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The Fairness in Music Licensing Act increased the number of bars and restaurants that were exempted from needing a public performance license to play music or television during business hours. The bill was companion legislation passed along with the Copyright Term Extension Act in 1998. ==Background and passage== United States copyright law gives copyright owners the exclusive right to publicly perform their works.〔17 U.S.C. § 106(4)〕 Performance Rights Organizations (PRO), such as ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and Acemla, administer public performance rights for songwriters and composers, providing blanket licenses to venues allowing them to play music for their customers. Section 110(5) of the Copyright Act of 1976 exempted the need for a public performance license for music played on "a single receiving apparatus of a kind commonly used in private homes" and without a "direct charge" made to listen to the performance.〔Copyright Act of 1976〕 In the years following, courts have interpreted the provision in widely divergent ways, leading to uncertainty for bar and restaurant owners who played music on their premises.〔Nimmer, David, ''Codifying Copyright Comprehensibly'', 51 UCLA Law Review 1233, 1280 (2004).〕 Many restaurant and bar owners also complained about "disruptive" and "coercive" tactics employed by field agents of the PRO's investigating unlicensed establishments.〔''See'' "Oversight Hearing on Fairness in Music Licensing, Before the Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property of the House Judiciary Committee, 105th Congress, 1st Session (July 17, 1997)〕 As a result, the National Restaurant Association, the National Licensed Beverage Association, and similar interest groups began lobbying for a more favorable exemption in the early 1990s.〔(ASCAP - Legislative Timeline )〕 Their legislative attempts were strongly opposed by the PRO's, who argued that music played in bars and restaurants draws customers in and songwriters deserve to be compensated for the use of their works in this manner.〔''(Music Licensing in Restaurants and Retail and Other Establishments )'', Before the Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property of the House Judiciary Committee, 105th Congress, July 17, 1997〕 Despite the opposition, the bill was ultimately successful, after having been attached as an amendment to the Copyright Term Extension Act, and was signed into law on October 27, 1998. The new provision kept the 'homestyle' exemption of the original provision but added specific exemptions based on the type of establishment, size of establishment, and type of equipment used to play music. Several studies have concluded that the Act exempts around 70% of eating and drinking establishments.〔Graeme B. Dinwoodie, ''The Development and Incorporation of International Norms in the Formation of Copyright Law'', 62 Ohio State Law Journal 733, 752 (2001).〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fairness in Music Licensing Act of 1998」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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