President Donald Trump signed the unanimously passed Music Modernization Act into law Thursday. “Certain entertainers have been taken advantage of, but no longer. Because of Trump -- can you believe it?” he said. Bill author Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., attended the signing ceremony, along with musician Kid Rock. The bill “will improve the lives of songwriters, recording artists, producers, sound engineers, and just about everyone who works in the music industry,” Hatch said. NAB and several others applauded. MMA "ends old arguments of the past and moves the entire industry forward together into a brighter, better streaming future,” said Digital Media Association CEO Chris Harrison.

The agenda for the FTC’s fourth round of consumer protection and competition policy hearings will focus on intellectual property, the agency said Thursday. Highlighting the Oct. 23-24 event at the Constitution Center are Office of Policy Planning Chief Counsel-Intellectual Property Suzanne Munck and Patent and Trademark Office Commissioner-Patents Drew Hirshfeld. The third round of hearings will be Monday through Wednesday, with a keynote from Commissioner Rohit Chopra (see 1810020061).

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.

The Music Modernization Act was one of two copyright bills the House passed unanimously Tuesday, as expected (see 1809190029), and the bill awaits the president’s signature. The Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act also passed the House after clearing the upper chamber (see 1806290051).

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 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' TVEyes decision earlier this year needs Supreme Court review to prevent news channels from using copyright law as protection from research about and criticism of them, TVEyes said in a petition for writ of certiorari filed Wednesday with the Supreme Court. The appellate court reversed a lower court ruling that some TVEyes functions are fair use and found that its redistribution of Fox News content was too broad to be considered fair use (see 1802270025). In its cert petition to be posted in docket 18A117, TVEyes said that with the Supreme Court not getting into copyright fair use issues in more than 20 years, even as digital technology has changed massively, the case is "an ideal opportunity" for confirming that fair use protects research services used in criticism and analysis of copyrighted works. Fox News outside counsel didn't comment.

With safe harbor protection, dominant digital platforms ignore “massive theft and exploitation of creative works on the internet,” 17 minority organizations told House lawmakers Tuesday. The American Black Film Festival, TechLatino, Center for Asian American Media and Multicultural Media Correspondents Association signed the letter to Reps. Judy Chu, D-Calif.; Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla.; Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-N.M.; and Cedric Richmond, D-La. They asked the lawmakers to explore “alarming trends” surrounding internet piracy but didn't directly seek legislation.

A preliminary deal between the U.S. and Mexico amending the North American Free Trade Agreement would extend the minimum copyright term to 75 years beyond the life of the work’s creator, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said Monday. The current copyright term for most music, movies and books extends 70 years. Public Knowledge Global Policy Director Gus Rossi called the proposal "a staggeringly brazen attempt by the entertainment industries to launder unpopular policies through international agreements" that won't survive domestic debate and violates congressional instruction.

If satellite radio is required to pay pre-1972 royalties to music artists, terrestrial radio should have to do the same, SiriusXM CEO Jim Beyer wrote in a Billboard commentary Thursday. Sirius opposes the Compensating Legacy Artists for Their Songs, Service and Important Contributions to Society (Classics) Act (S-2393) portion of the Music Modernization Act (MMA), House-passed legislation being considered by the Senate (see 1808170046). That part of the bill would require Sirius to pay for use of pre-1972 sound recordings. “While we do not believe CLASSICS is good public policy, SiriusXM has nonetheless been working with Congress to address our specific concerns with certain MMA language,” Beyer wrote. Sirius has paid $250 million to pre-1972 artists based on existing agreements, he said. An NAB spokesman emailed: “It's unfortunate that SiriusXM is trying to torpedo the Music Modernization Act at the 11th hour. NAB strongly supports this legislation and hopes that SiriusXM is unsuccessful in its effort to derail this important bill."

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, expressed optimism Monday that his chamber can incorporate last-minute changes into landmark music copyright legislation (see 1808170046) and send it back to the House for final approval. Asked about an amendment from Texas Republican Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, viewed as one of the last major hurdles for the Music Modernization Act, Grassley told us: “I think we can accommodate it, but I have not seen the language yet.” Grassley said he met recently with lawmakers to discuss the bill: “The idea is to get a vote on it, and to work out some changes that we can get the bill so that the House can pass it.” A vote hasn't been scheduled in the upper chamber, he said.