On Friday, November 14, a New York federal judge handed members of the band the Turtles another victory in their push to get paid for digital radio plays of music they recorded before 1972.
Judge Colleen McMahon of the United States District Court in Manhattan said no-go to SiriusXM’s motion for summary judgment (a move to dismiss the suit), giving the satellite broadcaster until Dec. 5, 2014 to dispute remaining facts. This means that SiriusXM can be held liable for copyright infringement.
As we have previously explained, this case—as well as earlier rulings in California and pending lawsuits against Internet radio company Pandora—arose due to a weird loophole in federal copyright law.
Currently, recordings made before February 15, 1972 do not enjoy federal protection, as there was no federal copyright for sound recordings until Congress passed a bill on that date. However, this legislation did not apply retroactive protections, which means older sound recordings are covered by a patchwork of state statute and case law.
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