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New station launching at 105.1 FM a copyright violation?
- Thread starter 34james
- Start date
Google KISS FM and you will find lots of stations. Not all are owned by iHeart.
I believe that those that are not owned by iHeart are paying a licensing fee. Example: KKSS in Albuquerque.
There are also some "Kiss" stations that predate the Clear Channel registration which are grandfathered in, such as KISS in San Antonio.
iHeart has also licensed uses of "The Beat" in some markets.
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Thanks for the information, David. I didn't add it to my post because I wasn't sure that iHeart owned the rights to the KISS radio brand.
iHeart licenses the name to stations other than their own.
KISS is either a trademark or a service mark. However, it doesn't cover the entire country. San Antonio and Washington DC are excluded. I believe there are a few other markets, like Atlanta, that are also not part of that trademark. K-Love is a similar situation. EMF has a national trademark that excludes markets like Dallas/Ft. Worth, LA, Houston, and, I believe San Diego.
Anyone wishing to use either name can provided they obtain a license from the respective rights holder.
Anyone wishing to use either name can provided they obtain a license from the respective rights holder.
R
Radio-X
Guest
Ditto with "the Buzz". Even though stations had been using the term 7-8 years or longer before WBUZ signed on ('the Buzz' is originally from MTV's alternative music show 'Buzz Bin' according to a 8/1995 Richmond Times-Dispatch article)
WBUZ in Nashville (owned by Cromwell, last I checked) trademarked the term. Stations that used it prior to trademarking in the mid-2000's are allowed to without a fee (example: the former WPBZ in Palm Beach predated WBUZ in using the term by about 6 years). I'm not a lawyer, but chances are the cluster that owns the former WPBZ still hold the rights to call a station 'the Buzz' without any agreement with WBUZ.
CC/iHeart used "the Buzz" on their active rocker in Greensboro, NC from 2009-15. Chances are, they had to work out an agreement with Cromwell to use "the Buzz" on their station.
In regards to the KISSFM branding -- could just be a stunt. Don't think there's a copyright violation if they don't actually use the namesake on the station.
Radio-X
WBUZ in Nashville (owned by Cromwell, last I checked) trademarked the term. Stations that used it prior to trademarking in the mid-2000's are allowed to without a fee (example: the former WPBZ in Palm Beach predated WBUZ in using the term by about 6 years). I'm not a lawyer, but chances are the cluster that owns the former WPBZ still hold the rights to call a station 'the Buzz' without any agreement with WBUZ.
CC/iHeart used "the Buzz" on their active rocker in Greensboro, NC from 2009-15. Chances are, they had to work out an agreement with Cromwell to use "the Buzz" on their station.
In regards to the KISSFM branding -- could just be a stunt. Don't think there's a copyright violation if they don't actually use the namesake on the station.
Radio-X
Dallas, LA, Houston and San Diego were grandfathered when EMF got a national service mark for K-Love. Houston and San Diego are no longer excluded.
Oh no! Not mix 107.9!! 
WOW! Good thing KISS 105 didn't came! It's still 105.1 The Gift according to Radio Insight. However, bad news for SLC anyways. Could this be the end of MIX 107.9? Despite it's "not too bad" ratings, it could be a frequency change to 105.1 or one of SLC's biggest radio suicides ever! What about 103.9? Will that end too? Or will it go on w/o 107.9 and only serve Provo and not SLC?
WOW! Good thing KISS 105 didn't came! It's still 105.1 The Gift according to Radio Insight. However, bad news for SLC anyways. Could this be the end of MIX 107.9? Despite it's "not too bad" ratings, it could be a frequency change to 105.1 or one of SLC's biggest radio suicides ever! What about 103.9? Will that end too? Or will it go on w/o 107.9 and only serve Provo and not SLC?
WOW! Good thing KISS 105 didn't came! It's still 105.1 The Gift according to Radio Insight. However, bad news for SLC anyways. Could this be the end of MIX 107.9? Despite it's "not too bad" ratings, it could be a frequency change to 105.1 or one of SLC's biggest radio suicides ever! What about 103.9? Will that end too? Or will it go on w/o 107.9 and only serve Provo and not SLC?
Looks like that change is about to come soon, as KUDD-FM will move to 105.1 FM with the call letters next Thursday (March 31st), but KUUU's move to 92.1 is still pending. With that, will it become KISS 105 or remain as Mix 105.1. It had an identity crisis as the Power D, then Power 107.9, then a break from Top 40, and now Mix 107.9. Will it stay or will it change names?
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