MOTION PICTURE LICENSING CORPORATION SOLICITATIONS

IADA has received several inquiries about a solicitation letter from the Motion Picture Licensing Corporation (MPLC) that is landing in a lot of motor vehicle dealership mailboxes.  MPLC is selling umbrella licenses for public performances of television programs.  Although these letters look like another one of the many junk mail sham solicitations that arrive in the mail every day, the MPLC correctly points out that there is a strong chance that your satellite or cable subscription may not grant you a license to broadcast all of the programs in your package in the "public" areas in your dealership such as a customer lounge or employee break room.  Most satellite and cable subscription packages are for personal use only.  

If you broadcast programs in a public area without a license, you risk getting sued for copyright infringement and you could incur substantial fines.  

NADA hosted an informative webinar with additional information:

 An archived version is available on NADA's website - "Television and Music at the Dealership; Copyright Compliance Issues & Discussion" (NADA member login required)

 IADA makes no representations about MPLC's, or any other provider's, umbrella license and recommends that you thoroughly vet any provider of an umbrella license. 

FEDERATED'S AUTO DEALER CLAIM OF THE MONTH

The Auto Dealer Claim of the Month is a  feature designed to create awareness of the hazards facing dealerships.

A customer dropped off their vehicle for service at a dealership on a Friday afternoon for service. The service department acknowledged receipt of the vehicle, and a service technician pulled it back into the service bay. A thief walked into the service department, passing at least three employees and a service manager, entered the vehicle, and drove it out of the dealership. It was found 60 days later, completely stripped and undriveable, resulting in a total loss of the vehicle.
Claim amount: $138,000.00  Click here for more on security at dealerships.

GOVERNOR PRITZKER DELIVERS BUDGET ADDRESS - 2022 LEGISLATIVE SESSION RESUMES/COMMITEES BEGIN

Last week, Governor Pritzker delivered the annual budget and State of the State address to the Illinois legislature and to the general public. He detailed a $45.4 billion FY '23 budget proposal which he claims includes a $1.7 billion surplus going into the next fiscal year.  In addition, the Governor details a new $1 billion-dollar temporary tax relief program for Illinois citizens.  He is calling this program the Illinois Family Relief Plan, which was created to ease the burden on working families caused by rising inflation and the impact of COVID-19.

Other highlights of his budget included: a $9.6 billion contribution to the state's pension system as well as a proposed extra $500 million contribution above what the law calls for, an extra $18.6 million to increase the number of Illinois State troopers, $16.3 for a treatment center for state prisoners, $250 million for violence programs, $180 million to aid hospitals and an extra $350 million for K-12 schools.

The Illinois General Assembly returned to Springfield this week to resume work.  Last week's session days were called off due to snowstorms throughout the state. The Committee process will begin in full force, and we will update the membership on issues affecting the industry.

IADA-CVR HAS THE BEST SOLUTION FOR OUT OF STATE TITLES

CVR launches its ATC integration, providing a seamless and accurate out-of-state title and registration experience. CVR customers can look forward to the convenience of accurate fee calculation and expedited processing for out-of-state title and registration transactions. For more information regarding details around workflows such as auto-population of forms, elimination of keystroke errors and more, click here.  And stay tuned in the next few weeks for more announcements and training opportunities to assist with your 50 state transactions.