In 2005, the series was moved to an earlier 9:30 am time slot, before the show's international licensing was canceled due to the music copyright fees.

This had been common practice, but at that point there was a growing awareness of music copyright.

Though Gertrude was a savvy negotiator, her understanding of the value of music copyrights was limited.

But perhaps more troubling to the stations than the dispute with Aftra is the uncertainty over a 1998 federal law on music copyrights and the Internet.

Levy quickly came to appreciate the great potential profits that could accrue from owning music copyrights.

The recording industry's biggest companies have long required retailers to include such restrictions to protect their music copyrights.

The show served as a live feed into the house, and was edited only for slanderous statements and music copyrights.

And it could challenge how much control over music copyrights the labels were entitled to have, he added.

Mr. Hashimoto said at a news conference soon after the meeting that Japan might follow other major nations in respecting music copyrights.

The European Union and the United States agreed on a temporary solution of their dispute over music copyright.