Flo & Eddie Objects to Proposed NAB, Pandora Amicus Briefs in Sirius XM's 2nd Circuit Appeal

Flo & Eddie, who own the copyright to The Turtles' “Happy Together” and the rest of that band's music library, objected in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to motions by NAB, Pandora and others to file amicus briefs in support of Sirius XM’s appeal of U.S. District Court rulings in New York that Sirius owed performance royalties on the performance of the Turtles’ pre-1972 recordings. Other parties that have petitioned to file in support of Sirius include the Electronic Frontier Foundation, New York State Broadcasters Association, Public Knowledge and two groups of law professors (see 1508060052). All seven proposed amicus briefs “are deeply flawed from a merits perspective, almost universally joining with Sirius XM in relying upon inapposite principles of federal copyright law to urge for limitations on state law property rights” or “urging the court to rule based on policy arguments instead of the actual law before it,” Flo & Eddie said Friday. They objected to proposed briefs from NAB, Pandora and the two groups of law professors, saying they “cross the line from merely being erroneous in their advocacy to not even coming close to satisfying the standard for leave being granted.” Pandora and one group of law professors “mimic” Sirius XM’s opening brief and arguments in the appeal, while NAB and the second group of law professors “raise arguments that were not raised by Sirius XM and are thus waived and not before” the 2nd Circuit, Flo & Eddie said. Amicus briefs that essentially supplicate a party’s brief “fail” to provide additional insights in a case and “should not be entertained by the courts,” Flo & Eddie said.