3 Count: Rockstar Teddy Bear

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1: US Supreme Court May Dump Warner Music Dispute Over Copyright Damages

First off today, Blake Brittain at Reuters reports that the United States Supreme Court heard arguments in a case of monetary damages in copyright cases but indicated that it may dismiss the lawsuit rather than deal with the issue at hand.

The case was filed by Sherman Nealy, who claims that his label owns the rights to the song Jam the Box by Tony Buttler. Flo Rida used elements of that song in his 2008 work In the Ayer. However, Nealy was in prison at the time the song was released and didn’t learn about the infringement until 2016. He filed a lawsuit seeking damages going back to the song’s release, but the lower court only allowed him to seek damages for the past three years, the statute of limitations in copyright cases, but the appeals court overturned that decision.

The case went before the Supreme Court, with two justices indicating that they may dismiss the case without issuing a decision. There is currently a circuit split over the issue of damages past the three year mark and many were hoping the Supreme Court would address and resolve that issue. No decision is expected until later this year.

2: Nickelback Beats Song-Theft Lawsuit Over ‘Rockstar’ At Appeals Court: ‘Mere Clichés’ Aren’t Infringement

Next up today, Bill Donahue at Billboard reports that Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court ruling that dismissed a lawsuit against the band Nickelback, saying that “mere cliches” can not be protected by copyright.

The case was filed by musician Kirk Johnston, who claimed that the Nickleback song Rockstar was an infringement of his earlier song entitled Rock Star. Though Johnston claimed that the two songs were “strikingly similar”, though the lower court disagreed and dismissed the case.

Johnston appealed but now the Fifth Circuit has upheld that decision, saying that the similarities between the two songs are tied to cliches about being a rock star and are not protectable by copyright. The court also found that there was no evidence members of Nickelback ever had access to Johnston’s work, poking another hole in the case for infringement.

3: Build-A-Bear, Squishmallows Copyright Lawsuits Allege Toys Are Too Similar

Finally today, Abraham Jewett at Top Class Actions reports that Build-A-Bear and the company behind Squishmallows have filed dueling lawsuits over alleged similarities between the two companies’ products.

In their lawsuit, Squishmallows alleges that Build-A-Bear released a Shookerz plushie is too similar to Squishmallow’s toys. They allege that it violates both copyright and trademark protections in their work. To support the claim, they note several media mentions that refered to the Build-A-Bear product as “Squishmallowlike” and used similar terms to compare the two.

Build-A-Bear, in their lawsuit, are seeking a judgment of non-infringing, claiming that they difference between the two products is easy to discern and that the similarities between the two cannot be protected.

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