Time Warner’s (NYSE: TWX) AOL unit, RealNetworks (NASDAQ: RNWK) and Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) could stand to pay up to $100 million in royalties owed to thousands of songwriters and publishers, after a federal judge established a formula for determining the payments.

The move could force the three online services to pay royalties to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) worth 2.5 percent of their music revenue dating back to 2002, ASCAP said. [Reuters/InternetNews.com]