An interim rule and notice of inquiry for sound recordings "fixed" before Feb. 15, 1972, was issued, the Copyright Office announced Tuesday. The interim rule was triggered by the signing of the Music Modernization Act (see 1810110038). It “establishes a mechanism for rights owners to file schedules listing their pre-1972 sound recordings with the Office, for individuals to request timely notification of when such filings are indexed into the Office’s public records, and for the submission of contact information by entities publicly performing pre-1972 sound recordings by means of digital audio transmission as of October 11, 2018.” Comments on the noncommercial use exception are due Nov. 15.

An International Trade Commission limited exclusion order bans import of Toshiba non-volatile memory devices that infringe patents held by Macronix, said Monday's Federal Register notice. The ITC opened a Trade Act Section 337 investigation in April 2017 on allegations Toshiba was manufacturing and importing memory cards, car navigation systems and other items that copy Macronix patented technologies. Toshiba didn’t comment.

Amazon, Microsoft and Sony "publicly exploit" the voice of Dion DiMucci on his recording of the 1960s hit "The Wanderer" to promote sales online of the Fallout 4 videogame for PlayStation and Xbox, violating his “common law right of publicity,” alleged the singer-songwriter in a complaint (in Pacer) filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The companies use DiMucci's "identity, appropriating it for their commercial advantage, without consent, which has financially damaged him by the loss of the value of the use of his identity they appropriated and the profits they earned therefrom,” said the complaint. Amazon, Microsoft and Sony lost their authorization to use the song with the October 2016 expiration of a license agreement they signed with ZeniMax Media, which publishes Fallout 4, and Universal Music, the owner of the common-law copyright of DiMucci’s recording, it said. DiMucci “authored” the song in 1961 for now-defunct Laurie Records, said the complaint, though songwriting credits for "The Wanderer" actually belong to Ernie Maresca. Amazon, Microsoft and Sony didn’t comment Friday.

Sony Interactive Entertainment is targeting an eBay seller for allegedly distributing “jailbroken” PS4s that play pirated games by “circumventing” copyright protections built into the consoles’ hard drives. Sony agents bought some of the PS4 consoles defendant Eric Scales sells under the eBay handle “blackcloak13" and "confirmed" they were “modified to enable the user to access and run certain ‘exploit’ software code that, when run on the PS4, circumvents technological protection measures,” said the complaint (in Pacer), filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Riverside, California. It seeks a Digital Millennium Copyright Act order permanently barring Scales from distributing the jailbroken PS4s. Scales also runs a website that advertises availability of jailbroken PS4s on eBay, said the complaint. We couldn't reach him for comment.

As 86 percent of global listeners consume music through on-demand services, 38 percent obtain music through copyright infringement, reported the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. On average, consumers listen to music 2.5 hours a day, and three-quarters of listeners use smartphones for it. Stream ripping is the most common copyright infringement method for music at 32 percent. Roughly 23 percent of consumers download music via cyber lockers or peer-to-peer services and 17 percent of consumers use search engines to locate “infringing content,” it said. Stream-ripping users “are more likely to say that they rip music so they have music to listen to offline,” said IFPI, so they can avoid paying for a premium streaming subscriptions. Radio remains “resilient,” said IFPI. Some 91 percent of U.S. listeners report listening to music via radio.

DOJ should maintain the BMI and ASCAP consent decrees (see 1806110051) so that venues aren't subject to more-complicated and expensive performance rights licenses, venue owners wrote Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim this week. Delrahim will testify Wednesday with FTC Chairman Joe Simons before the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee (see 1808290060). DOJ is reviewing whether the music licensing consent decrees are still needed. More than 1,250 public venue owners signed the letter, which was written by the National Restaurant Association, WineAmerica and American Beverage Licensees. DOJ didn’t comment.

Vizio can zoom into the graphics layer of a display screen to help visually impaired viewers better navigate TV onscreen menus, said a U.S. patent application (20180275856) published Thursday at the Patent and Trademark Office. Visually impaired consumers often have trouble viewing menus on their TV screens, said the application, which describes a “zooming display system” featuring multiple “numbered zones,” each controllable through an “arrow/navigation key” or by pressing the appropriate number on the remote. Friday, Vizio didn’t comment.

Sony Music is shortchanging the estate of late singer-songwriter Rick Nelson by withholding royalties due from international streaming sales of his recordings, breaching his 1976 contract with then-CBS Records, alleged a Tuesday complaint (in Pacer) in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. The label agreed to pay Nelson a basic 24 percent royalty on net sales, with twice-yearly accounting statements, said the contract (in Pacer). The complaint seeks class-action status on behalf of artists who signed similar agreements with CBS Records, later renamed Sony Music after Sony America bought the label in 1987. Nelson, who died in a 1985 plane crash, released more than 30 albums, “almost all of which” made the Billboard Top 100, said the complaint. Top 10 hits including “Poor Little Fool,” No. 1 in 1958, and “Travelin’ Man,” top in 1961, it said. Sony Music “impermissably” assesses an “intercompany charge” for its international sales that takes up to 68 percent “off the top” of global revenue earned from streaming sales, said the complaint. It “bases the artist’s royalty rate on the remainder, which methodology directly violates” the 1976 contract, it said: Sony Music “underreports revenue generated from foreign sales” by “improperly” applying the intercompany charge. Wednesday, Sony Music declined comment.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the Copyright Royalty Board’s Web IV music streaming rates for 2016-20 in a Tuesday opinion filed by Judge Sri Srinivasan. "We sustain the Board’s determination in all respects." CRB set the statutory royalty rate for subscription-based commercial noninteractive webcasters at .0022 cent per song performance for 2016, to be adjusted in ensuing years to account for inflation. The royalty rate for ad-based commercial noninteractive webcasters was .0017 cent per song performance for 2016, also to be adjusted for inflation. The rates were reasonable, and CRB "adequately and reasonably explained its decision to set different rates for ad-based and subscription noninteractive webcasting services," Srinivasan wrote for himself and Judith Rogers and Thomas Griffith. NAB "is delighted by the D.C. Circuit’s decision to uphold the streaming rates for broadcasters set by" CRB. SoundExchange, among the challengers, didn’t comment.

The American Watch Association, Fitbit and Fossil opposed tariffs on smartwatches imported to the U.S. under a classification that includes a broad assortment of connected devices and networking products. “American consumers will ultimately feel the brunt of this tariff when they seek to purchase watches, innovative wearable devices, and accessories,” Fossil commented. “Tariffs on smartwatches from China will increase costs for these members and, in turn, could result in" less U.S. R&D, AWA commented. Remove that entire subheading from the targeted duties list or yank wearables or delay the levies' implementation, Fitbit said. The comments in docket USTR-2018-0026 came after many tech heavy hitters opposed the penalties over the countries' IP disputes (see 1809120049).