A California federal judge on Thursday rejected dueling Hail Mary motions by both sides in a key battle over copyrights to pre-1972 recordings. U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez in Los Angeles refused to reconsider his earlier ruling that Sirius XM Radio Inc. faces copyright liability for broadcasting pre-1972 songs without paying royalties. But he also rebuffed a bid to sanction Sirius and its lawyers at O’Melveny & Myers for making allegedly frivolous arguments, finding that O’Melveny hadn’t acted recklessly or tried to mislead the court.
“Sirius XM did try to fit its arguments within some general federal case law on reconsideration motions, and hoped that the court would be amenable to considering theories that Sirius XM’s prior counsel did not assert at summary judgment,” Gutierrez ruled. “This motion is more fairly characterized as a long shot than a piece of harassment.”
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