Intellectual Property Law

A new and controversial bill introduced in the U.S. Senate would require satellite radio companies to pay fair market value for the performance of digital music and would require them to use readily available technical means to prevent music copying.   S. 2644, dubbed the ?Platform Equality and Remedies for Rights Holders In Music Act?, has bipartisan support  -- it was introduced by majority leader Bill Frist and California Senator Dianne Feinstein, among others.

Supporters of the bill, which include music publishing and recording organizations, argue that the bill is needed to ensure that satellite music services play by the same licensing rules as other market segments, such as internet music services.  The primarily concern appears to be that while satellite music services currently take advantage of the statutory license system (a license for performance, not distribution), they are increasingly poised to move towards a download/subscription model.  This would potentially allow subscribers to conduct automated digital recording of cherry-picked songs, and to library those songs in their personal collections ? without having to pay for the same kind of license the music industry requires for the actual distribution of musical content.

Detractors of the bill, which include some consumer and advocacy groups, argue that the provisions in the bill requiring use of ?technology that is reasonably available, technologically feasible, and economically reasonable to prevent the making of copies? will disrupt the streaming formats currently in use by many webcasters, mandate the inclusion of cumbersome Digital Rights Management technologies into streaming media, and unfairly rollback the digital consumer?s playback rights to the more limited ones that were available (because of technology limitations) with the analog cassette decks of the 1970s.

Given the controversy already surrounding this bill, we think it is fair to predict that whichever way the Senate decides on this bill, it is likely to be music to someone?s ears.   We?ll keep you posted.

Today's Blogger: Eric W. Bass