Buma-Stemra, the organisation that represents the interests of music authors in the Netherlands, began sending invoices to websites that stream radio stations online. According to Buma, websites must pay a fee for the use of copyrighted works. NederlandFM, a website that embeds dozens of radio stations, refuses to pay and Buma has therefore filed a lawsuit.

This case mainly focuses on professional websites that profit heavily from embedding of a radio stream. Radio signals are being picked up and transmitted via the website. The question now arises (again) whether embedding can be seen as 'making public' or 'reproducing' according to Dutch copyright legislation.

 "Revenue streams are generated with the artists’ work, so artists are entitled to compensation," according to Buma-Stemra, that stands for protecting copyrights of the music industry. They target only the sites that do not have their own 'player', but stream from another website. "The point is that music is copied and that they are not paying for it. In this case, it is embedding a radio stream, but the rules apply to all methods of copying."

The radio websites disagree. "With installing a fee to embed radio, Buma-Stemra also collects money for footage that has not been used. In addition, embedding does not constitute “publication or reproduction” under Dutch copyright law. Furthermore, putting a price on embedding is interfering with the freedom to receive information from the Internet;" said a spokesman of the streaming websites. The Green Party fraction in Dutch parliament is also of this opinion and supports the claim that there is no publication or reproduction by embedding a radio stream on a website.

The comparison with YouTube is quickly made: Buma-Stemra refrained from “embedding fees” in 2009, with regards to the popular video service. Mariko Peters, MP for the Green Party, also compares the situation with Youtube. "This is a repeat of 2009, but now the case is even more absurd, since the radio stations have already paid royalties to Buma-Stemra," said Peters.

Peters has tabled parliamentary questions on the issue. "Summoning the streaming websites to pay royalties is a striking duplication. This underlines again the need to revise copyright law so that it really works for artists and not to the detriment of consumers;" Ms. Peters said. The Green party asked Fred Teeven, the Minister of Justice, to take measures against Buma-Stemra’s claim to charge for embedding radio streams. The Greens also asked whether the State is willing to amend the law. Ms. Peters argues that the radio sites are right in refusing to pay. According to her, embedding is a form of "re-publication", to which the quotation exemption should apply. We will follow this story closely, to find out whether Minister Teeven agrees with her.

Source: Nu.nl