SDNY: Fractional Licenses OK Under DOJ Consent Decree with BMI | Practical Law

SDNY: Fractional Licenses OK Under DOJ Consent Decree with BMI | Practical Law

The US District Court for the Southern District of New York held in United States v. Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) that a DOJ consent decree requiring BMI to offer full-work licenses of any work under its repertoire must also allow for fractional licensing.

SDNY: Fractional Licenses OK Under DOJ Consent Decree with BMI

Practical Law Legal Update w-003-5025 (Approx. 3 pages)

SDNY: Fractional Licenses OK Under DOJ Consent Decree with BMI

by Practical Law Antitrust
Published on 20 Sep 2016 • USA (National/Federal)
The US District Court for the Southern District of New York held in United States v. Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) that a DOJ consent decree requiring BMI to offer full-work licenses of any work under its repertoire must also allow for fractional licensing.
On September 16, 2016, Judge Louis Stanton of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York held in United States v. Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) that a consent decree between the DOJ and BMI requiring BMI to offer full-work licenses of any work under its repertoire must also allow for fractional licensing (No. 1:64-cv-03787 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 16, 2016)). The judge reasoned that because BMI may not own the entire license to particular works, requiring full licensure may:
  • Prevent BMI from licensing large portions of its repertoire.
  • Require BMI to license works without sufficient legal right to do so.
In August 2016, the DOJ announced that it concluded its review, without modification, of two 1941 consent decrees with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and BMI. The consent decrees were intended to remedy concerns that the organizations' aggregation of public performance rights gave them anticompetitive market power in licensing those rights under Section 1 of the Sherman Act.
The September ruling does not address ASCAP.
For more information on the BMI and ASCAP consent decrees, see Legal Update, DOJ Concludes Review of 1941 ASCAP and BMI Consent Decrees and Play it Again, Sam: DOJ to Review 1941 ASCAP and BMI Consent Decrees.