3 Count: Musical Appeal

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1: Financier Asks 2nd Circuit to Revive ‘Let’s Get It On’ Copyright Claims Against Ed Sheeran

First off today, Josh Russell at Courthouse News Service reports that a stakeholder in the Marvin Gay song Let’s Get it On is asking the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a judge’s decision to dismiss his lawsuit against Ed Sheeran.

The lawsuit was filed by Structured Asset Sales, which owns some of the rights to the Marvin Gaye song. They alleged that the Ed Sheeran hit Thinking Out Loud infringed the work. However, in a separate case involving the same songs, a jury found in favor of Sheeran, ruling that the similarities between the songs were not protectable under copyright.

That prompted the judge in this case to dismiss the lawsuit. However, Structured Asset Sales is now asking the Second Circuit to revive the lawsuit so that they can present expert witness testimony. The panel of judges seemed skeptical, noting that they pointed out similarities that were not in the actual composition and may not be part of the copyright registration.

2: Judge Denies Plaintiffs’ Effort to Intervene in New York Copyright Actions Against Open AI

Next up today, Bill Ridgway, Zack Faigen and Alex Sim at Reuters reports that a New York judge has denied a group of California plaintiffs’ request to intervene in a New York case against OpenAI.

OpenAI has been hit with a series of lawsuits filed by creators who allege that the company used their work to train their various AI systems. A group of authors filed one of those cases in June 2023 in California. Two months later, a separate group of authors filed a similar case in New York.

The California plaintiffs sought to intervene in the New York case to stay that case or move it to California. However, the judge has denied that motion, saying there are significant differences between the cases, including the defendants targeted and the alleged violations. As such, the two cases will continue separately.

3: Tennessee Judge Wants More Information on Copyright Before Ruling on School Shooter’s Writings

Finally today, Travis Loller at the Associated Press reports that parents of students at The Covenant School, a private school in Nashville, are attempting to block the release of writings by a school shooter, saying that they are the copyright holders of the work.

The shooting took place in March 2023 and resulted in the deaths of three children and three staff members. The shooter was shot and killed by police. Police confiscated the shooter’s writings as part of the investigation. That investigation is ongoing, and several groups have requested that the writings be published as part of the laws regarding public records. Others, however, have said they shouldn’t be published as they might harm victims and their families.

However, a group of parents, who are among those not wanting the writings released, are saying that they are the legal owners of the shooter’s writings and hold the copyright to them. None of the attorneys present nor the judge claimed to be copyright experts, with the judge indicating that there was a need to address these issues further.

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