Bit Parts

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed a district court finding that plaintiff Michael Lowe had given defendants that included producers Scott Storch and Dr. Dre an implied license to use a composition by Lowe in a recording by the act Xzibit. Lowe v. Loud Records, 03-4812. “Lowe testified that he gave Storch the beat so that Storch could give it to Dr. Dre for a song, and that is exactly what happened,” the appeals court noted in its unpublished opinion.

Copyright Infringement/Voluntary Dismissal

Less than 2 weeks before a scheduled trial, Shady Records, Eminem's record label, agreed to the voluntarily dismissal of its copyright infringement suit against Source magazine over the posting of lyrics from early Eminem songs on Source's Web site. The Web postings were part of a debate about the hip-hop authenticity of Eminem. Denying both sides requests for costs and fees, the Manhattan federal district court emphasized: “In light of the litigation excesses of both sides, the Court has resisted the repeated cries of both parties for sanctions. The most equitable result, in light of the totality of the circumstances, is for each side to bear its own costs.” Shady Records Inc. v. Source Enterprises Inc., 03 Civ. 9944 (GEL).

Copyright Renewal Interests/Rehearing Denied