Broadcast Music, Inc. v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc.

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI, defendant) and ASCAP served as intermediaries letting thousands of composition copyright owners license their works collectively through blanket licenses covering virtually every protected composition in the U.S., solving the otherwise prohibitive transaction costs of licensing individually. CBS (plaintiff) purchased blanket licenses for its programming but sued BMI and ASCAP, alleging the blanket-license system was per se illegal price fixing and an unlawful monopoly; the district court disagreed, but the court of appeals reversed, finding the arrangement constituted per se price fixing, and BMI appealed.