NPR takes first swing in royalty dispute

March 20, 2007 NPR, the Digital Media Assn. and other groups have mounted the first legal challenges to a new royalty rate for music delivered on the Internet, asking a panel of copyright law judges Monday to redo their decision. In its filing for rehearing before the Copyright Royalty Board, the public radio service argued that the rate could make it impossibly expensive for NPR to stream music in its broadcasts and that the rate structure formulated by the board is "unworkable." The filing is a first step by webcasters who plan to challenge the CRB's decision in federal court.

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