‘Voluntary negotiation period’
The Webcaster Alliance is adopting and wait-and-see response to the US Copyright Office "voluntary negotiation period" for "interested parties" to try and agree on music webcasting royalty rates for 2005-2006.
"The Copyright Office has been notified of the illegal threats made by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) against some of our members who intended to participate in the 2003-2004 CARP," says associaiton president Ann Gabriel. "It’s also aware of our pending antitrust suit against the RIAA for the last round of negotiations."
The "highly flawed" CARP royalty rates process is currently the subject of both a Petition for Review of an Order of the Librarian of Congress on behalf of Small Webcasters and pending legislative reform, Gabriel points out, stressing, "the importance of pursuing the RIAA in court and the value of getting the facts surrounding the licensing process "in front of a jury.
"When you create a legal process that is dominated by a single, monopolistic party there is no way to produce a fair result. Unlike the last round of negotiations where the RIAA was selective in its deals, Webcaster Alliance hopes this time around that Sound Exchange will engage in a fair and representative negotiation process."
To date, the RIAA has only executed licenses with those who could pay the highest rates, she adds. "This is a clear antitrust violation because, among other things, it amounts to a refusal to deal which unlawfully raised prices. We firmly believe a jury will find in our favor when the facts in our case come to light and the anticompetitive behavior the RIAA has engaged in is exposed."
