U.S District Court Judge Deborah A. Batts has ruled that the recent suit initiated by the RIAA against satellite radio giants XFM has merit and can go to trial. The RIAA alleges that by allowing listeners to record their broadcasts, XFM directly infringes on the distribution rights of recording companies such as Atlantic, BMG and Capitol.
XFM have stated that they are protected under the 1992 Audio Home Recording Act, which says that making recordings of over-the-air radio broadcasts for private use is a legitimate practice. The Judge disagreed, drawing the distinction between recording "free" radio and recording "subscription" radio.
This is an interesting decision. It basically states that it's OK to record "free" radio, but not radio that users pay for via subscription. With several tools now available for recording internet radio on a PC and saving it as an MP3 file, this trial could have consequences beyond the satellite radio companies...
Full story here.