Distributing the royalties from religious television broadcasts is more complicated than two mothers arguing over their baby in Solomon’s court, a federal court ruled last month.“King Solomon was not subject to the Administrative Procedure Act; the Royalty Judges are,” wrote judges on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. “Congress thus required that the Royalty Judges’ determinations rest on a focused analysis of the record, not an arbitrary splitting of the baby.”
The dispute, between two groups of Christian television producers, stems back to the way Congress set up television broadcasting in order to protect “intellectual property while also ensuring the information flows freely,” the opinion said.
One of the groups, represented by the Independent Producers Group (IPG), includes the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), James Robison’s Life Outreach International, Benny Hinn, and ...
