Copyright: Spotify seals US deal



31 August 2011


The online music service Spotify agreed deals with the major music companies, as well as independent labels, and carried out an invite-only beta launch in the US in July. The fully legal product will offer users on-demand access to more than 15 million tracks with a choice of three services: free with advertising; ad-free access for $4.99 a month; and premium access for $9.99 a month. All three services include access to the full Spotify library and various social/sharing features. Spotify was launched in Sweden in 2008 has 10 million users in seven European countries. Most have the free-access service with advertising, while there are 1.6 million paying subscribers. The company has wanted to expand into the US for some time but has had to negotiate licensing rates with music companies. It appears to have now struck a satisfactory deal, though details of the licensing arrangements have not been disclosed. Spotify will be competing with online jukebox Pandora as well as other music services (both legal and pirated). At the end of July, US company PacketVideo sued Spotify for infringement of a patent covering the distribution of music in a digital form.

UK

Meltwater loses headline appeal The Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling that headlines and web links taken from newspapers' websites are protected by copyright. The Chancellor ruled that commercial clients of news monitor Meltwater must have a licence from the Newspaper Licensing Agency to access content from newspapers' websites. The appeal was made by the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) which represents clients of Meltwater.

INDIA

Courts deal blow to authors and composers The Delhi and Bombay High Courts have ruled that authors and composers are not entitled to royalties when recordings of their works are broadcast. Authors and composers argued that they have to pay twice – to the Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS), which collects on their behalf, and to Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL), which collects on behalf the owners of the sound recording.

US

Zediva violates public performance rights Movie streaming service Zediva has been enjoined from operating until a lawsuit filed against it by Hollywood studios has been decided. Judge John Walter of the US District Court for the Central District of California found that the online DVD rental start-up violates the studios' public performance rights and causes them irreparable harm. The company plans to appeal.

UK

Government responds to Hargreaves In response to the Hargreaves Review the UK government intends to: establish an exchange to facilitate copyright licensing; introduce "the widest possible exceptions" within the EU framework; allow commercial and cultural uses of orphan works; publish minimum standards for collecting societies; and introduce a small claims track in the Patents County Court. A parliamentary committee is to investigate the Review and the response.

China has started the process of updating its Copyright Act and is expected to produce a draft set of amendments by the end of this year.

Google and music publishers have settled a four-year US copyright infringement dispute over musical works posted on YouTube and signed a deal to allow the publishers to earn royalties.

Chinese search engine Baidu has signed a landmark deal with a coalition of three music companies that will allow it to offer free, legal music.

A Nevada judge has ruled so-called copyright troll Righthaven intentionally misrepresented itself, saying it is a law firm "masquerading as a company".

Top entertainment companies and internet service providers in the US have cooperated on a so-called six strikes system for notifying internet subscribers who have been flagged for possible copyright infringement.

Mattel has vowed to appeal a California court's order to pay nearly $310 million in its seven-year dispute over the Bratz franchise.

Google has signed a deal with Hachette Livres that will enable it to scan and publish most of Hachette's back catalogue in a French version of its bookstore, Google Editions.


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