Pandora Sues The Turtles

Pandora Media Inc. urged a California federal judge Friday to toss copyright class action claims brought by members of the 1960s rock band The Turtles alleging the online radio company infringed copyrights for pre-1972 songs, saying the rockers are claiming nonexistent rights to threaten Pandora's free speech rights.

In a motion to strike the claims under California's anti-Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation statute, Pandora argued that the plaintiffs hadn't asserted their alleged rights in the 47 years since they created their recordings.

Pandora claims that The Turtles' recordings enjoyed no state law copyright right protection because California sees publishing a work as extinguishing its state copyright protection, which happens as soon as a record is released and sold, allowing those who buy the record to use it in any manner they choose. The 1982 revision to California state copyright law -- which cleared away state statutes made redundant by federal law in the 1976 Copyright Act and clarified and narrowed other provisions of state law -- does not "resurrect" copyright protection, after its been published, according to the the Pandora motion. That's why the state law rights that the Flo & Eddie complaint cites, "do not exist," as the motion states.

As such, the "Flo & Eddie's complaint is legally defective on its face and burdens Pandora's First Amendment rights," reads Pandora's motion. "Plaintiff seeks to enjoin a broadcaster from communicating media to the public. The anti-SLAPP law was created precisely for baseless attacks like this." Pandora added the the California Code of Civil Procedure "expressly recognizes that anti-SLAPP motions can be brought to strike lawsuits of exactly this type."

According to Billboard, even if the Judge strikes down the motion, it allows Pandora to file an appeal, which could move the case immediately to another judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. As the Flo & Eddie lawsuit currently filed against Pandora is before the very same judge, U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez, who ruled in their favor on the very same issue against SiriusXM, a change of venue is something that Pandora is likely aiming for with this motion.