[ This announcement appears to be from a press release by MIDI
 [ Manufacturers Association, and is reproduced here completely.

Groundbreaking new U.S. Copyright Office opinion equates MIDI files with
CDs and audio cassettes

Source: Business Wire¶
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE) via Individual Inc. --

The MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) Manufacturers Association
(MMA) with assistance from multimedia industry leaders such as Thomas
Dolby/Headspace, Microsoft, Apple, Yamaha and Kurzweil announced today at
the Interactive Multimedia Association Expo that legal opinions from the
U.S. Copyright Office state that MIDI files are subject to mechanical
compulsory licenses when not accompanying a motion picture or other
audiovisual work.

This groundbreaking and controversial decision will significantly lower
publishers per unit licensing fees for MIDI recordings of musical works.
At the same time, it will allow for a substantial increase in the number
of published MIDI files, increasing publishers overall revenues and
bringing MIDI into the mainstream consumer audio market.

"MIDI technology can dramatically improve music education, games and
Internet applications," said Tom White, president of the MMA.  "But until
now, licensing for audio-only MIDI files has been difficult and
expensive."

According to Charlotte Douglass, principal legal advisor to the general
counsel, United States Copyright Office:  "The Office still considers the
media upon which aural sequences are recorded (unaccompanied by visual
images) to be phonorecords and that such media are subject to a mechanical
license or compulsory license under Section 115.  The output of Standard
MIDI files are works of authorship copyrightable as sound recordings,
since the information in the file causes the sound device to render the
pitch, timbre, speed, duration and volume of the musical notes in a
certain order, as does a player piano in conjunction with a piano roll,
or a compact disc player in conjunction with a compact disc."

"This opinion clarifies for everyone that MIDI files are no different from
other forms of audio," said Brian Ward, special counsel to the MMA. "This
has been the critical missing link for explosive growth in consumer
interactive audio applications."

While removing barriers to the use of MIDI data in many areas, this
opinion still leaves unresolved other creative control issues affected by
a compulsory license. "Our intent is to continue our dialogue with
publishers and songwriters to help create solutions which will allow
everyone to benefit," noted White.

Comprised of over 140 hardware and software companies from various
industries, the MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA) is dedicated to
improving and standardizing the capabilities and marketability of
MIDI-based products.  Membership includes leading companies from every
application of audio and MIDI technology, including stage and theater,
music performance, home and studio recording, multimedia computing, film
and broadcast, and others.

The MMA's SMF [Standard Midi File] Copyright and Licensing Committee was
formed with the assistance of charter members Roland and Yamaha to
communicate the interests of the music products industry and its customers
to music publishers, artists, and copyright holders in hopes of developing
a strong market for commercial MIDI files.

For more information, please write the MIDI Manufacturers Association,
P.O. Box 3173, La Habra, CA, 90632; send e-mail to mma@midi.org; or visit
the MMA Web site at http://www.midi.org.