Cameo Clips

The U.S. Court for the Eastern District of Michigan denied a motion to dismiss a suit that alleges copyright infringement through inclusion of a medley of Sam Cooke songs in an intro segment to a stage play based on the late singer's life. ABKCO Music Inc. v. Washington, 11-10763. ABKCO Music, which controls copyrights in Sam Cooke's songs and sound recordings, had turned down a request to license the “grand” (i.e., dramatic) rights for use of Cooke's music in The Triumph and Tragedy of a Soul Stirrer ' The Life of Sam. Instead, the play's producer, Johnnie Washington, hired vocalist David Watkins to sing a Sam Cooke medley in front of the stage curtain while audience members were being seated for Life of Sam shows at a theater in Detroit. (The medley also contained a song written by Bobby Womack, whose publishing rights-holder joined with ABKCO in suing Washington and playwright Robert Douglas.)

District Judge Sean F. Cox noted that the defendants “submitted affidavits of dozens of patrons who attended” the show. However, denying the defendants' motion for summary judgment, Judge Cox emphasized: “Plaintiffs have provided evidence that tends to show that the [10] minute medley by Watkins was part of the dramatic performance. In viewing this evidence in a light most favorable to the Plaintiffs, Watkins, while singing the Songs, was dressed in costume, mimicked the expressions and gestures of Sam Cooke, and was part of the overall Production, which told the story of the life of Sam Cooke.”