Copyright Law

New wrinkle in SONY v. Tenenbaum case: it appears that the Judicial Council of the 1st Cir has banned televising

By Ty Rogers and Ray Beckerman

In SONY BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum, Judge Gertner's decision allowing a hearing to be televised stated:

[T]he Judicial Conference approved a resolution in March 1996 ?to strongly urge each circuit judicial council to adopt? Conference policy banning cameras, and to ?abrogate any rules of court? that conflict with that policy. See 929 F. Supp. 660; News Release: Judicial Conference Acts on Cameras in Court, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Mar. 12, 1996 (document # 720-14). To date, no circuit judicial council -- including the First Circuit judicial council which binds this Court -- has done so.(Emphasis supplied)

It now appears Judge Gertner may have been mistaken, and that she, the RIAA's lawyers, Mr. Tenenbaum's lawyers, and all of the amici's lawyers were unaware of an order by the First Circuit Judicial Council which did in fact adopt the Conference's recommendation. The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has asked the parties to brief the legal effect of a 1996 order in which the Judicial Council apparently did adopt the suggestion of the Judicial Conference:

February 20, 2009, Order of US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

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Full post as published by Recording Industry vs The People on February 23, 2009 (boomark / email).