3 Count: Out of The Box

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1: Roddy Ricch Beats Copyright Suit Over Monster Hit ‘The Box’

First off today, Nancy Dillon at Rolling Stone reports that rapper Roddy Ricch has won a lawsuit that wiled against him by songwriter Greg Perry, saying that the two works are not significantly similar.

Perry filed the lawsuit alleging that Ricch’s 2019 hit song The Box weas an infringement of his earlier work Come on Down. However, the judge in the case has ruled that the two works are not substantially similar, noting significant differences between the two works, including tempo, theme and more.

Perry had claimed that the violin opening of his song was a distinctive element that was used repeatedly in the song. He also argued that other musicians had licensed the sample for their music. Despite that, the judge has decided to toss the case though it is unclear if Perry plans to appeal.

2: Choreographer Ends Copyright Case Against ‘Fortnite’ Maker Epic Games Over Dance Moves

Next up today, Bill Donahue at Billboard reports that Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite, have reached a settlement with choreographer Kyle Hanagami ahead of a scheduled trial in May.

Hanagami sued Epic alleging copyright infringement in a choreography routine that he created for a Charlie Puth Song. He claims Epic used the dance moves as the basis for an “emote” in the game. However, the lower court judge tossed the case, saying that it was nothing more than a series of unprotectable poses. The Appeals Court, on the other hand, revived the case and sent it back for a full trial.

That trial will not happen as both parties have asked for the case to be dismissed following a confidential settlement between the two parties.

3: The MLC Sues Pandora to Recover Unpaid Royalties, Late Fees

Finally today, Steve Brackmann at IPWatchdog reports that the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) has filed a lawsuit against the streaming music service Pandora alleging unpaid royalties for blanket licenses required under the Music Modernization Act (MMA).

The MMA was passed in 2018 and required interactive streaming services to pay a predetermined mechanical royalty on the music it streamed. However, the rates for that royalty were not published until August 2023, which kicked off a six month grace period that just expired.

Pandora has long argued that their free streaming service is not interactive enough to require mechanical royalties under the MMA. The MLC disagrees with that and further accuses Pandora of underreporting revenues earned from its free tier. The lawsuit will likely be an important test case for the level of interactivity required to force streamers to pay mechanical royalties.

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