BizTech Law Blog

Could Proposed Law Put Artists Like Justin Bieber in the Slammer?

The Commercial Felony Streaming Act (S.978) is pending introduction to the United States Senate.  If S.978 is passed, it would make the unauthorized streaming of copyrighted material a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

The potential passage of S.978 has sparked fears that artists like Justin Bieber (who began his quest toward pop stardom by singing covers on YouTube!) could end up in jail. DemandProgress.org has even argued that S.978 could shut down Twitter, YouTube! and other popular sites.

But will S.978 really be the downfall of YouTube! and Justin Bieber?  Probably not.

Uploading videos to YouTube! that contain copyrighted material has always been against the law (i.e., copyright infringement). Existing law, however, provides felony penalties for copyright infringement only if the defendant illegally reproduced or distributed copyrighted work. In contrast, violating other exclusive rights via a public performance is generally only considered a misdemeanor.

Due to technological advances, copyrighted material is now being streamed online, not just downloaded. However, does streaming constitute reproduction and distribution to which felony penalties apply or a public performance? Well, Internet streaming of copyrighted material implicates the public performance right. However, S.978 extends felony penalties to such activity in certain situations. Specifically, S.978 provides for a maximum 5 year prison sentence if "the offense consists of 10 or more public performances by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copyrighted works; and the total retail value of the performances, or the total economic value of such public performances to the infringer or to the copyright owner, would exceed $2,500; or the total fair market value of licenses to offer performances of those works would exceed $5,000."

Please stay tuned for future updates and analysis regarding S.978.

Categories: Copyright