As expected, Internet webcasters filed a motion with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that seeks a stay in the implementation of new Internet radio royalty rates that are due to go into effect on July 15, 2007 as a result of a “Final Determination of Rates and Terms” issued by the Copyright Royalty Board on March 2, 2007 (and revised slightly in an Order Denying Motions for Rehearing that was issued on April 16, 2007). We have reported these changes on several occasions in both this blog and our Memorandum to Clients. We have also discussed the prospects of the Internet Radio Equality Act, which was introduced in both the House and the Senate as a means of overturning this decision and restructuring the royalty rate process for Internet radio.
The motion was filled by all facets of the Internet radio industry, as large commercial webcasters, small webcasters and noncommercial webcasters joined in the filing. The Court is expected to rule in coming days. Stay tuned.