Conyers Asked To Uphold Royalty Board
National Music Publishers' Association President David Israelite urged House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers and ranking member Lamar Smith late Friday to consider introducing legislation that would clear up any confusion surrounding the constitutionality of a federal panel that sets copyright royalties. The request comes on the heels of a May complaint from licensing firm Royalty Logic asking that the Copyright Royalty Board be forced to vacate its decision in a controversial proceeding that set the fee structure for webcasters. The filing claims the CRB is unconstitutional because the Librarian of Congress, who is not technically the head of a government department, appoints its three judges.
If successful, the protest could mean the unraveling of all of the CRB's decisions since its judges were appointed in 2006. "This could cause complete chaos in the marketplace," Israelite wrote in a letter. In it, he notes that in the proceeding in question, songwriters, music publishers, digital media firms and record labels negotiated a landmark deal on the rate and terms for musical works delivered by interactive streams and limited downloads. The board's decisions "should not be thrown away because of a technicality," he said. NMPA wants Conyers and Smith to sponsor a bill that would make moot any challenge to the CRB based on the appointments clause of the Constitution as well as uphold its determinations.
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