There’s something magical when a song you’ve been working on comes together. That killer beat or hook, the melody that just flows. Musicians take pride in their music, and in a saturated music industry, a song that stands out is essential. But sometimes another musician will try to get a quick success by copying one of your songs a little too closely. Inspiration is one thing, but when your song is outright copied, it turns into a copyright issue.
Protecting their musical lyrics or melodies with copyright registration is a longstanding tradition of successful musicians. In fact, here are a few recent copyright cases in the music industry.
Nealy vs. Warner Chappell Music, Inc. (2023)
Warner Chappell Music is a publishing subsidiary of the record giant, Warner Magic Group. They’ve worked with musical acts like Zach Bryan, Dua Lipa, Madonna, and — most relevant to this case — Flo Rida. So it’s not every day that a smaller, independent music producer wins a case against such a notable name. But that’s what happened when the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of a copyright case brought forward by Miami music producer Sherman Nealy.
One critical aspect of this case was that the court ruled there was no time limit to recover monetary damages in copyright cases as long as they have been filed before the end of the statute of limitations. In 2008, Flo Rida included parts of “Jam the Box,” originally released by Nealy, in his song “Into the Ayer.” Nealy’s suit claimed that Warner obtained an invalid license to use the song from former business partner, “Pretty Tony” Butler, while Nealy was incarcerated.
Nealy made the suit in 2018, ten years after the infringement. However because of the Supreme Court ruling this year, he was able to recover damages for the infringement within three years of his suit.
Steely & Clevie Reggaeton Lawsuit (2023)
You’ll have to forgive the shorthand for this lawsuit, because it included over 100 involved parties. There’s a reason that Billboard.com called it the biggest copyright music case in 2023. It centered around a 1989 reggaeton instrumental hit, “Fish Market,” released by Wycliffe “Steely” Johnson and Cleveland “Clevie” Browne. The song introduced the “dembow riddim” beat that went onto define the genre. Over 1,800 reggaeton songs have featured this beat. Many reggae fans question what the genre is without it.
Which is what makes it so significant that Johnson and Browne sued over 100 reggae artists in 2023 for copyright infringement due to the use of dembow riddim. The case involves artists such as Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee, Fonsi, Rauw Alejandro, and even Justin Bieber. If Johnson and Browne win their case, it could be a deciding factor in the ability to essentially hold a monopoly over an entire genre.
National Music Publishers Association vs. X Corp (2023)
Music is an integral part of social media these days. You can add popular musical tracks to Instagram posts, TikTok videos, and more. But one of the only social media platforms that has refused to acquire licenses for the music their platform uses is none other than X, formerly known as Twitter. At least, this is what National Music Publishers Association claims in their 2023 copyright infringement complaint. The suit claims that Twitter has infringed on nearly 2,000 songs and from famous artists such as Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and more.
In a split ruling in May of this year, Judge Aleta A. Trauger, dismissed the claim that Twitter had directly infringed any music copyrights. However, the case has been allowed to move forward on the core claims that Twitter has enabled copyright infringement by refusing to enforce any action against users who practice copyright infringement on their platform.
Some of these cases may still be pending, but they all highlight the importance of protecting your rights to your own musical intellectual property. That’s where Garcia-Zamor comes in, to help with copyright registration and advice on how you can protect your intellectual property. Contact us today to learn more about how we can defend your unique beats.
