On December 12, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) adopted an order that creates a reassigned number database to help callers avoid Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) violations that can occur when telephone numbers get reassigned to new users. We covered some of the details in a previous CommLawBlog post when the FCC pre-released...… Continue Reading
Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published FCC Enforcement Monitor monthly since 1999 to inform our clients of notable FCC enforcement actions against FCC license holders and others. This month’s issue includes: Headlines: Unpaid Regulatory Fees Bring License Revocation Proceeding for Massachusetts FM Station Unregistered Tower and Unauthorized Silence Spell Trouble for North Carolina AM Station FCC […]
Two years into Ajit Pai’s chairmanship, a central theme at the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) is deregulation. Sometimes framed in terms of “modernizing media rules,” the topic is at the forefront of just about every proceeding. This was true for one of the most recent decisions at the Commission, as a Report and...… Continue Reading
Donald Ervin Paris, 80, of Ripley passed away Sunday, December 16, 2018 at Baptist Hospital Tipton. Visitation will begin at 12 PM Wednesday at First [...]
We usually publish our “Webcaster Wake Up Call!” post each January. This post reminds webcasting services of their compliance obligations for the upcoming year under the statutory licenses found in Sections 112 and 114 of the Copyright Act (the “statutory licenses”) allowing them to publicly perform sound recordings via digital audio transmission. Part of the...… Continue Reading
Yesterday, I noted a news story about a bar that stopped hosting live music when it was hit with a lawsuit by BMI because it had not paid royalties for its use of music. The issue of music in bars and restaurants also came up in a continuing legal education seminar on music licensing that...… Continue Reading
Yesterday, it was announced that Time Magazine had awarded its person of the year award to “the Guardians” – journalists around the world who risk their lives to bring us the news each day. Most broadcasters don’t think of their on-air personnel as facing the same risks as journalists in war zones or facing imprisonment...… Continue Reading
December (the most wonderful time of the year) often carries with it a sense of retrospection. We start looking back on the year that was, compiling “Best of” lists, tying up loose ends, getting those last donations and expenses in under the wire. Of course, there’s also plenty of forward-looking at what the new year...… Continue Reading
Believe it or not, there are companies that make legitimate “robocalls,” and those companies strive to comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). If you’ve received an appointment reminder from your doctor or dentist, a package delivery notification, or a school closure notification lately those messages were likely delivered to your phone using an...… Continue Reading