Nielsen's Saga Copyright Suit Delayed Until 2015

Nielsen's copyright suit against radio broadcaster Saga Communications - begun by Arbitron pre-merger - will not now go to trial until July 2015. A federal judge in Delaware has scheduled the case, following the firms' failure to reach an out-of-court agreement.

Prior to its acquisition by Nielsen, Arbitron brought a suit against Saga, claiming that the company had infringed its copyrights by reproducing and distributing its audience estimates without authorization.

Arbitron's estimates are used to determine ad rates, make programming decisions and decide staff compensation and bonus arrangements. According to the suit, lodged in the US District Court for the District of Delaware, between 2010 and 2012 Saga's management and employees obtained copies of Arbitron's copyrighted audience estimates and used these for setting advertising rates at the broadcaster's various radio stations. Arbitron alleged that the use of this copyrighted material was so widespread, that station personnel coined the phrase the 'Arbitron Bonus', to describe how staff pay bonuses were determined according to how well a specific radio program performed in the illegally obtained audience estimates.

Last May, Arbitron said it would be seeking damages of at least $150k per infringement, as well as attorney's fees, costs, and 'an award of enhanced damages'. Saga denied the copyright infringement allegations, but admitted that from time to time, third-parties had given the company excerpts and summaries of facts, information, data or numerical rankings provided to the third parties by Arbitron.

A four-day trial is due to begin in July 2015.