Members of 1960s rock band The Turtles have lost a major legal battle in their quest to collect copyright royalties from their old hit songs.

The Florida Supreme Court held today (PDF) that the state doesn't recognize any copyrights in pre-1972 music recordings, despite the band's arguments to the contrary. All seven justices concurred in the ruling.

Flo & Eddie, a company that represents two members of The Turtles, had claimed that even though there is no federal copyright in sound recordings for pre-1972 songs, they are entitled to payments because their songs are protected by state copyrights and common law. The band members sued Sirius XM in 2013, and lawsuits against streaming services like Pandora followed. The major record labels also got involved, essentially copying The Turtles' strategy, by suing Sirius as well as Pandora.

The RIAA lawsuit against Sirius was settled for $210 million , and the labels' case against Pandora was settled for $90 million . The Turtles settled a lawsuit against Sirius just before trial last year.

However, following those settlements, copyright owners were dealt a setback. Last year, New York's highest court voted 6-2 that there's no right to control public performances under the state's common law. New York state copyright is strictly about copying. Today's ruling out of Florida is in many ways similar to that New York ruling.

"Florida common law has never previously recognized an exclusive right of public performance for sound recordings," stated Justice Charles Canady, writing for a unanimous court. "To recognize such a right for the first time today would be an inherently legislative task."

The court explicitly agrees with the New York court's reasoning that finding a new right of public performance in the common law would "upset settled expectations" and impact the "many competing interests at stake."

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"Flo & Eddie essentially asks this Court to recognize an unworkable common law right in pre-1972 sound recordings that is broader thanright ever previously recognized insound recording," Canady wrote (emphasis in original).

Congress left little doubt that the question of what, if any, legal protections to give pre-1972 sound recordings was a state decision. Far from enshrining a right related to public performance of those songs, however, Canady notes that the Florida Legislature took steps "to prevent [such] common law from developing in Florida.

Seeking pre-1972 royalty payouts as a legal strategy is directly connected to the rise of satellite radio and Internet streaming technologies. Satellite and Internet music companies already operate at a disadvantage compared to terrestrial radio stations, which don't have to pay performance royalties on any music. Insofar as they're compelled to make additional payments over pre-1972 music, it will constitute an extra barrier to entering that market.