New York Broadcasters Dispute Flo & Eddie Claims of State Pre-'72 Performance Right
The New York State Broadcasters Association disputed the U.S. District Court in New York's 2015 ruling in Flo & Eddie's lawsuit against SiriusXM that said state common law allowed a pre-1972 performance right, in a brief Thursday to the New…
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York Court of Appeals. The court is reviewing the district court ruling's finding on state common law after the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals delayed its consideration of SiriusXM's appeal of the Flo & Eddie case pending the state court review (see 1605030055 and 1608050059). New York “has never recognized a public performance right in sound recordings, and such a sweeping alteration of the law is unsupported by prior case law, legislative history at the federal level, and the history of the recording and broadcasting industries” in the state, NYSBA President David Donovan said in the group's filing. He said that such a right “threatens to cast aside almost 100 years of accepted practices in the music broadcasting industry, while simultaneously circumventing the legislature and throwing copyright licensing into total disarray. NYSBA's members would be directly impacted by the ensuing chaos.”