3 Count: I Got You Babe
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1: Cher sues Mary Bono Over Sonny & Cher Song Royalties
First off today, Blake Brittain at Reuters reports that the musician Cher has filed a lawsuit against Mary Bono, the widow of Cher’s late music partner Sony Bono, to try and prevent the Bono estate from terminating her rights to the duo’s music.
Sonny and Cher were co-performers during the 60s and 70s before their divorce in 1978. However, as part of that divorce, they agreed to evenly split the royalties between them. However, now Mary Bono and the Bono estate are attempting to terminate that divorce agreement, using the copyright termination clause that allows creators and their heirs to reclaim transferred rights after 35 years.
As such, Cher has filed the lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that the copyright termination is invalid and to allow the original arrangement to continue. She is also requesting $1 million in damages for breaching the divorce settlement.
2: Snoop Dogg Sued Over Posting Viral Video to Instagram
Next up today, Bill Donahue at Billboard reports that the rapper Snoop Dogg is facing a copyright infringement lawsuit. However, it’s not for his music, but for a video that she shared on his Instagram account.
The lawsuit was filed by a news organization named FreedomNews.TV, which accuses the rapper of uploading a video they hold the rights to without permission. That video, featuring a protestor that fell while attempting to climb the facade of the JPMorgan Chase headquarters, was posted by Snoop in April of this year.
In addition to copyright infringement claims, the outlet is also arguing that Snoop violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by removing content management information from the video. Specifically, they claim that Snoop removed all attribution to the video before uploading it.
3: KLF Assert Justified and Ancient Copyright Claim to Block Documentary
Finally today, Jim Waterson at The Guardian reports that the band KLF has threatened a documentary filmmaker with possible litigation over the lack of cleared samples of their music.
The band rose to prominence in the late 1980s when their album had to be pulled due to a very high amount of uncleared samples. However, now they find themselves on the opposite side of the dispute as they are attempting to block a documentary by Christ Atkins.
According to the band, Atkins does not have any clearances for their music. Atkins, who notes the irony, claims that the use of short snippets of the songs is permitted under copyright law. There is no word about a potential lawsuit.
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