Bit Parts

“Stronger” Similarities Not Strong Enough to be Infringing

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit decided that Kanye West's hip-hop song “Stronger” didn't infringe on hip-hop artist Vince P's song of the same name. Peters v. West, 11-1708. Though finding that West may have had access to the plaintiff's composition, the Sixth Circuit explained in affirming dismissal of the suit: “Vince P's theory is that the combination of the songs' similar hooks, their shared title, and their references to [British model] Kate Moss would permit a finding of infringement. But ' in the end we see only two songs that rhyme similar words, draw from a commonplace maxim [i.e., Friedrich Nietzsche's 'What does not kill me, makes me stronger'], and analogize feminine beauty to a specific successful model.” The Sixth Circuit found that these were no more than “small cosmetic similarities.” (The appeals court's opinion is also noteworthy for its examination of how the tests for determining infringing copying are “surprisingly muddled” among the federal judicial circuits.)

Sublicense for U.S. Song Remains Valid in Russia

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville Division, decided that a Russian artist had a valid sublicense to use a song by U.S. songwriters, even though the original song licensee failed to pay the songwriters full royalties. Murphy v. Lazarev, 3:10-cv-0530. Plaintiffs Taryn Murphy and Chris Landon had licensed their song “Almost Sorry” to the Moscow-based Style Records, which paid the writers a $4,000 advance but no further royalties before filing for bankruptcy. The license stipulated that it was to be governed by Russian law. Style had sublicensed rights to Russian musician Sergey Lazarev, who recorded a popular version of the song. Murphy and Landon later sued Lazarev alleging copyright violations. Dismissing the suit, District Judge Aleta A. Trauger noted: “Here, the plaintiffs and Style Records did not agree to cancel the Licensing Contract (see [Russian Civil Code,] Art. 450), nor, in the absence of such an agreement, did the plaintiffs file a claim to cancel the contract in an appropriate court of law (see, Art. 450(2)).” Judge Trauger added:
“[E]ven if it were true that Style Records went bankrupt in 2010, the plaintiffs have not identified any Russian legal authority establishing that such a bankruptcy would have extinguished the Licensing Contract (and the associated license to Almost Sorry) by operation of law.”