United States DC Circuit

In the Recording Industry Association of America's petition for review of the Copyright Royalty Board's decision instituting a 1.5 percent per month late fee for late royalty payments, and implementing a penny-rate royalty structure for cell phone ringtones (under which copyright owners received 24 cents for every ringtone sold using their copyrighted work), the petition is denied where: 1) the Board appropriately took market evidence into account when imposing a late fee; 2) a copyright owner's ability to terminate a section 115 license in no way barred the imposition of a late fee; and 3) even if it were true that divided interests in a copyright made it difficult to make timely payments to each copyright owner, that fact would in no way counsel against the imposition of a late fee.

Appellate Information

• Argued 03/12/2010
• Decided 06/22/2010
• Published 06/22/2010

Judges

• Before GARLAND and KAVANAUGH, Circuit Judges, and RANDOLPH, Senior Circuit Judge.

Court

• United States DC Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Paul M. Smith argued the cause for appellant. With him on the briefs were Steven R. Englund, Jared O. Freedman, Lindsay C. Harrison, Steven M. Marks, Susan B. Chertkof, and Scott A. Zebrak. David A. Handzo entered an appearance., Jay Cohen argued the cause for intervenors National Music Publishers' Association, Inc., et al. With him on the brief were Lynn B. Bayard, David W. Brown, Jay Rosenthal, Senior Vice-President & General Counsel, National Music Publishers' Association, Inc., Kathryn E. Wagner, Vice President & Counsel, National Music Publishers' Association, Inc., Charles J. Sanders, Special Counsel, Songwriters Guild of America, and Carl W. Hampe.


• For Appellees:
  
• Kelsi Brown Corkran, U.S. Department of Justice, argued the cause for appellee. With her on the brief were Tony West, Assistant Attorney General, and Scott R. McIntosh, Attorney. Sarang V. Damle, Attorney, entered an appearance.