The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) recently
sued Launch Media over it’s alleged failure to seek proper licences
for its personalised web radio service. Several major US web music
companies including Launch Media, MTVi Group, and Listen.com struck
back on Friday by counter sueing the RIAA in a San Francisco court
in an effort to get legal protection for the services that allow
users to customise the playlist of songs they hear.
The lawsuit does not seek damages, but instead is looking to the
courts to clarify whether the services that these companies provide
fall within the legal definition of non-interactive radio. Radio
style webcasters can use record label’s songs under a statutory
licence. They then pay the industry royalties at a rate set by a
federal arbitration process.
At present, services where the listener can chose what songs
they want to hear do not qualify. They have to apply for individual
licences from record labels in a process that can often be costly
and complex.
The webcasters argue that their services only allow limited
consumer input, and thus should qualify for the statutory licence.
However, the record companies maintain that any service where
listeners can customise programs to any degree is interactive.
Jon Potter, executive director of the Digital Media Association,
says that in the past the US Copyright Office has failed to clearly
define which types of Web services were eligible for statutory
licences. He is quoted by Reuters as saying, “ our only remaining
option is to ask the court to interpret the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act so that media companies, technology developers, and
investors can gain needed clarification of the statute”.
