start an immediate appeal for his summary judgment in favor of members of The Turtles, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He refused the immediate appeal on claims that it would delay instead of advance the end of the lawsuit. Continue Reading
A New York judge ruled against Sirius XM’s motion for a summary judgment in a lawsuit filed by the Turtles. The band is seeking $100 million in damages for the satellite radio’s playing its songs from before 1972, when federal copyright laws took effect. It is the latest in a series of state court decisions that challenge a loophole in federal music licensing regulations. Continue Reading
The judicial trend in cases about the copyright pre-1972 recordings has swung decidedly in the favor of artists. In August, Judge Mary Strobel issued a tentative ruling in support of Sirius XM in its legal defense against major record labels. However, on Tuesday she ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, securing compensation for the labels for the public performance of pre-1972 recordings. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the Internet: Prince criticizes U2; do lawsuits for pre-1972 royalties threaten digital music?; Spotify’s semi-secret info sessions; what’s up at The Echo Nest. Continue Reading
Yesterday major record companies Sony, Universal, and Warner, along with smaller group ABKCO, filed copyright suit against satellite radio operator SiriusXM, alleging unauthorized use of pre-1972 sound recordings. Late last month SoundExchange, the record industry administrator of digital sound recording… Continue Reading