3 Count: This is NPR

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1: Copyright Judges Approve Public Radio Pay to SoundExchange

First off today, Ed Christman at Billboard reports that a panel of judges at the Copyright Royalty Board have approved a settlement between SoundExchange and the various public radio networks over royalties owed for playing sound recordings.

The deal makes it so that NPR, Public Radio International, and up to 530 stations named by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will pay $2.8 million annually in royalties, with each station paying a minimum of $500. The amount, which covers payments up until 2019, is approximately $400,000 more per year than it was in the previous rounds of negotiation.

Though the payments will be made to SoundExchange, the Copyright Royalty Board has not yet approved the part of the settlement that allows it to function as a collective entity. That will be addressed after the board sets the rats for all webcasters.

2: Google Must Expose eBook Pirate, Court Rules

Next up today, Ernesto at Torrentfreak writes that The Hague Court has ruled that Google must turn over the name of an eBook pirate that operated a false marketplace on the Google Play store, selling illegal and underpriced books.

The individual, operating under the handles “Flamenco Hollanda” and “Dragonletebooks”, operated the book store before being shut down through a complaint made to Google by the General Publishers Group, a Dutch publishers organization that got in contact with the anti-piracy group BREIN. BREIN then asked Google to turn over information they had on the individual but Google declined to do so without a court order.

Google had argued that the request could violate international privacy laws but the court ruled that the rights of copyright holders outweighed any privacy implications. However, those involved will be given the chance to appeal the ruling.

3: Jay Z Seeks Delay of Copyright Trial Due to Egyptian’s Medical Condition

Finally today, Eriq Gardner at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports that lawyers representing Jay Z are requesting a delay in the Big Pimpin’ lawsuit saying that health issues faced by the plaintiff will make a fair trial impossible.

According to the lawsuit, in the hit song, Jay Z used a sample from Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdi without permission. Jay Z claims to have cleared the rights to the sample but Hamdi’s nephew and heir, Osama Ahmed Fahmy, filed suit alleging copyright infringement.

A trial in the dispute is scheduled to begin October 13 but Fahmy’s lawyers say that he is too ill to testify and wish to limit his testimony to a deposition taken six years ago. However, Jay Z’s lawyers say that is prevents cross examination at trial. Fahmy’s lawyers, however, claim that he has a heart condition that shows no signs of improvement, making travel impossible.

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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