Can alterations in the sonic bed, piano figures, guitar and string lines in a musical composition save it from damages for copyright infringement of the original? The High Court of New Zealand rules “No” in its decision Eight Mile Style, LLC v. New Zealand National Party. The dispute arose after the New Zealand National Party […]

Posted in Blogs, Copyright, Infringement, Music Industry, Music Industry, Originality
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Last month, I had the pleasure of attending Canadian Music Week’s 2017 Global Forum Networking Breakfast – a Music Canada sponsored event that celebrates and recognizes individuals and organizations in the music community who are using music to make the world a better place. This year’s topic was “The Power of Music: Indigenous Artists Discuss […]

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In a recent MTV news article, author Miles Raymer opined over the “hopelessly broken” state of the US copyright system. While such a sweeping statement clearly oversimplifies the state of copyright law in the digital era, there may be some truth to it. Raymer focuses particularly on the tension between an ever-increasing market for derivative works […]

Posted in Blogs, Canada, Copyright, copyright reform, Infringement, IP, IP Reform, Music Industry, Music Industry, US
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Intro: “The Hook” This summer, an American jury found that “Stairway to Heaven” [hereafter Stairway] rockers Led Zeppelin did not infringe the song “Taurus” [hereafter Taurus], performed by the band Spirit. The plaintiff, Randy Wolfe—or rather, a trustee for the trust which owns the late Wolfe’s copyright—was Spirit’s songwriter, guitarist and vocalist, and the copyright […]

Posted in Copyright, IP, Music Industry, Music Industry, Originality, US
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