Artist Copyright Infringement Cases

Art is an essential aspect of human creative expression and artistic. Artists pour their hearts and souls into their work, spending countless hours perfecting their craft.

However, when someone else takes credit for an artist’s work or uses it without permission, it can be devastating. This is where infringement comes in.

In this blog post, we will look into some of the most significant artist copyright infringement cases, exploring the facts of each case and their outcomes.

We will also discuss the steps they can take to protect their work

What are the Copyright Infringement Cases in Music Industry?

Copyright infringement cases in music often involve disputes over unauthorised use, copying, or sampling of original blocks of music musical compositions, lyrics, or sound recordings. Let’s look at some famous copyright infringement in music examples.

Here are some notable examples of copyright infringement in music:

Marvin Gaye’s Estate vs. Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams

In 2013, Marvin Gaye’s estate accused Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams of copying Gaye’s 1977 song “Got to Give It Up” in their hit single “Blurred Lines.”

In 2015, a jury found Thicke and Williams liable for copyright infringement and ordered them to pay over $7 million in damages, later reduced by the trial judge to about $5.3 million; the Ninth Circuit upheld the verdict in 2018.

George Harrison vs. Bright Tunes Music

In 1976, a court ruled that George Harrison’s song “My Sweet Lord” infringed the copyright of the Chiffons’ 1963 song “He’s So Fine.”

The court found that Harrison had subconsciously copied the melody, and he was ordered to pay damages to Bright Tunes Music.

The Verve vs. The Rolling Stones

The Verve’s 1997 song “Bitter Sweet Symphony” used a sample from an orchestral version of The Rolling Stones’ song “The Last Time.”

Although The Verve had initially obtained a license for the sample, the rights holder claimed they had used more than the agreed-upon amount, and the dispute was settled out of court.

Under the settlement, The Verve gave up the song’s publishing royalties, and Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were added as songwriters. In 2019, Jagger and Richards dropped their writing credits and signed their share of the royalties over to Richard Ashcroft.

Tom Petty vs. Sam Smith

In 2014, Tom Petty’s publisher claimed that Sam Smith’s song “Stay with Me” had a similar melody to Petty’s 1989 song “I Won’t Back Down.”

No lawsuit was filed: the two sides reached an agreement in October 2014, with Smith agreeing to share songwriting credits and royalties with Petty and co-writer Jeff Lynne.

Queen and David Bowie vs. Vanilla Ice

In 1990, Queen and David Bowie accused Vanilla Ice of sampling the bassline from their 1981 song “Under Pressure” without permission for his hit “Ice Ice Baby.”

Vanilla Ice settled the case out of court, paying an undisclosed sum and granting Queen and Bowie songwriting credits for “Ice Ice Baby.”

Famous Artists Sued for Copyright Infringement

Numerous famous artists have faced copyright infringement lawsuits and copyright claims throughout the years. Here are some high-profile cases examples:

• Ed Sheeran: Ed Sheeran has faced multiple infringement lawsuits. In one case, he was accused of copying elements of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” in his song “Thinking Out Loud.” In another case, songwriters Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard claimed Sheeran’s “Photograph” had striking similarities to their song “Amazing.”
• Katy Perry: In 2019, a jury found Katy Perry liable for copyright infringement in a lawsuit filed by Christian rapper Flame, who claimed that her song “Dark Horse” copied a musical segment from his song “Joyful Noise.” In 2020 the trial judge overturned the verdict, and the Ninth Circuit upheld that ruling in 2022.
• Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams: In a high-profile case, Marvin Gaye’s estate accused Thicke and Williams of copying Gaye’s song “Got to Give It Up” in their hit “Blurred Lines.” In 2015, a jury found the artists liable for copyright infringement and ordered them to pay over $7 million in damages, later reduced by the trial judge to about $5.3 million; the Ninth Circuit upheld the verdict in 2018.
• Led Zeppelin: The band faced a lawsuit claiming that their iconic song “Stairway to Heaven” had copied parts of the instrumental song “Taurus” by the band Spirit. In 2016, a jury ruled in favor of Led Zeppelin, finding no copyright infringement. The decision was upheld on appeal in 2020.
• Madonna: In 2012, Madonna was sued by VMG Salsoul, who claimed that her song “Vogue” sampled a horn segment from the 1983 song “Love Break” by the Salsoul Orchestra. In 2016, an appeals court ruled in favour of Madonna, stating that the sampled segment was too minimal to be considered copyright infringement.

Artist Copyright Cases and Disputes in India

1. Amar Nath Sehgal v. Union of India (2005)

In 1957 the Government of India approached sculptor Amar Nath Sehgal to decorate the lobby of Vigyan Bhavan, its conference building in New Delhi. The bronze mural he made, about 140 feet long and 40 feet high, was completed in 1962.

In 1979 the mural was pulled down without his consent and put in a government storeroom, where it was badly damaged. In 1992 Sehgal sued the government under section 57 of the Copyright Act, 1957, which protects an author’s moral rights.

In 2005 the Delhi High Court ruled for Sehgal. It held that an author can enforce these rights even after the copyright in the work has passed to someone else, and that destroying a work of art is the most extreme form of mutilation. The court ordered the government to return the remains of the mural to him, declared that all rights in the mural now belonged to him, including the right to recreate it, and awarded him Rs. 5 lakh in damages.

The case is often cited as a landmark ruling on artists’ moral rights in India.

2. The Barfi Case

In 2012, the makers of the Bollywood movie ‘Barfi!’ faced plagiarism accusations soon after its release, when videos shared online pointed to scenes that closely resembled ones in films by Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton and in ‘The Notebook’. Director Anurag Basu defended the scenes as a deliberate homage to famous classics.

3. Mohenjo Daro Case

In 2016, a writer sued the makers of the Bollywood movie ‘Mohenjo Daro’ in the Bombay High Court, claiming that the film copied his unpublished script and its title.

He said he had written the story in 1995 and had narrated it to people in the film industry, including an associate of the film’s director.

The Bombay High Court dismissed his application with costs, finding no substantial similarity beyond the shared Indus Valley setting.

The court also found that he had not shown that the filmmakers had access to his unpublished work.

Additional Copyright Infringement Cases

1. The Statute of Anne (1710)

The Statute of Anne, also known as the Copyright Act 1710, was an important milestone in the development of copyright law. It was enacted by the British Parliament to address the rampant piracy and unauthorised printing of books that were prevalent at the time.

The law granted authors and publishers a limited monopoly over their creative works, giving them the exclusive right to print and distribute their works for a period of 14 years. This marked a significant departure from previous laws that had granted monopolies to printers rather than authors.

The Statute of Anne also allowed authors to renew the copyright for an additional 14 years if they were still alive, empowering creators with greater control over their intellectual property.

This act laid the foundation for modern copyright law.

2. Baker v. Selden (1879)

Baker v. Selden was a landmark case that helped to clarify the scope of copyright protection for ideas and systems.

The case involved a copyright infringement claim over a book on accounting methods by Charles Selden, brought by his widow against W.C.M. Baker, who had published a book with similar accounting forms.

Baker’s forms used a similar plan to the one laid out in Selden’s book, with a different arrangement of columns and headings.

However, Selden’s widow argued that Baker’s forms copied the book, and therefore constituted copyright infringement.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that while Selden’s book was protected by copyright, the accounting methods and systems described in it were not.

The case established the important distinction between the expression of ideas, which is protected by copyright, and the ideas or systems themselves, which are not.

3. F.W. Woolworth Co. v. Contemporary Arts, Inc. (1952)

F.W. Woolworth Co. v. Contemporary Arts, Inc. was a 1952 US Supreme Court case, often called the cocker spaniel case, about damages for copyright infringement.

Contemporary Arts owned the copyright in a cocker spaniel statuette, and Woolworth sold copies of it in its stores.

Woolworth’s gross profit from the copies was $899.16, but the Supreme Court upheld an award of $5,000 in statutory damages, confirming that courts can award statutory damages above an infringer’s profits to discourage infringement.

4. Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc. (1984)

Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc. was a landmark accusations of copyright infringement case that helped to clarify the legal status of devices that could be used to copy copyrighted material, such as video cassette recorders (VCRs).

The case involved a dispute between Sony, the manufacturer of VCRs, and Universal City Studios, which claimed that VCRs were illegal because they facilitated the unauthorised copying of copyrighted movies and TV shows.

The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of Sony, determining that VCRs had substantial non-infringing uses, such as time-shifting (recording shows to watch later), which constituted fair use.

This decision set an important precedent for the legality of technology that can be used for both lawful and unlawful purposes, significantly influencing later actions for copyright infringement.

5. Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc. (2021)

Oracle claimed that Google had copied thousands of lines of Java code without proper permission, while Google argued that it had used only the necessary code under fair use.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Google, stating that its use of Java’s API was protected under the doctrine of fair use because it enabled innovation and did not unfairly harm Oracle’s market.

This case significantly impacted software development. It clarified how copyright law applies to APIs and functional code, fostering greater flexibility for developers in building interoperable software systems.

This case clarified API copyright law, promoting innovation by ensuring developers can use functional code under fair use principles.

6. Walt Disney Copyright Infringement Case

The Lion King (1994): In 2004, the family of South African writer and artist Solomon Linda filed a lawsuit against Disney, alleging that the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” used in the movie The Lion King was based on Linda’s song “Mbube”. The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.

Pirates of the Caribbean (2003): In 2017, two screenwriters and a producer sued Disney, alleging that the franchise copied their spec screenplay, also called “Pirates of the Caribbean”. A court dismissed the case in 2019, but an appeals court revived it, and Disney settled out of court in 2022 for an undisclosed sum.

Zootopia (2016): In 2017, screenwriter Gary L. Goldman filed a lawsuit against Disney, alleging that the studio had stolen ideas and characters from his pitch for a movie called “Looney”, part of a franchise he called “Zootopia”. A judge dismissed the case later that year, and an appeals court upheld the dismissal in 2019.

Frozen (2013): In 2014, author Isabella Tanikumi filed a lawsuit against Disney, alleging that the movie Frozen was based on her autobiographical book “Living My Truth”. In 2015, a judge dismissed the case, and an appeals court upheld the dismissal later that year.

7. Patrick Cariou Copyright Infringement Case

This copyright infringement lawsuit involved legal battles between photographer Patrick Cariou and artist Richard Prince.

Cariou had published a book of photographs titled “Yes, Rasta,” which featured images of Rastafarians and their culture in Jamaica.

Prince, an artist known for his appropriation of existing images, created a series of paintings based on Cariou’s photographs, which he titled “Canal Zone.”

Cariou sued Prince for copyright infringement, arguing that the paintings were not transformative enough to qualify for fair use. In 2013, an appeals court ruled largely in favor of Prince, finding that most of his works were transformative as they added new meaning and context to the original photographs; the parties settled the rest of the case in 2014.

This case raised important questions about the boundaries of artistic appropriation and the interpretation of fair use in the art world.

How to Safeguard Your Work from Copyright Infringement?

If you want to safeguard your work from copyright violations, there are several steps you can take:

• Copyright Registration: Registering your copyright with your country’s copyright office can provide you with legal protection and make it easier to enforce your intellectual property rights if your work is ever infringed.
• Use copyright notices: Include a copyright notice on all your original works, including the copyright symbol (©), your name, and the year of publication. This serves as a warning to potential infringers and makes it clear that you are the owner of the work.
• Keep records: Keep detailed records of all your original works, including when they were created, when they were published, and any changes or revisions you have made. This can help you prove ownership in the event of a copyright dispute.
• Limit access: Limit access to your original works by using password protection or other security measures. This can help prevent unauthorised copying and distribution.
• Monitor your work: Regularly search the internet and other sources for instances of copyright infringement, and take action if you find any. Consider using online tools that can help you monitor your work, such as reverse image search engines.
• License your work: Consider licensing your work through a Creative Commons license or other licensing agreement. This can allow others to use your work in specific ways while still protecting your rights.

What’s Next?

Bytescare offers a solution to help protect artists’ work from copyright infringement, emphasising the critical need to shield intellectual property rights.

Bytescare digital piracy monitoring scans the internet for unauthorised use of artists’ creations on each plan’s scan cycle, helping safeguard their creative efforts.

By alerting artists to infringing copies and filing the takedown notices they approve, Bytescare helps artists keep control over their work. This proactive approach helps protect artists’ livelihoods and reinforces the respect and value of their contributions.

In fostering a respectful environment, Bytescare helps promote a culture of creativity and innovation, benefiting artists and society alike.

Ready to secure your creative work? Book a demo with Bytescare today and take the first step towards copyright protection.

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