Thursday, June 21, 2007

Department of Justice Opposes Stay

On Monday, the Department of Justice filed papers opposing the stay that DiMA (and others) sought in the DC Circuit. Why is the Department of Justice getting involved in this case?

First a quick recap. As we’ve noted earlier, the decision of the Copyright Royalty Board has been appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Several parties have indicated that they will appeal, but the process will be a slow one. In the meantime, they have asked the DC Circuit to “stay” the CRB’s ruling while the appeal goes on. This would preserve the status quo: internet radio stations would continue to pay the same royalties during the appeal.

The Department of Justice represents the various agencies of the federal government in court. In this case, the Feds are acting as lawyers for the CRB, defending the CRB’s decision. The DOJ will not be the only people to oppose a stay. We can probably expect SoundExchange, an arm of RIAA, to file papers opposing it as well.

The court will probably act relatively quickly. As of today, July 15 is only three and a half weeks away...

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