ASCAP. BMI. Justice Departement – RightsTech Project

The Radio Music Licensing Committee (RMLC) commented today (7/22), writing, “The Department of Justice, after lengthy and thorough review, decides that ASCAP and BMI consent decrees should not be altered, as they continue to serve as a vital check against ASCAP’s and BMI’s anticompetitive market power.”

While the DOJ decision isn’t official — yet — THE RMLC noted, “after years of investigation into possible additional modifications to the decrees, the Division concluded that the decrees are not outdated, because the threat posed by ASCAP’s and BMI’s aggregated market power is as real today as it ever was. The Division agreed with licensees that ASCAP and BMI continue to wield sufficient market power requiring the continued application of the consent decrees and oversight of the Department of Justice.”

Source: Broadcasters Support Anticipated Government Conclusions In Antitrust Review Of ASCAP …

RightsTech Extra

AI Companies Get the Picture

By Paul Sweeting

One of the biggest challenges facing copyright owners in grappling with the rapid development of generative AI technology, apart from a murky legal status, has been market failure, as discussed here in previous posts. The amount of existing material needed to train gen-AI models is so great, and so varied, that gauging the value of any one piece of it to establish a market price for it for licensing purposes is often effectively impossible. One group of rights owners is finding willing buyers among AI companies, however. An active, albeit for various reasons mostly sotto voce market has begun to emerge for the use of images held in large photo archives and by photo agencies and social media platforms, complete with per-unit industry and at least a nod toward creator attribution... Read More >>