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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 513. Determination of reasonable license fees for individual proprietors
In the case of any performing rights society subject to a consent
decree which provides for the determination of reasonable license
rates or fees to be charged by the performing rights society,
notwithstanding the provisions of that consent decree, an
individual proprietor who owns or operates fewer than 7
non-publicly traded establishments in which nondramatic musical
works are performed publicly and who claims that any license
agreement offered by that performing rights society is unreasonable
in its license rate or fee as to that individual proprietor, shall
be entitled to determination of a reasonable license rate or fee as
follows:
(1) The individual proprietor may commence such proceeding for
determination of a reasonable license rate or fee by filing an
application in the applicable district court under paragraph (2)
that a rate disagreement exists and by serving a copy of the
application on the performing rights society. Such proceeding
shall commence in the applicable district court within 90 days
after the service of such copy, except that such 90-day
requirement shall be subject to the administrative requirements
of the court.
(2) The proceeding under paragraph (1) shall be held, at the
individual proprietor's election, in the judicial district of the
district court with jurisdiction over the applicable consent
decree or in that place of holding court of a district court that
is the seat of the Federal circuit (other than the Court of
Appeals for the Federal Circuit) in which the proprietor's
establishment is located.
(3) Such proceeding shall be held before the judge of the court
with jurisdiction over the consent decree governing the
performing rights society. At the discretion of the court, the
proceeding shall be held before a special master or magistrate
judge appointed by such judge. Should that consent decree provide
for the appointment of an advisor or advisors to the court for
any purpose, any such advisor shall be the special master so
named by the court.
(4) In any such proceeding, the industry rate shall be presumed
to have been reasonable at the time it was agreed to or
determined by the court. Such presumption shall in no way affect
a determination of whether the rate is being correctly applied to
the individual proprietor.
(5) Pending the completion of such proceeding, the individual
proprietor shall have the right to perform publicly the
copyrighted musical compositions in the repertoire of the
performing rights society by paying an interim license rate or
fee into an interest bearing escrow account with the clerk of the
court, subject to retroactive adjustment when a final rate or fee
has been determined, in an amount equal to the industry rate, or,
in the absence of an industry rate, the amount of the most recent
license rate or fee agreed to by the parties.
(6) Any decision rendered in such proceeding by a special
master or magistrate judge named under paragraph (3) shall be
reviewed by the judge of the court with jurisdiction over the
consent decree governing the performing rights society. Such
proceeding, including such review, shall be concluded within 6
months after its commencement.
(7) Any such final determination shall be binding only as to
the individual proprietor commencing the proceeding, and shall
not be applicable to any other proprietor or any other performing
rights society, and the performing rights society shall be
relieved of any obligation of nondiscrimination among similarly
situated music users that may be imposed by the consent decree
governing its operations.
(8) An individual proprietor may not bring more than one
proceeding provided for in this section for the determination of
a reasonable license rate or fee under any license agreement with
respect to any one performing rights society.
(9) For purposes of this section, the term "industry rate"
means the license fee a performing rights society has agreed to
with, or which has been determined by the court for, a
significant segment of the music user industry to which the
individual proprietor belongs.
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