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US: Pandora defeats ASCAP appeal on rate court ruling

By  |  May 7, 2015

A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled in favor of Pandora Media Inc in a dispute over the payment of royalties for online music.

The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York rejected the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers’ effort to increase the rate that Pandora must pay to license its music from 2013 to 2015.

The appeals court also said a consent decree governing ASCAP’s licensing activities “unambiguously” precludes that entity from letting music publishers stop it from licensing their works to “new media” music users such as Pandora, while continuing to license those works to others.

Wednesday’s decision upheld lower court rulings.

 

Full content: The New York Times

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