<b>Decision of Note</b> Copyright License From Less than All U.S. Owners Bars Claim of Foreign Infringement

The litigation over Jersey Boys, a musical about the 1960s vocal group the Four Seasons, involves a suit by Donna Corbello, the widow of attorney/journalist Rex Woodard, who co-authored an unpublished autobiography of original Four Seasons member Tommy DeVito. DeVito granted a license to use his autobiographical materials to Four Seasons co-founders Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli, who are behind the musical's production. (For more on the case, see, “'Jersey Boys' Case Considers Licensing of Underlying Rights,” Entertainment Law & Finance, Dec. 2011, p. 1., http://bit.ly/w17Kha.)

District Judge Robert C. Jones noted in his ruling regarding Corbello's infringement claims over performances of the musical in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom: “The precise question presented here is whether the validity of a copyright license is more akin to ownership or infringement for the purposes of an infringement action. The answer to this question is critical, because in the U.S. a license obtained from fewer than all joint owners protects a licensee from an infringement action, i.e., such a license is valid, but in the Commonwealth countries, such a license appears to be a nullity '.”