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http://www.insanely-great.com/news.php?id=1074
Webcasters get a reprieve from grasping RIAA
By ron carlson, Insanely Great Mac
October 8th 2002
The US Congress is considering a bill to limit the how much Hollywood can charge
webcasters
The Register reports that the US House of Representatives passed a bill Monday that
would give financial relief to small-scale Internet broadcasters threatened by the
grasping maw of the music industry and private pit bull, the RIAA.
According to the mavens of digital dish at The Register, rather than the industry's
preferred per-play fee, the bill would assess costs based on a webcaster's revenues.
Those making less than $250,000 per year would pay 10 percent of revenue or 7 percent
of expenses, whichever is greater. Those making between $250,000 and $500,000 would
pay 12 percent of revenue or 7 percent of expenses, whichever is greater.
As we reported earlier this year, the Library of Congress decided Webcasters should
pay $0.07 per track per listener. The industry whinged that the fee was well below
'market value' as they liked to reckon it, but small Webcasters like college stations
claimed it would wipe them out.
The new bill will not affect big Web outlets like Yahoo, AOL, etc., which will
continue to pay according to the Library of Congress schedule. The bill will impose a
six-month moratorium on fee assessment. The US Senate is expected to consider the bill
in a week or so, but final action is unlikely before the Congressional election recess.
In related news, The Register also reports that the US law, often referred to as the
"Mickey Mouse Act," which granted a 20-year extension to existing patents, is being
challenged before the US Supreme Court by a Stanford University law professor.
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