3 Count: ASCAP Wave

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1: Dua Lipa’s Copyright Accusers Drop ‘Levitating’ Infringement Lawsuit

First off today, Bill Donahue at Billboard reports that the lawsuit against Dua Lipa over her hit song Levitating has not been just dismissed, but has now been fully dropped.

The case was originally filed by the band Artikal Sound System, who alleged that the 2020 hit song ˆ was an infringement of their 2017 song Live Your Life. However, the case was recently dismissed after the judge found that there was no evidence that Dua Lipa, nor any of her writers, had access to the allegedly infringed work.

However, that dismissal left it open for the plaintiffs to file a new complaint. But that does not appear to be happening as, shortly after the dismissal, the two sides announced via a joint motion that they want to permanently dismiss the case. There is no indication as to what, if any, deal was reached, but it does not appear that Dua Lipa has agreed to pay any money or offer any credit.

2: Why Wally’s Pub could pay up to $30K for playing Bad Company’s ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’

Next up today, Patrick Cronin at the Portsmouth Herald reports that Wally’s Pub, a bar in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, is one of thirteen businesses facing a lawsuit from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) over alleged copyright infringement due to the playing of unlicensed music.

ASCAP is known as a performing rights organization (PRO), which licenses the public performance rights of a song’s composition to bars, restaurants and other public spaces. They currently represent some 920,000 songwriters and publishers.

According to the complaint, ASCAP tried multiple times to get the bar to secure a license, which averages around $2 per day, but the bar declined and continued to play infringing music. As such, they are seeking an injunction barring the playing of further ASCAP-licensed music and up to $30,000 in damages for each violation.

3: Senate Aims to Navigate Conflict Between Copyright and Training AI

Finally today, Christopher Hutton at the Washington Examiner reports that, yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held the first of several hearings on artificial intelligence (AI) and how it intersects with intellectual property.

The hearing featured Laura Sheridan, Google’s head of patent policy, and professors from the University of California. In the first hearing, the focus was primarily aimed at patent issues, with the title Patents, Innovation and Competition. Hearings on further IP-related topics are expected soon.

The move comes as the United States Copyright Office released guidelines on AI, including whether AI-generated content qualifies for copyright protection. According to the Copyright Office, such output does not qualify for protection as it was not created by a human, though prompts and elements added by humans on top of AI-generated content may qualify.

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