Pandora won the latest lawsuit in a battle over the use and copyright of music predating 1972. This is one piece of a nine-year legal battle over copyright terms. Judge Phillip Gutierrez came to a ruling in favor of pandora against the founding members of the Turtles.
The battle began when the musicians Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, of The Turtles, called for a series of lawsuits based on the idea that digital music services should pay royalties for songs written pre-1972. However, there was no nationwide copyright protection against these music services only paying based on state-level regulations. Initially, the musicians Kaylan and Volman won the case but the New York, California, and Florida courts have since overturned this verdict. Since the passage of the Music Modernization Act in 2018, the case that Kaylan and Volman had become outdated as this act removes state-level ambiguity for copyright laws.
Kaylan and Volman believed their music deserved to receive payment even though it pre-dated modern copyright laws and they believed their music was being copied for the use of broadcasting, however, Judge Guitierrez disagreed Even though Kaylan and Volman continued to argue the case, Judge Gutierrez came to the conclusion these arguments were no longer valid and thus declare an end to the legal battle at hand.
This conclusion will set a basis for future legal battles in the same vein and will change the views on copyright law and Pandora will not need to pay back what Kaylan and Volman believed they were owed.
source: https://www.stereogum.com/2231577/pandora-wins-final-lawsuit-over-use-of-pre-1972-music/news/
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