NY Appeals Court: No Public Performance Rights in Pre-1972 Sound Recordings
On Tuesday, December 20, 2016 a New York appeals court ruled that New York’s common law does not protect the public performance of pre-1972 sound recordings and therefore broadcasters, such as SiriusXM, do not have to pay for the recordings.
Flo & Eddie of The Turtles, brought a number of class action lawsuits in different states alleging that SiriusXM needed their authorization to play their songs. Unfortunately for Flo & Eddie, sounds recordings were not protected under federal copyright law before February 15, 1972. The court of appeals stated, “New York's common-law copyright has never recognized a right of public performance for pre-1972 sound recordings. Because the consequences of doing so could be extensive and far-reaching, and there are many competing interests at stake, which we are not equipped to address, we decline to create such a right for the first time now.”
A link to an article on this decision (and the full decision), which represents an enormous victory for radio operators, can be found here.