3 Count: Future Victory

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1: Rapper Future Fends Off Copyright Lawsuit Over Mixtape Track

First off today, Blake Brittain at Reuters reports that rapper Future has emerged victorious in a lawsuit filed against him over his song When I Think About It.

The lawsuit was filed by a rapper named Gutta, who claimed that the Future hit was an infringement of his earlier song, When U Think About It. Gutta had claimed that he released his song in 2017 and had sent it to Future’s label and his producer. He argued that his song became the basis for the 2018 release of When I Think About It.

However, the judge in the case has ruled against Gutta and decided to dismiss it in favor of Future. According to the judge, the two songs are not similar enough to sustain a copyright claim and the overlaps they do have are uncopyrightable elements that can’t be protected and are not unique to either song.

2: US Copyright Office Declines to Review Mechanical Copying Compulsory License

Next up today, Chris Cook at Complete Music Update reports that the US Copyright Office has declined to review the compulsory mechanical license process, but has said that a regular review of the rate is scheduled to take place next year, presenting another opportunity.

Mechanical royalties are royalties paid to composers when their songs are copied and distributed. This includes when songs are streamed at the direction of a user. However, under the current law, those royalties are compulsory, and the rates are set by the US Copyright Office.

However, many songwriters feel that mechanical royalties should not be handled with a compulsory license, especially when dealing with streamed copies. Instead, they want to negotiate directly with streamers for higher rates. This led musician George Johnson to file a letter with the US Copyright seeking a review of the process. However, the office has declined to perform such an analysis, saying that it is better suited for next year when the royalty rates are decided.

3: Eminem Asks Vivek Ramaswamy to Stop Rapping “Lose Yourself”

Finally today, Gina Martinez at CBS News reports that BMI has sent Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy a cease and desist letter, asking him to stop performing Eminem’s 2002 hit song Lose Yourself while on the campaign trail.

Ramaswamy was previously seen rapping along with the song earlier this month while campaigning in Iowa. This, along with Eminem’s objection, prompted BMI to send the letter to Ramaswamy’s campaign lawyer, asking him to stop.

In an interview, Ramaswamy said that he identified with the song due to its themes of being an underdog. However, according to BMI’s letter, they will consider any further performance of the song a breach of the agreement between them and the campaign.

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