There was considerable debate last year over new royalties being put in place in the US over web radio such as the idea of the royalty hike which would force many stations offline. It seemed all hope was lost until yesterday when a company called Royalty Logic filed a motion in a Washington Appeals court to rule the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) unconstitutional.
There was some considerable debate over rules being put in place for radio last year. Many say that the per song license fees, among other things, would force many US web radio stations offline. Another controversial aspect was the idea that royalties would have to be payed, even if the artists being played was not a member of SoundExchange and actually gave permission to air their music.
Now, Billboard Magazine is reporting that Royalty Logic is challenging the constitutionality of the CRB. Royalty Logic was a part of the net radio rate trials wanting authority to compete with SoundExchange. The Copyright Royalty Board denied Royalty Logic.
The report continues:
The deadline for filing legal briefs with the Appeals Court has passed. Therefore, Royalty Logic is asking the court to permit the filing of additional arguments for consideration.
If permitted to file the brief, Royalty Logic will argue that the law creating the CRB violates the appointments clause of the U.S. Constitution. In other words, Congress improperly permitted the Librarian of Congress, which controls the Copyright Office, to appoint the three Copyright Royalty Judges.
If a court held that the law is unconstitutional, it is conceivable that decisions made by the CRB would be null and void.
Royalty Logic is a private copyright management organization, founded and managed by experienced industry professionals and authorized by the Librarian of Congress to negotiate, license, collect and distribute royalties generated from the digital delivery of sound recordings.
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