The Broadcast Music Inc v CBS Inc landmark court case centered around the issue of public performance rights. The case was a significant one, as it ultimately led to a change in the way musicians are compensated for the public performance of their work.
The case began with a dispute between Broadcast Music Inc, a performing rights organization, and CBS Inc, a television network. CBS was accused of not paying the required royalties for the public performance of copyrighted songs.
At the heart of the issue was a 1941 law that granted copyright holders the right to collect royalties for public performances of their work. The law was unclear, however, and different courts had interpreted it in different ways.
On a similar theme: Weingarten Rights
Background
The case of Broadcast Music, Inc. v. CBS Inc. began with a dispute over licensing fees for copyrighted musical compositions. The TV network CBS filed an antitrust suit against licensing agencies ASCAP and BMI, alleging that their system for issuing blanket licenses was illegal price fixing.
CBS, which was also the owner of Columbia Records at the time, claimed that the licensing agencies were engaging in price fixing by negotiating fees for blanket licenses to perform copyrighted musical compositions. The basic question in the case was whether this practice was price fixing per se unlawful under the antitrust laws.
The licensing agencies, ASCAP and BMI, issued blanket licenses to CBS, which allowed the network to perform copyrighted musical compositions without having to obtain individual licenses for each song. This practice had been scrutinized by the courts and the government, but it was not clear whether it was a form of price fixing that should be automatically condemned under the Sherman Act.
The US government, in fact, had previously authorized ASCAP and BMI to issue blanket licenses to television networks through consent decrees. Additionally, Congress had chosen to employ the blanket license and similar practices in the Copyright Act of 1976.
Consider reading: Musical Started
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