Free Republic

Treaty casts shadow on public domain Concerns have been raised over the world's first Webcasting treaty before its ink is even dry A United Nations committee on Wednesday approved the world's first Webcasting treaty, which has drawn criticism that it limits the use of works that are in the public domain. At a meeting in Geneva, the World Intellectual Property Organisation's Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights agreed to prepare a draft of the treaty by 1 April, 2004. A second meeting is scheduled for June, followed by an expected diplomatic conference during which nations that are members of...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Online music broadcasters and the record industry's main trade group, heading off what promised to be a contentious battle between them, on Thursday proposed a new set of royalties for Internet music broadcasts.   The resolution, which covers 2003 and 2004, came after a long and bitter dispute that involved lawsuits and arbitration over the royalty structure for past years. The Digital Media Association and the Recording Industry Association of America said they filed the proposal with the U.S. Copyright Office, which will soon publish it for public comment. The RIAA and the Webcasting industry...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress approved a deal early Friday morning that would allow small Internet-based radio stations to pay lower royalty rates to the musicians and record labels whose songs they use. The move amounts to a stay of execution for many smaller "Webcasters," who had feared the established royalty rate that went into effect Oct. 20 would have forced them offline, narrowing the market to a few large players like America Online. In a late-night session, both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed a bill that would suspend payments for small Webcasters until Dec....