Congress needs to give “serious consideration” to the...

of Free State Foundation (FSF) in a paper released Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1nLtJMs). Because legal questions on the protection of pre-1972 public performance royalties remain unresolved in other states, HR-4772 “could provide certainty,” he said. Although the RESPECT Act doesn’t pre-empt state law protections for such recordings, the bill provides “safe harbor for digital music services providers from state copyright infringement lawsuits,” said Cooper. The ruling also highlighted copyright law’s “unfair favoritism” toward terrestrial radio, he said. That terrestrial broadcasters aren’t obligated to pay public performance royalties for any sound recordings “infringes on the rights of copyright holders” and is “unfair to digital and satellite radio services,” said Cooper. “Free market copyright policy should include an eventual transition, even if piecemeal, toward greater reliance on contract bargaining and less on government rate-setting,” he said. “It’s apparent that FSF has very little understanding of the unparalleled free promotional value that broadcast radio provides artists and record labels,” said an NAB spokesman. Many cases are pending on pre-1972 public performance royalties for digital broadcasters, but “none of those lawsuits were brought against over-the-air radio stations,” said NAB. “There’s no reason to believe the outcome of these cases will impact” terrestrial broadcasters, it said. The Local Radio Freedom Act (H. Con. Res. 16), which would prohibit any new taxes or royalties on broadcast radio stations, has 232 co-sponsors (http://1.usa.gov/1rM1GfK). HR-4772 has 14 co-sponsors (http://1.usa.gov/10lsRDj).