Judges Adopt Rates for "Ephemeral Recording" License

by Janette Spencer-Davis, Legal Editor, CCH Copyright Law Reports   

 Final regulations setting the rates and terms for the making of ephemeral recordings by business establishment services for the license period of 2009-2013 have been adopted by the Copyright Royalty Judges. Jurisdiction over these rates and terms was transferred from the Librarian of Congress to the Copyright Royalty Judges by the Copyright Royalty and Distribution Reform Act of 2004 (CRDRA). Section 112(e) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA) created a statutory license that allows entities that transmit performances of sound recordings to business establishments to make an ephemeral recording of a sound recording for later transmission.

The basic royalty rate for licensees is 10% of a licensee's gross proceeds derived from the use in such service of musical programs that are attributable to copyrighted recordings. Each licensee shall pay a minimum fee of $10,000 for each calendar year in which it makes ephemeral recordings for use to facilitate transmissions.

The new regulations appear at ¶12,984 --12,984.08. They will become effective on January 1, 2009 (73 Federal Register 16199, March 27, 2008).

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