SoundExchange, Inc. v. Copyright Royalty Board and Librarian of Congress

Docket Number: 16-1159
Judge: Srikanth Srinivasan
Opinion Date: September 18, 2018

Plaintiffs challenged the Copyright Royalty Board’s most recent determination for rates noninteractive webcasters must pay to play recordings over the Internet under a statutory copyright license. The DC Circuit sustained the Board’s determinations in all respects and held that the Board’s acceptance of the Pandora and iHeart benchmark agreements was not arbitrary and capricious; the court applied Chevron deference to the Board’s adjustment downward of SoundExchange’s proposed benchmark; the Board adequately and reasonably explained its decision to set different rates for ad-based and subscription noninteractive webcasting services; and the court rejected SoundExchange’s challenge concerning the Board’s decision to amend a license term setting forth the requirements to qualify as an auditor that can verify royalty payments. Finally, the Board rejected a pro se appellant’s challenge concerning the constitutionality of the Board’s determination. View “SoundExchange, Inc. v. Copyright Royalty Board and Librarian of Congress” on Justia Law

Comments are closed.