August 24, 2009

Webcasting Not 'Interactive Service' Required to Pay License Fees

A webcasting service, Launch, that provides users with individualized Internet radio stations is not required to pay licensing fees to copyright holders of the songs the service plays. The service, which provides the stations by which content is affected by customers' ratings of titles, artists and albums, is not "interactive" as a matter of law. Therefore it is not required to pay individual license fees to the copyright holders; instead, it is only required to pay a statutory licensing fee as set by the Copyright Royalty Board.

Arista Records, LLC v. Launch Media, Inc., no. 07-civ-2567 (2d Cir. Aug. 21, 2009).