Broadcast Music v. CBS

In Broadcast Music v. CBS, 441 U.S. 1, 99 S.Ct. 1551, 60 L.Ed.2d 1 (1979), the Court overturned a ruling by the Second Circuit which had held that a "blanket licensing scheme" whereby licensees were allowed to perform certain copyrighted material for a set fee constituted "price fixing" and thus a violation of the Sherman Act. Instead, the Court found that the case should be analyzed under the rule of reason and, therefore, reversed and remanded the case for further proceedings. 441 U.S. at 24-25, 99 S.Ct. at 1564-65. Once again, as in Continental, the basis for the Broadcast Court's decision to apply the rule of reason and not the per se standard was that the defendants had alleged several pro-competitive aspects of the restraints. In so concluding, the Court stated: "The blanket license, as we see it, is not a 'naked restraint of trade with no purpose except stifling of competition,' but rather accompanies the integration of sales, monitoring, and enforcement against unauthorized copyright use." 441 U.S. at 20, 99 S.Ct. at 1562.