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Streaming Pre-'72 Recordings Not Piracy Under Georgia Law

BY R. Robin McDonald
April 02, 2017

The Georgia Supreme Court ruled that media companies streaming music recordings made prior to Feb. 15, 1972, over the Internet without paying royalties or licensing fees aren't violating the state's criminal record piracy law.

The ruling is a win for iHeartMedia, owner of hundreds of AM and FM radio stations across the country, and for iHeartRadio, a radio streaming service that currently has 100 million registered users and allows listeners to customize their music selections and access them for through a variety of electronic devices. iHeart Media Inc. v. Sheridan, S17Q0345.

The Georgia high court's ruling stems from a case now pending in the U.S. District for the Middle District of Georgia where iHeartMedia was sued by former Chicago record company owners Art Sheridan and Barbara Sheridan over iHeart's Web broadcasts of vintage doo-wop, jazz and rhythm & blues recordings to which the Sheridans hold the rights. Sheridan v. iHeartMedia Inc., 1:2015cv00160.

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