Radio Station Webcasts Not Exempt From Paying Royalties


Radio stations who stream over the Internet a simulcast of their broadcast signals must pay royalties for the Internet streaming, although they are exempt from paying those royalties for the terrestrial broadcasts. On Friday, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals decided Bonneville International Corp. v. Peters and denied to overturn the <a href=“http://www.fcc.gov'>FCC rule which requires broadcasters to pay royalties for webcasted programs. This decision upholds District Judge Berle M. Schiller’s August 2001 ruling, which granted summary judgment to the defendant US Copyright Office.
Law.com:  Radio Stations Must Pay Royalties for Webcasting
Instead of seeing copyright holders receive a new stream of royalties, expect radio stations to merely stop streaming their live broadcasts over the Internet.

Andrew Raff @andrewraff