Pryor Cashman Secures Major IP Wins for Music Clients
Since its inception, Pryor Cashman has delivered best-in-class service to clients in the music industry on matters ranging from litigation to cutting-edge licensing deals. Our attorneys have argued – and won – seminal cases which have defined the boundaries of exploiting musical content under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”), along with multimillion intellectual property matters on behalf of some of the best-known musicians, artists and songwriters.
Recently, our music litigation practice secured two major victories on behalf of clients, Sony ATV Music Publishing and Beyoncé.
First Circuit Affirms Sony Copyright Victory
Led by Pryor Cashman Partner David C. Rose, Sony Music Entertainment and various affiliates - including Sony ATV Music Publishing - ("Sony") defeated a copyright infringement lawsuit before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Associate Benjamin Akley of the firm's Litigation Group also assisted on this matter.
At issue in this action were claims brought by Luis Adrián Cortés (“Cortés”), a Puerto Rican songwriter, alleging, among other things, that Sony fraudulently induced him into signing a release in connection with a music contest it ran with best-selling recording artist, Ricky Martin (“Martin”).
The Contest
As part of the contest, entrants submitted an original song and accompanying music video to Sony; the winning song would be performed by Martin at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Cortés entered the contest and submitted his materials to Sony via its company website.
A few weeks later, Cortés signed two contest documents – a release and an affidavit - and sent them to Sony. The Official Contest Rules, which were referenced in these documents, contained a clause stipulating that any disputes arising in connection with the contest would be resolved through arbitration.
Cortés did not win the contest, but months later filed a copyright infringement suit claiming Martin’s newly-released song, “Vida,” closely resembled his original contest submission.
The District Court's Finding and the Appeal
In 2015, the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico dismissed Cortés’s suit with prejudice on two grounds: first, that the claims were subject to mandatory arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act, and second, that Cortés failed to allege facts sufficient to support his claims under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). The Court directed the parties to proceed to arbitration. Cortés then appealed to the First Circuit.
On appeal, Rose successfully argued that because Cortés failed to challenge the portion of the District Court’s ruling compelling the parties to arbitration, its decision should be affirmed. The First Circuit agreed, ordering the parties to arbitration as originally stipulated in the Official Contest Rules, and dismissing all claims against Sony.
To read the Court’s full decision, please visit here.
Additional coverage of this matter can be found in Law360.
Beyoncé Prevails In “Lemonade” Copyright Infringement Dispute
Veteran intellectual property litigators, Brad D. Rose and Tom J. Ferber – both partners in Pryor Cashman’s IP and Media + Entertainment Groups – successfully defeated a copyright infringement action brought against client, Beyoncé.
In his failed suit, plaintiff, a filmmaker, claimed that the film trailer and short film used to promote Beyoncé’s sixth studio album, “Lemonade,” infringed his copyright in the short film, “Palinoia.” Specifically, plaintiff alleged nine examples of “visual” similarities between the works, as well as similarities in “audio” and “total concept and feel.”
Rose and Ferber argued – and the court agreed – that the case should be dismissed as a matter of law on the ground that no reasonable jury could find that the trailer or the short film were substantially similar to “Palinoia.” In granting Beyoncé’s motion to dismiss, Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of N.Y. held:
“Plaintiff’s alleged similarities consist almost entirely of clearly defined ideas not original to plaintiff and of stock elements with which even a casual observer would be familiar. Moreover, to the very limited extent that there are even any superficial similarities, these are overwhelmed by the works’ vastly different creative choices and overall aesthetic feel.”
Judge Rakoff’s full decision can be read here.
Pryor Cashman associates Ross M. Bagley and Michael B. Adelman assisted Rose and Ferber in this matter.
Numerous media outlets reported this victory, including Law360, CBS News, Rolling Stone and The Hollywood Reporter.
