3 Count: Bad Boys

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1: Columbia Pictures Sues to Retain Rights to ‘Bad Boys’ Story

First off today, Winston Cho at The Hollywood Reporter Esquire reports that Columbia Pictures has filed a lawsuit against George Gallo, who wrote the 1995 hit film Bad Boys, in a bid to prevent him from reclaiming rights to his work through copyright termination.

Copyright termination is a right in the law that allows original creators to reclaim rights to their work that they licensed away. Gallo filed such a notice regarding Bad Boys, claiming that Columbia Pictures lost its US rights to the story in June 2022.

However, Columbia Pictures is suing, alleging that, when Gallo signed his 1985 contract, he asserted that it was a work-for-hire. Since works made for hire aren’t eligible for copyright termination, Columbia Pictures wants the court to assert that they are still the rightsholders to the original story and, thus, the franchise.

2: First-Ever Music Policy Prepared to Address Copyright, Piracy Issues

Next up today, Kalbe Ali at Dawn reports that, in Pakistan, the Minister for Information and Broadcasting has announced a new draft policy that would modernize Pakistan’s rules around copyright to better protect musicians and songwriters, including help them protect their work from piracy.

The draft policy is to be presented to the federal cabinet for approval, after which, the ministry will begin to implement the policy.

The goal of the policy is to bring Pakistan’s laws up to parity with international standards. This includes protecting artists’ rights when it comes to public performance, distribution and other rights that had not been brought into the law previously. The ministry hopes that this would help musicians deal with piracy, something the ministry admits their artists have suffered from.

3: Nicki Minaj and Mike Will Made-It Reportedly Named in Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Over “I Lied” Beat

Finally today, Jose Martinez at Complex reports that musician Nicki Minaj and producer Mike Will are facing a lawsuit over Minaj’s 2014 song I Lied.

The lawsuit was filed by musician Julius Johnson, who claims that he first heard I Lied last year and found it too similar to his 2011 song by the same name. According to Johnson, he posted his version of the song on YouTube, where it has received approximately 1,200 views as of this writing.

In an interview, Minaj responded to the lawsuit, saying that it was an issue on the production side. As for Johnson, he further claims to have attended the same school as associates for Minaj and Will around the time a hard drive of his was swiped.

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