Copyright & Media Update 3/8/2019

March 8, 2019


Spotify, Google, Pandora, Amazon Go to U.S. Appeals Court to Overturn Royalty Increase (EXCLUSIVE)

VARIETY: Spotify, Google, Pandora and Amazon have teamed up to appeal a controversial ruling by the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board that, if it goes through, would increase payouts to songwriters by 44%, Variety has learned. A joint statement from the first three of those companies reads: “The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), in a split decision, recently issued the U.S. mechanical statutory rates in a manner that raises serious procedural and substantive concerns. If left to stand, the CRB’s decision harms both music licensees and copyright owners. Accordingly, we are asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to review the decision.” READ MORE…

SCOTUS Resolves Court Split in Fourth Estate, but Registration Concerns Remain

COPYRIGHT ALLIANCE: Today, the Supreme Court released its decision in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, holding that a copyright owner of a U.S. work must wait for the Register of Copyrights to either issue a registration certificate or refuse a registration before being able to protect her rights in court (this has been referred to as the “registration approach”). The decision settles an issue that has long divided courts—some courts had held that a copyright owner did not have to wait for the Register to act and could file suit as soon as her registration application, deposit, and fee were delivered to the U.S. Copyright Office (called the “application approach”). READ MORE…

Supreme Court Will Be Asked to Permit Resales of Digital Music Files

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: ReDigi is now before the U.S. Supreme Court in a legal battle over the reselling of digitized copyrighted works. The company, which attempted to launch an online marketplace for secondhand iTunes songs, has written a letter to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg requesting an extension to May 13 to file its cert petition. READ MORE…

It’s REALLY Time to End the Registration Requirement

PLAGIARISM TODAY: Earlier this week the United States Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case of Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corporation v. Wall-Street.com. The case looked at whether a rightsholder could file a lawsuit for copyright infringement after the for a copyright registration or if they would have to wait until they actually received or were denied their certificate. READ MORE…

What The EU’s Final Copyright Directive Contains & What It Means For Labels, Artists & YouTube (Column)

BILLBOARD: After years of lobbying, the fight over the Copyright Directive, and the future of digital media in Europe, is about to end.Late in the evening of Feb. 13, European Union policymakers hammered out the final version of the new Copyright Directive — the subject of a fierce four-year battle between media businesses and tech giants like Google over how creators will be compensated in the digital age. READ MORE…


About Christian Copyright Solutions: CCS’s quest is to help churches and Christian ministries “do music right.”  CCS is an expert on church music copyrights and our primary focus is providing licensing and clear educational resources to churches. Follow us onTwitter, Facebook, Instagram, andYoutube. The information contained herein is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel.

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