Music and Copyright

CONTENTS......Page 8
PREFACE......Page 22
PRELUDE......Page 24
A. Idea and Expression in Music......Page 25
B. Vivaldi v. Bach: A Paradigm for the Ages......Page 27
II. The Rise of Copyright: A Brief Review......Page 28
CHAPTER 1 The Copyright Law: An Overview......Page 32
I. The Lawyer’s Mission......Page 34
II. Basic Principles: An Introduction......Page 35
III. The Idea/Expression Dichotomy......Page 37
A. Arnstein v. Porter and Its Legacy......Page 38
B. The Reinterpretation of Arnstein v. Porter......Page 40
A. The Use of Filtration to Separate Unprotectable Elements from Protected Expression: Two Early Formulations......Page 47
B. Filtration: Contemporary Formulations......Page 48
A. Combine the Two Tests......Page 50
B. Recognition of Current Practice......Page 51
D. Music’s Need for a Translator and Educator: Two Scenarios......Page 53
A. Statute of Limitations......Page 56
B. Laches and Estoppel......Page 61
C. Other Defenses......Page 67
VIII. Conclusion: The Lawyer’s Mission Redux......Page 84
CHAPTER 2 Remedies......Page 86
I. Actual Damages and Profits......Page 89
A. Actual Damages......Page 91
B. Profits......Page 99
C. Indirect Profits......Page 103
E. The Prohibition Against Double-Counting: The Courts Speak......Page 106
F. Double-Counting and Statutory Damages......Page 109
A. Theory and Practice: The Need for Statutory Damages......Page 111
B. Statutory Damages: Parsing the Statute......Page 113
A. The Predecessor to Section 504(c): The Supreme Court and Section 101(b) of the 1909 Act......Page 116
B. The Feltner/Columbia Trilogy......Page 117
C. Compilations and Their Constituent Elements......Page 122
D. Derivative Works......Page 125
A. Section 504(c)(2): Enhanced and Remitted Statutory Damages......Page 126
B. A Sampling of Statutory and Case Authorities......Page 127
V. Coda to Statutory Damages: Five Scenarios......Page 132
A. The Landscape Pre-Fogerty v. Fantasy......Page 134
B. Fogerty v. Fantasy, Inc.: The Evenhanded Rule Prevails......Page 137
C. The “Prevailing Party”......Page 140
VII. Costs......Page 144
B. Kamakazi Music Corporation v. Robbins Music Corporation......Page 146
C. The Federal Court v. The Arbitration Tribunal: Advantages and Disadvantages......Page 148
D. Practice Point: Whether to Choose Arbitration as a Remedy......Page 149
A. General Principles......Page 152
B. Temporary Restraining Orders......Page 156
C. Preliminary Injunctions......Page 157
D. Permanent Injunctions......Page 163
A. Requirements and Court Discretion......Page 164
B. Constitutionality of the Impoundment Procedure......Page 166
C. Practical Considerations of an Impoundment Order......Page 169
CHAPTER 3 The Basic Elements of Musical Language and Ideas: The Copyright Perspective......Page 172
I. Music as Language......Page 174
A. The Trinity: Melody, Harmony and Rhythm......Page 175
B. Supplementing the Trinity......Page 177
C. The Building Blocks of Music......Page 180
A. Bach v. Mozart and Chicago, Their Contemporary Colleagues: Using and Exploiting the Triad......Page 182
B. Equal Temperament and Scènes à Faire: The Harmonic Imperative......Page 185
C. Musical Scènes à Faire: Two Examples......Page 187
D. Comment: Harmony and Scènes à Faire......Page 190
A. The Issue: A Question of Terminology and Context......Page 191
B. § 102(b) of the Copyright Act: “Procedures, Processes, Systems”......Page 192
C. Musical Form/Structure and “Procedures, Processes, Systems”......Page 193
D. Conclusion: Original Musical Works and the Vast Storehouse of Musical Ideas and Building Blocks......Page 194
CHAPTER 4 Infringement and the Commencement of Litigation......Page 196
I. Pragmatism and Ethics: Initial Considerations......Page 197
B. The Lawyer for the Plaintiff......Page 198
A. Clarifying the Plaintiff ’s Perspective......Page 199
A. The Demand Letter......Page 200
B. The Response......Page 201
A. Theory and Practice......Page 202
B. Preparation of the Complaint......Page 204
C. Preparation of the Answer......Page 215
B. The Litigation Plan: A Suggested Format......Page 219
VII. Final Thoughts......Page 222
CHAPTER 5 The Importance of the Expert: The Musicological Expert......Page 224
I. Infringement of Musical Works: The Importance of Expert Opinion and Guidance......Page 225
A. The Dilemma of Explanation......Page 226
B. Functions and Tasks of the Musical Expert......Page 227
A. Arnstein v. Porter and Progeny......Page 230
B. The Survival and Modification of the Two-Step Analysis......Page 233
A. Preliminary Tactical Considerations......Page 238
B. Initial Steps In Selecting the Expert: Due Diligence and Research......Page 239
C. The Initial Approach to the Expert......Page 240
A. Qualifications of Experts: Four Scenarios......Page 241
B. Determining What Will Be Played......Page 245
A. Preventive Law Explained......Page 246
B. Musical Works and Preventive Law......Page 249
CHAPTER 6 The Importance of the Expert: The Apportionment Expert......Page 252
I. Historical Background and Rationale Underlying Apportionment......Page 253
A. Sheldon v. Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corporation The Birth of Apportionment of Profits......Page 254
B. The Progeny of Sheldon: A Brief History......Page 256
A. Selecting the Expert(s)......Page 265
B. Suggested Criteria for Apportionment of Profits......Page 268
C. Working with the Expert......Page 271
III. Final Thoughts: Apportionment and the Tolerance of Imperfection......Page 272
CHAPTER 7 Fair Use—Part One: An Introduction......Page 274
I. Fair Use: Background and Heritage......Page 276
A. New Technology: The Betamax Recorder......Page 280
B. The District Court’s Findings......Page 281
C. Recording for Later Viewing: The Core Issues......Page 282
E. The Fair Use Factors......Page 283
III. Harper & Row Publishers, Inc. v. Nation Enterprises: The Unpublished Work Detour......Page 285
A. The Fair Use Factors......Page 287
A. Salinger v. Random House, Inc.......Page 289
B. Acuff -Rose Music, Inc. v. Campbell......Page 290
A. Fair Use Factors......Page 291
A. Fair Use and Intrinsic Purpose of the Work Used by the Alleged Infringer......Page 294
B. The Grateful Dead and the Expanding Reach of Fair Use......Page 296
VII. Conclusion......Page 305
CHAPTER 8 Fair Use—Part Two: Borrowing, the Art of Parody and Other Exercises in Fair Use......Page 308
A. Parody: Traditional Languages and Music......Page 310
B. Parody and Satire Defined......Page 311
C. Parody and Satire: Fair Use under Copyright Law......Page 312
II. Common Sense and Clarification: Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.......Page 317
III. Parody in Literature, Motion Pictures and the Visual Arts......Page 322
A. Music and Lyrics......Page 326
B. Music Only......Page 328
A. The Satirist’s Targets......Page 332
B. Satire: A Form of Criticism......Page 333
VI. Satire In Music: Don Quixote, Richard Strauss and Mozart......Page 334
VII. The Convergence of Parody and Satire......Page 335
B. Quotations from Musical Works......Page 337
C. The Conflict: Quotations from Copyrighted Musical Works......Page 338
A. Impressions/Imitations......Page 342
B. The Violation of Rights of Publicity......Page 343
C. State versus Federal Law: A Sampling from The Judiciary......Page 344
D. Analysis and Conclusions......Page 352
E. Coda: An Alternative Approach......Page 353
A. P.D.Q. Bach and “Safe Parody”......Page 354
B. Indirect Suppression of Comment: A Case in Point......Page 355
XI. Non-Musical and Musical Equivalents—A Brief Cadenza......Page 356
XII. Coda: The Obscenity/Pornography Syndrome......Page 357
CHAPTER 9 Discovery......Page 360
I. Discovery Tools and Their Uses......Page 362
II. The Discovery Plan: Ultimate Facts and Controlling Authorities......Page 363
III. A Hypothetical Case Study: Tunesmith v. Crater......Page 364
A. The Use and Abuse of Interrogatories......Page 366
C. Types of Interrogatories: Examples......Page 367
D. Interrogatories......Page 369
E. Requests for Production of Documents and Things......Page 380
A. Practice Point......Page 400
VI. The Taking of Depositions......Page 401
A. Direct Questions......Page 402
B. Open Questions......Page 403
C. Oblique Questions......Page 405
D. Protecting the Witness—An Imperative for Both Plaintiffs and Defendants......Page 409
CHAPTER 10 Music and Summary Judgment......Page 410
I. Early History and the Anti-Summary Judgment Bias......Page 412
II. Celotex, Anderson, and Matsushita: Clearing the Air......Page 416
A. Ownership and Access......Page 417
B. Lack of Substantial Similarity of Protectable Expression......Page 419
A. Ideas and Standard Literary Devices......Page 423
B. Common Antecedent Sources and the Public Domain......Page 424
C. Logic and the Doctrine of Scènes à Faire......Page 425
D. Facts and Products of Research......Page 426
V. The Merger of Idea and Expression......Page 427
VI. A Sampling of Unprotected Musical Elements......Page 428
A. Baxter v. MCA, Inc.: The “No-Bright-Line” Rule......Page 429
C. Newton v. Diamond......Page 430
E. Swirsky v. Carey......Page 431
F. Tisi v. Patrick......Page 432
G. Johnson v. Gordon......Page 435
H. Tempo Music Inc. v. Famous Music Corporation......Page 436
A. Initial Planning......Page 437
B. To File or Not to File: The Fixed Form of the Works at Issue......Page 438
A. Two Schools of Thought......Page 441
B. The Mandates of Rule 56......Page 442
C. Rule 702 and the Daubert Trilogy: The Basic Qualifications for Experts......Page 443
D. Expert Testimony: Weighing the Balance in Music Infringement Litigation......Page 444
E. Two Scenarios......Page 447
B. Defendants’ Motion......Page 449
D. Form: Plaintiff ’s Motion......Page 450
E. Form: Defendant’s Motion......Page 463
Appendix 10-A. "Slip Opinion" and Official Published Opinion......Page 489
CHAPTER 11 Copyright and Music in the Courtroom......Page 502
I. The Copyright Act and the Judiciary......Page 504
II. The Composers and the Works at Issue......Page 505
C. The Commonplace Building Block......Page 506
A. An Initial Concern: The Reversal of Defendants’ Summary Judgment......Page 511
B. Following the Lead of the Ninth Circuit: The Audience Test and the Jury......Page 512
B. The “Audience” Test......Page 513
A. Direct Examination......Page 514
D. Scenario Number Two: The Aggrieved Plaintiff/Composer......Page 515
A. Transformation of a Courtroom......Page 517
B. The Plaintiff ’s Experts and Their Testimony......Page 518
C. The Plaintiff ’s Testimony......Page 525
D. Defendants’ Expert Testimony: Direct Examination......Page 550
E. A Brief and Effective Extract From Williams’s Testimony on Direct Examination......Page 558
F. Reacting to the Screen: The Role of Motion Picture Composer and a Private Screening for the Jury......Page 564
G. The Defense Rests and the Case Goes to the Jury......Page 565
Conclusion......Page 566
Appendix 11-A. Instruction No. 16 and Special Verdict......Page 568
CHAPTER 12 Music, Copyright and the Impact of New Technology......Page 570
I. Introduction......Page 572
A. Vicarious Infringement and Contributory Infringement......Page 573
B. Reported Authorities: A Brief Overview......Page 574
A. Section 106 of the Copyright Act......Page 578
B. Secondary Liability From Sony to Grokster: Betamax, File-Sharing and the Courts......Page 579
C. File-Sharing and Infringement: Targeting the Downloaders......Page 588
B. The Current State of DRM......Page 590
C. A Demonstration of Civil Disobedience......Page 591
D. Lower Prices, Convenience and The “Price” of Free Downloads: Their Impact on Unauthorized Copying......Page 596
E. Another Invitation to Look Further and Probe Deeper......Page 597
POSTLUDE......Page 598
A......Page 602
B......Page 603
C......Page 604
D......Page 605
E......Page 606
F......Page 607
G......Page 608
H......Page 609
K......Page 610
L......Page 611
M......Page 612
O......Page 613
P......Page 614
R......Page 615
S......Page 616
T......Page 617
W......Page 618
Z......Page 619