SiriusXM Settles Turtles’ Copyright Lawsuit for $99 Million
SiriusXM will pay up to $99 million to settle a class action lawsuit filed by the Turtles after the satellite radio company went years broadcasting songs recorded before 1972 without compensating labels or artists, The New York Times reports.
The suit centers around a 1972 copyright law, which offered federal protection to new audio recordings but was unclear about what to do with songs recorded prior to that year. In 2013, the Turtles filed three class action suits claiming protection under state copyright laws in California, Florida and New York. The major record labels – Sony, Universal and Warner – filed their own suit not long after.
Since 2013, the courts have continually ruled in favor of the recording industry. In October 2014, judge Mary Strobel ruled that while…
