The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York has sided with BMI and affirmed a lower court ruling that the BMI consent decree allows for the practice of fractional licensing. Three years ago, BMI went to the Department of Justice to discuss modernizing the consent decree. Instead, according to BMI, the DOJ simply passed down its interpretation of the consent decree. BMI disagreed with that interpretation and the fight was on.
After DOJ passed down its interpretation of the consent decree, BMI filed an objection with the rate court judge who agreed with BMI. That was followed by a D.O.J. appeal. On Tuesday, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled against the U.S. Department of Justice and affirmed BMI’s consent decree victory. The Second Circuit agreed with Judge Stanton’s September 16, 2016 ruling.
No word yet on whether or not the Department of Justice will take this case any further. The next step would be to go to The United States Supreme Court and its unlikely The Supreme Court would take this case.
The RMLC, the organization responsible for negotiating rates with Performance Rights Organizations for radio, had no comment on the decision other than to say: “We’re simply supportive of whatever actions the DOJ may take to pursue a reversal of the decision. Period.”
BMI says this means it will be business as usual for radio stations.
