1960s band wins copyright suit against Sirius XM, targets Pandora

October 6, 2014 10:49 am Published by Leave your thoughts

In a previous post, this blog discussed the lawsuit filed against satellite radio company Sirius XM for neglecting to pay royalties on tracks recorded before 1972. 

On Monday, Sept. 23, Judge Philip S. Gutierrez of United States District Court in Los Angeles issued his ruling on September 23 that Sirius XM had violated the band's "exclusive right to its recordings under California law," as airing them on satellite radio constitutes a public performance, the Times reports. 

"By law, federal copyright applies only to recordings made on or after Feb. 15, 1972," the Times reports. However, plaintiffs Flo & Eddie of the American rock band The Turtles, which released records and gained popularity in the 1960s, asserted that while Sirius XM may not have infringed upon federal copyright law by playing their songs without obtaining proper licensing, their actions did violate the state of California's copyright infringement laws. Judge Gutierrez agreed.

The Times reported yesterday that David Frear, CFO of Sirius XM, stated the company would appeal the judge's ruling, drawing attention to the ambiguity of performance rights by implying that bars, restaurants and podcasts should be — but aren't — subject to the same limitations.

Now that the band's founding members have been granted a summary judgment by Judge Gutierrez, the duo is shifting their focus to Pandora Media. According to an article published yesterday by The New York Times, the Turtles members "filed a class-action suit against Pandora in federal court in Los Angeles on Thursday," pointing a finger at music streaming site for playing the band's songs without obtaining licensing or remitting royalty payments.

These cases, in conjunction with the recent Grooveshark ruling, draw attention to the ambiguity digital media and the Internet have contributed to public understanding of intellectual property law. If your business model involves the use of copyrighted works, contact a small business attorney to mitigate your company's risk.

Related posts:

  1. Sirius, Pandora ordered to compensate record companies for playing pre-1972 songs
  2. Record labels sue Pandora for copyright infringement over songs made before 1972
  3. The Turtles plan to launch class action suit against SiriusXM
  4. Bars face copyright lawsuit over music licensing

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