Ozzy Libel Case - UK/US Distinctions

Billboard reported that "Ozzy Osbourne has accepted undisclosed libel damages and an apology over a U.K. newspaper claim that he was ill at the Brit Awards."

For an interesting review of the distinctions between UK and US libel law, and especially New York State's response to "libel tourism" (New York enacted the Libel Terrorism Protection Act a/k/a Rachel's Law - see Laws of New York 2008, Ch. 66 amending CPLR sections 5304 and 302), see Jennifer McDermott and Chaya F. Weinberg-Brodt, "Growth of 'Libel Tourism' in England and U.S. Response", 06/04/08 N.Y.L.J.

Co-Author's Face Now A Whiter Shade of Pale?

The founder of Procol Harum won his court battle over royalty rights to the band's most famous hit, the 1967 song "A Whiter Shade of Pale."

A British appellate court ruled [decision] that although former keyboard player Matthew Fisher could be credited as co-author of the work (for writing the organ part), the fact that it took him 38 years to take the case to court meant he should not benefit financially. "Matthew Fisher is guilty of excessive and inexcusable delay in his claim to assert joint title to a joint interest in the work," Judge Mummery said in his judgment. "He silently stood by and acquiesced in the defendant's commercial exploitation of the work for 38 years."

Laches? Estoppel?

[Billboard article.]

4/7/08 UPDATE

The New York Times reports:

Mr. Fisher can still appeal the “Whiter Shade of Pale” decision to the House of Lords, which serves as Britain’s supreme court ... Even without a further appeal, though, the case isn’t over yet: Still to be settled is who must pay whose legal bills, which are reported to have mounted well into the millions of pounds on each side

Co-Authorship Dispute Over Composition Performed by System of a Down

In Maxwood Music Limited v. Malakian et al., case no. 1:08-cv-01730-RWS (S.D.N.Y. complaint filed Feb. 21, 2008), the assignee of copyright interests in various compositions by Casey Chmielinksi p/k/a/ Casey Chaos seeks a declaratory judgment against System of a Down members and related publishing companies.

The dispute arises out of the hit song "B.Y.O.B", the first single on the System of a Down album entitled Mezmerize, and winner of the 2005 GRAMMY Award for "Best Hard Rock Performance". (Notably, Chaos recieved a certificate from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences recognizing his participation as a songwriter of the GRAMMY Award-winning song.)

The complaint alleges that Chaos and Daron Malakian, lead guitarist of the System of a Down, collaborated on an independent project entiled "Scars on Broadway", during which the two wrote approximately 14 songs. "At all times, Malakian and Chaos considered themselves the sole co-authors of 'Scars on Broadway' and each of the individual compositions written for it, including the Composition [B.Y.O.B.], and intended that they be joint authors of those musical works." (Compl. para. 14). However, the project was "put...on hold while they each returned to their own music for their respective bands." (Id. at 17.)

Unbeknownst to Chaos, B.Y.O.B. was later recorded by System of a Down and released as a single to promote Mezmerize, an album that has sold millions worldwide.

Chaos was not listed in the credits for the Single or the Album as a co-author of the Composition. Upon the release of the Album, however, Malakian's publishing company [Sony] filed a registration with the Copyright Office for the Composition that explicitly listed Chaos as an author together with Malakian.
...

Sony also registered Chaos as a co-author with the relevant public performance societies in the United States and United Kingdom that collect royalties for songwriters generated from public performances of their compositions.

(Id. at 21-22.)

Based on the above, Plaintiff (as assignee of Chaos' copyright interests) seeks a declaratory judgment that B.Y.O.B. was co-authored by Chaos and Malakian, without the participation of any other party; further, plaintiff seeks a declaration that Chaos owned (and Plaintiff now owns by virtue of an assignment) an equal and undivided 50% share of B.Y.O.B. Lastly, plaintiff seeks an accounting.

The theme from plaintiff's complaint is clear: if Chaos was not an equal-share co-author, why was he listed with both the Copyright Office and the public performance societies as a co-author?

An interesting aside - why did defendants consent to personal jurisdiction in the Southern District of New York?

If 6 Was 9

Experience Hendrix -- who since 1995 has owned and administered all the music and related rights created by the legendary guitarist, singer and songwriter Jimi Hendrix -- is in a legal battle to suppress over 200 bootlegged recordings purchased by Fuego Entertainment. The bootlegged recordings were previously marketed in the UK, and Fuego Entertainment intends to resume their unauthorized exploitation despite appellate decisions in England rejecting claims that the UK distributor had rights to distribute and license the recordings.

If OTCS may direct a Hendrix quote to Fuego, "You're just like crosstown traffic - so hard to get through to you!"

Accross the Pond, EU Takes Bite into Apple

Item 1: The European Union closed its anti-trust investigation into Apple iTunes operation. However, "some copyright issues remain". Notably, the European Commission refused to address other copyright restrictions in place, i.e., DRM.

Item 2: Apple will eliminate its price discrimination across the EU. Users of iTunes in Britain are charged approximately 9 cents more per download than users in other EU nations that use the Euro currency. In the coming months, users across the EU will be charged a uniform "pan-EU" price per download. However, what this means if the record labels fail to get on board and lower their wholesale prices to Apple is yet to be seen? It seems unlikely that the majors will forfeit the huge market iTunes provides by playing hard-ball and not lowering their prices. Similarly, small and indie labels will likely adjust their prices to maintain their access to their product via a mass-distributor like iTunes.

...so what does this mean to Apple? Are they no longer a "Standard Oil"?