3 Count: Termination Ruling

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1: ‘Landmark Victory’: Copyright Office Finalizes Rule Change On Streaming Royalties

First off today, Bill Donahue at Billboard reports that the United States Copyright Office (USCO) has finalized a new rule that clarifies who gets streaming royalties after a songwriter has reclaimed their rights.

The ruling deals with the intersection of two laws. The first is copyright termination, which allows original creators to reclaim the rights they licensed or transferred after a certain number of years. The second is the Music Modernization Act (MMA), which grants songwriters royalties when their songs are streamed on services like Spotify and Apple Music.

The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), the organization that handled the MMA royalties owed to songwriters, would continue to pay royalties to the original publisher even after copyright termination. Publishers could continue selling any “derivative works” based on the composition. However, the new rule fixes that loophole, requiring songwriters to get royalties owed on all uses of reclaimed songs.

2: “Lifetime” Pirate IPTV Boxes Freely Available on Amazon Cost Men $1.25m

Next up today, Andy Maxwell at Torrentfreak writes that two California residents have been hit with a $1.25 million judgment over their alleged selling of pirate IPTV boxes.

DISH Network and Sling TV filed the lawsuit against Marcelino Padilla and Danny Contreras. The two were accused of selling the boxes on Facebook, even using their real names. What made the boxes somewhat unusual was that they were “forever” boxes that accessed illegal content without a monthly subscription.

However, a judge has ruled that Padilla is liable for $2,500 in damages for each of the 500 boxes sold, amounting to $1.25 million. The judgment also included an injunction barring the two from any further sales.

3: Religious Education Group Sues Fort Wayne Man Over Copyright Claims

Finally today, Ashley Sloboda at The Journal Gazette reports that LifeWise Inc., a non-profit providing religious education materials to public school students, has filed a lawsuit against a critic for sharing their curriculum online.

LifeWise provides religious instruction to public school students off campus during school hours. However, Zach Parrish has criticized the organization, saying its instruction harms students who don’t wish to participate, including his daughter. He operates a Facebook group entitled Parents Against LifeWise and a website with the same name.

However, LifeWise says Parrish went further than criticism by accessing their internal documents and posting them on his website. Parrish refused to remove the material, claiming fair use, and ignored a cease and desist letter. Parrish has launched a GoFundMe to defend against the lawsuit and has raised over $6,000.

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