U.S. District Judge PHILIP GUTIERREZ has ruled that SIRIUSXM RADIO must pay copyright fees for pre-1972 recordings. The ruling granted summary judgment in the case brought by THE TURTLES — MARK VOLMAN and HOWARD KAYLAN, suing as FLO AND EDDIE INC. — alleging that the satellite service’s playing of their pre-1972 music violated CALIFORNIA state laws.

The dispute could extend to all digital music services; PANDORA is a defendant in a similar suit.

The suit hinged on the idea that state laws cover pre-1972 recordings, which are explicitly not covered under federal copyright law. The court noted that CALIFORNIA law applies and a specific statute, section 980(a)(2) of the state Civil Code, extends protection to authors of works made prior to FEBRUARY 15th, 1972 through FEBRUARY 15th, 2047. And the ruling suggests that the copyright owner of pre-1972 recordings has the exclusive rights to publicly perform or use the recording.

The court denied summary judgment on the plaintiff’s claims that the reproduction of the music through digital copying constituted another violation.

– See more at: All Access News

U.S. Magistrate Judge JOEL C. HOPPE has recommended that a VIRGINIA district court dismiss VERSTANDIG BROADCASTING’s suit against SOUNDEXCHANGE that sought declaratory judgment for its assertion that the 150-mile exemption to the Copyright Act allowing broadcast AM/FM stations not to have to pay royalties to copyright owners of sound recordings should apply to “geo-fenced” Internet streams that do not extend beyond 150 miles as well.

HOPPE’s 27-page advisory ruling, which can be accepted or rejected by the district court, said that “the purely voluntary cost of setting up a geo-fenced simulcast is not a cognizable injury, much less one fairly traceable to SOUNDEXCHANGE’s interpretation of sections 112 and 114” of the law. VERSTANDIG’s “unwillingness to forge ahead” with the geofencing project absent assurances from SOUNDEXCHANGE that it would be exempt from royalty payments, the judge said, was not shown to have been “effectively coerced.”

He also noted that SOUNDEXCHANGE itself holds no copyrights and that VERSTANDIG did not allege facts from which the court can reasonably infer that SOUNDEXCHANGE caused its uncertainty over the rules as opposed to individual copyright holders, who could also separately enforce their copyrights against the plaintiff.

– See more at: All Access News

ASCAP, BMI, SONY/ATV MUSIC PUBLISHING and UNIVERSAL MUSIC PUBLISHING GROUP have all received CIDs (Civil Investigative Demand For Documents) from THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, according to the WALL STREET JOURNAL.

The DOJ is seeking materials related to a wide range of licensing issues, possible pricing coordination among music publishing companies, including the two publishers’ efforts to withdraw their rights from ASCAP and BMI’s licensing agreements with PANDORA MEDIA INC.

Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge DENISE COTE, in a ruling on the matter, wrote on page 95 in her rate-setting decision that “SONY and UNIVERSAL had coordinated with ASCAP to drive PANDORA’s licensing rates higher by withdrawing their digital rights from ASCAP and striking their own, direct deals with PANDORA in 2012 at higher rates, thereby creating a higher ‘benchmark’ for ASCAP’s license.”

In a statement, ASCAP said: “We welcome the DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE’s investigation into the music licensing marketplace, and we are cooperating fully with DOJ staff to make sure they have the information they need.”

Meanwhile, THE TENNESSEAN reports that SONY/ATV CHAIRMAN & CEO MARTIN BANDIER wrote a letter to songwriters and publisher saying, that SONY/ATV “will explore withdrawing all of its licensing rights [from the two performing rights organizations] if federal regulators don’t allow for the partial withdrawal of its digital rights.”

Back on JUNE 5th, SONY/ATV and UNIVERSAL had already tried and failed to reclaim their digital catalog rights and were rejected by the special Federal Rate Court.

BANDIER also indicated that the consent decree review by the DOJ “is positive because it shows that the DOJ is taking seriously the concept of modifying the consent decreed. Hopefully, by the end of the year, we can have something positive, a modified consent decree, so we won’t have to withdraw.”

Read more on this by clicking the following link: DOJ Investigates Major Music Publishing Companies

A federal judge has dismissed Insane Clown Posse’s lawsuit against the FBI and the Justice Department, allowing the agencies to continue classifying the group’s fans, called Juggalos, as a “gang.” According to the Associated Press‘s Tuesday report, U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland ruled last week that because a 2011 FBI report on gangs is “descriptive,” and not ” prescriptive,” it doesn’t break any laws. The group intends to appeal the decision.

Insane Clown Posse’s suit was supported by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan. It claimed that the FBI report’s classification of Juggalos as a “loosely organized hybrid gang” was “unwarranted and unlawful,” and prompted local law enforcement officials to harass fans wearing jewelry or other symbols of the group. The ACLU of Michigan’s legal director Michael J. Steinberg said this in a statement about the decision:

“The only way to remedy this injustice for all innocent Juggalos is to start with the root of the problem – the FBI’s arbitrary and erroneous branding of hundreds of thousands of music fans as gang members. There is no doubt that the FBI created this problem and the solution begins there as well. Otherwise, we’ll be playing whack-o-mole to stop local law enforcement agencies from discriminating against our clients, when the agencies are just following the FBI’s lead.”

As the AP noted, the classification doesn’t show up anywhere in the FBI’s most recent report on gangs, however, the 2011 report is still used by local law enforcement agencies. The report details criminal activity by some self-identified Juggalos, but even the FBI’s assessment is based on the criminal activity of a small minority of participants in ICP’s fan base.

Juggalos — usually pictured wearing makeup similar to that of the ICP duo themselves — are probably best-known for their antics during the annual “gathering of the juggalos” festivals. The next one is in a couple of weeks.

Read more of this story on: The Wire