Court: Yahoo’s LAUNCHcast music service is not ‘interactive’; no separate license deals needed

Court: Yahoo’s LAUNCHcast not ‘interactive’

LOS ANGELES — A federal appeals court in New York says Yahoo’s LAUNCHcast music service is not “interactive” enough to require separate licensing deals with recording labels.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Friday that LAUNCHcast did not offer its users enough control over selecting songs for personalized webcasts that they would choose that over purchasing music.

The ruling allows LAUNCHcast to pay a set fee through the U.S. government, one that tends to be cheaper and doesn’t require negotiations with individual labels.

The ruling in favor of LAUNCHcast and against subsidiaries of Sony Music Entertainment covers operations from 1999 to 2001.

Since relaunching in February powered by CBS Radio, LAUNCHcast no longer offers webcasts based on individual preferences, although Yahoo Inc. says it has been working to relaunch that.