Digital Media Assn. spent $286,301 to lobby in 1Q

The trade organization, which represents webcasters and digital music and movie companies including Amazon.com Inc., Yahoo Inc., Time Warner Inc.'s America Online and RealNetworks Inc., lobbied for legislation intended to improve federal efforts to halt piracy and counterfeiting of American-owned intellectual property, including artistic work.

The group also lobbied for a measure that would roll back a recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board to hike music royalty fees for Internet radio stations, and on proposals to create a new performance rights system to compensate artists for use of their sound recordings, according to a disclosure form filed with the House clerk's office April 21.

Greg Barnes, former counsel to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, was among those lobbying on the association's behalf in the first three months of the year.