CMU Digest

CMU Digest 05.09.16: Blurred Lines, BMG, Blind Melon, RAO, MegaUpload

By | Published on Monday 5 September 2016

Blurred Lines

The key stories from the last seven days in the music business…

212 artists put their name to an amicus brief supporting Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams in their bid to appeal the ruling in the big ‘Blurred Lines’ plagiarism case. The legal filing argues that last year’s judgement – which said that Thicke and Pharrell infringed the copyright in Marvin Gaye’s song ‘Got To Give It Up’ when writing their hit – sets a dangerous precedent that is “certain to stifle creativity and impede the creative process”. It added that the ruling ignored the fact that “all music shares inspiration from prior musical works, especially within a particular musical genre”. [READ MORE]

BMG hit back at two American internet service providers which are seeking a declaratory judgment to confirm that they are not liable for copyright infringement because of the actions of their customers. RCN and Windstream are seeking such a judgment in the wake of BMG’s successful copyright action against Cox Communications. The music firm argued that a declaratory judgment was inappropriate for such a matter, as the Cox case revolved around the effectiveness of the ISP’s takedown systems and therefore assessing the liability of any one ISP would require more scrutiny. [READ MORE]

Rock group Blind Melon sued Mandy Jiroux over her rework of their hit ‘No Rain’ as ‘Insane’. The band argue that her new version of their song is too different to the original to qualify under the American compulsory licence for cover versions, and therefore direct permission was required. And this permission was refused, they add. [READ MORE]

The Russian collecting society battling fraud allegations, RAO, got a new President. And Igor Matvienko, elected to lead the society’s Authors’ Council, has called for certain reforms of the organisation. Though he has already distanced himself from a small group of writers seeking a radical overhaul of RAO and its constitution. The Authors’ Council also continues to back jailed General Director Sergei Fedotov, who denies the fraud charges made against him. [READ MORE]

Kim Dotcom and his former MegaUpload colleagues began their appeal against an extradition order won by the US last year. America wants the former MegaUpload management to face charges of money laundering, racketeering and copyright infringement in a US court. On the first day of the proceedings the judge hearing the case agreed to allow the appeal to be live streamed on YouTube, as requested by Dotcom and his representatives. [READ MORE]

The big deals from the last seven days in the music business…
• EE announced a bundle deal with Apple Music [INFO]
• Twickets partnered with End Of The Road festival on a new resale system [INFO]
• Raw Power Management signed Pulled Apart By Horses [INFO]
• Kobalt Label Services signed Vérité [INFO]



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