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Copyright Challenge to 'We Shall Overcome' Proceeds
As 2017 commences, political protest against injustice is as relevant as ever in the United States. At the same time, a lawsuit concerning the copyright rights to the powerful anthem We Shall Overcome may proceed to trial. In November 2016, the case survived a motion to dismiss the copyright infringement claims.
The plaintiffs in the case are the nonprofit We Shall Overcome Foundation (WSOF) and Butler Films LLC (Butler), producers of the 2013 film Lee Daniels'The Butler. Both represent a putative class in their claims against the defendants, The Richmond Organizations Inc. and its subsidiary Ludlow Music Inc. The plaintiffs seek to free the well-known first verse from the civil rights song from the monopoly ownership permitted under copyright law and render the song available to all who wish to channel its powerful message.
In 2015, WSOF requested a synchronization license to use the first verse of the song in a documentary it was producing. The defendants refused, thereby preventing the documentary from being completed. Two years earlier, Butler had difficulty obtaining permission to use the song in its movie, and after rejecting a $100,000 synchronization license, Butler paid $15,000 for a 10-second clip.
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