It could potentially cost broadcasters tens of millions of dollars and would probably cripple or seriously impair the streaming of radio signals over the Internet. The Copyright Office will announce a decision about radio stations broadcasting on the Internet as soon as this week, Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters said. Radio stations are putting signals on the Internet, or Webcasting, to reach listeners beyond their local community and generate new advertising revenue. About 4,000 of almost 14,000 U.S. stations rebroadcast their signals over the Internet. The music industry argues that rebroadcasts should trigger new fees because the Web site is making a digital copy of the radio station's signal during the Webcasting process.
New rules apply in a new world.
The National Association of Broadcasters filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New York seeking to apply the current performance exemption to radio Webcasts, Wharton said. When the Copyright Office rules, Peters said she expects the losing party to challenge that decision in court. The second issue involves whether a Web site that plays music and accepts limited customer feedback should be eligible for a blanket license with a set royalty, a so-called compulsory copyright license. Sites defined as interactive sites are ineligible and must negotiate licenses individually with each record company. If the Copyright Office decides to rule on that petition, it will be a public proceeding and involve comments from all interested parties, Peters said.