Broadcast attorney David Oxenford details the SiriusXM/Turtles case shot down by the New York State Court of Appeals earlier this week, in his latest blog posting. If you thought that would be the end of the case, Oxenford says this is not the last we’ll be hearing about pre-1972 recordings. Here’s why…
Oxenford says the decision earlier this week is only binding in the state of New York. “Cases are now pending certifying the same question to the highest state courts in California and Florida who could follow the reasoning of the New York Court, or could theoretically go in a different direction altogether.”
Oxenford says there is also a recent appeal to the Supreme Court in a case called Capitol Records, Inc. v Vimeo LLC where record companies raise the opposite argument. “They contend the fact that pre-1972 recordings are covered by state law means that they should be excluded from coverage under Section 512 safe harbor for user-generated content.”
Oxenford says in that argument the record companies are contending that they should be able to sue services that host user-generated content containing pre-1972 recordings, as Section 512 gives the host immunity against copyright claims, and such copyright claims should be interpreted as being only those that arise under Federal Law.
Read Oxenford’s detailed blog posting about the issue HERE.
