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<i>Online Extra</i>11th Circuit Ruling over Composer's Rights to 'Spank' Sets Precedent on Copyright Infringement
Litigation over a 1970s disco song has set new copyright precedent at the Atlanta-based federal appeals court.
At issue are the rights to “Spank,” written by Ronald Louis “Ronnie” Smith Sr. and recorded by Jimmy “Bo” Horne. The Jan. 22 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit says the estate of Smith, who died in 2012, can sue for copyright infringement even though Smith may have traded his rights to the song for royalties and hadn't personally registered a copyright for the composition.
A horn player, Smith was a member of KC & the Sunshine Band in the late 1970s. The group was named for its leader, Harry Wayne Casey.
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