Abstract
This article observes the surviving gap between state and federal protection of music recordings through the lens of the current litigation against Sirius XM. Part II sets out a history of copyright protection in the music industry. Part III outlines the relevant provisions of the federal Copyright Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the role played in the federal system by the Copyright Royalty Board. Part IV examines the pertinent statutory property protection of music recordings in the state of California. Part V then discusses the merits of the current lawsuits against Sirius XM. After considering the potential legal and economic ramifications of the current lawsuits, Part VI then concludes by advocating for a unified federal system of copyright protection for all sound recordings regardless of the date on which they were originally fixed.
Recommended Citation
Brian G. Shaffer, Sirius XM Radio, Inc., Defendant: The Case for a Unified Federal Copyright System for Sound Recordings, 35 Pace L. Rev. 1016 (2015)DOI: https://doi.org/10.58948/2331-3528.1900
Available at: https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/plr/vol35/iss3/6