U.S. 版权办公室称网络广播公司必须付费

美国.S. 版权办公室, 在周五, ruled that radio broadcasters are not exempt for the royalties which webcasters are required to pay.

周一公布的裁决称, "Broadcasters who choose to transmit their radio signals over a digital communications network such as the Internet may do so under a compulsory license. The Office has determined that an FCC-licensed broadcaster is not exempt from a copyright owner's digital performance right for sound recordings under these circumstances."

There are two different copyrights applicable to any given song. One covers the written music, and another the particular performance of that song. The performance right is usually owned by the performing artist (for example the singer), 或者是代表那个艺人的唱片公司. 目前你.S. over-the-air broadcasters are exempt from paying performance royalties while the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) requires webcasters to pay a compulsory fee which includes the performance royalty.

The RIAA petitioned the copyright office to ensure that the broadcaster's exemption was not extended to digital transmissions via the Internet. 虽然通常对美国唱片工业协会持反对立场, the Digital Media Association (DiMA) supported this petition.

DiMA代表着新媒体公司, including webcasters who are subject to a compulsory license that includes performance royalties. It is their stance that exempting traditional broadcasters from that fee would put them at unfair advantage.

乔纳森·波特, executive director of DiMA commented on the recent ruling: "It is critically important ruling for webcasters, 让各方都在同一竞争环境中. It would stunt the growth of this industry if broadcasters had a special exemption."

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is displeased with this ruling. 爱德华O. Fritts, NAB president and CEO released a statement saying: "NAB believes this ruling is directly contrary to existing federal law and Congressional intent as expressed in the Copyright Act. That's why NAB has asked a federal district court in New York to settle the issue."

"Broadcasters currently pay hundreds of millions of dollars annually to the licensing societies representing the authors, 作曲家和出版商, and have never been required to pay additional fees to the record companies and artists,弗里茨继续说道.

The NAB filed a complaint against the RIAA's petition of the copyright office at a federal district court in New York. 该案于2000年5月29日开庭. 尚未作出决定. If the court rules in favor of the NAB, the copyright office's ruling could be overturned.

互动式网路广播

相关新闻, the copyright office denied a request from the Digital Media Association to initiate a rule making proceeding to decide whether a webcasting service becomes interactive when a consumer exerts some influence on the music, 说明现行法律是足够的.

交互式数字服务, such as a pay-for-play service or an entirely user chosen playlist, are not covered under the compulsory license required by the DCMA. Those services require individual agreements with the recording companies.

The DiMA petitioned the copyright office in an attempt to delineate a gray area in the law concerning the definition of an interactive service. It believed that services which are subject to consumer influence, 比如个性化功能, 征求音乐偏好, 或者歌曲评级, 是否属于网络广播强制许可范围. 迪马的乔纳森·波特, indicated that the copyright office acted in their favor despite their decision not to hold further proceedings.

"The ruling affirmed that personalization of radio streams is acceptable under the compulsory license of the DMCA,波特说。.

The copyright office begins arbitration to determine the rate of webcaster's compulsory fee in February. These proceedings will determine the back-rate fee for webcasting services dating back to October 28, 1998, 到12月31日, 2000年，并从明年1月1日起设定税率, 2001, 到12月31日, 2002.

一旦利率确定, the copyright office will select an administrative service to orchestrate the collection and distribution of U.S. performance revenue for non-interactive digital services collection of fees. In November, the RIAA officially launched SoundExchange as its candidate for this service. Currently no other group has been formed or come forward as an alternative to SoundExchange. However the DiMA does not support the selection of SoundExchange, and Potter indicated that the DiMA expects competition to come forth before the official selection.

"SoundExchange is a captive of the RIAA with members of all five major labels on its board and it is intended to benefit the RIAA,波特说。.