Washington - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has released a briefing schedule for the appeal of webcasting royalty rates filed by various webcasters, which will begin in February but is not likely to be resolved until sometime in 2009, according to the Broadcast Law blog.

Briefs from the groups who filed the appeal -- including the Digital Media Association, NPR and others -- are due on Feb. 25; the Dept. of Justice, representing the Copyright Royalty Board, will then file its brief defending the existing rates by April 25; and SoundExchange will submit a brief defending the fairness of the rates it recommended to the Copyright Royalty Board by May 15.

The parties will then have until June 12 to reply to one another's briefs.

The argument is then likely to be heard by the Court during the fall, "and a decision would likely not come until very late in the year or, more likely, in 2009," according to the Broadcast Law blog.

Related Links:
http://www.broadcastlawblog.com/archives/cat-internet-radio.html

http://blog.wired.com/music/2007/11/the-us-court-of.html