3 Count: Little FM on the Prairie

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1: Pandora Fails to Cut BMI Rates on Back of Owning a Single FM Radio Station

First off today, Chris Cook at Complete Music Update reports that a judge has rejected an effort by music streaming service Pandora to obtain lower royalty rates, saying that owning a single FM radio station does not qualify it to exploit the deal rightsholders have reached with the terrestrial radio industry.

In 2013 Pandora purchased a small, rural South Dakota radio station in an effort to take advantage of royalty rates paid by terrestrial broadcasters. The dispute spilled into court but a judge has ruled that simply owning a terrestrial radio station does not mean that the business model has changed for Pandora and that it shouldn’t be eligible for the lower rates.

The skirmish is part of a much larger battle between Pandora and rightsholders, with Pandora constantly trying to secure lower royalties for the music it streams. In May a judge ruled that Pandora must pay BMI, one of the major performing rights groups, 2.5% of its revenue, up from the 1.75% Pandora was proposing.

2: Lilly Pulitzer Sues Old Navy for Copyright Infringement

Next up today, Laura Lorenzetti at Fortune reports that fashion company Lilly Pulitzer, or rather its parent company Sugartowpn Worldwide, is suing Old Navy over alleged copyright infringement of fabric prints used on shorts.

With clothing, the design of a piece is not subject to copyright because it is considered a useful article. However, the print on the fabric can be and that is what this lawsuit targets, specifically looking at two patterns, a “High Tide Design” and “Sparks Fly Design” both of which Old Navy made similar versions of.

Sugartown claims its designs were created in house and are wholly owned by them. Others online have also noticed the similarities, including several users on Instagram.

3: Why Australians Are Tweeting Cake Photos for #cookingforcopyright

Finally today, Jenni Ryall at Mashable reports that Australian Instagram and Twitter users are taking part in a #cookingforcopyright campaign today to protest what they see as archaic copyright laws that keep many historical documents locked up in copyright forever.

Under current laws in Australia, published works lapse 70 years after the author’s death, however, unpublished works never expire. This prompted Freedom of Access to Information and Resources (FAIR) to launch the hashtag. The organization ignored the laws and published 20 recipes from the Australian archives and are encouraging other users to cook them and tag their photos with the hashtag.

The protest is scheduled to last all day today and is being joined by many libraries in the country.

Suggestions

That’s it for the three count today. We will be back tomorrow with three more copyright links. If you have a link that you want to suggest a link for the column or have any proposals to make it better. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. I hope to hear from you.

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