"Stairway to Heaven" or Stairway to the Public Domain: Copyright Infringement of Musical Works Under the 1909 Copyright Act
Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Musical copyright disputes often arise involving various parties, applicable laws, artistic works, and rights at stake. In Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin, the Ninth Circuit considered the scope of copyright protection afforded to works protected under the 1909 Copyright Act, the application of the inverse ratio rule, and the audio version to be played at trial. This Note addresses the clarifications, implications, and remaining sources of confusion resulting from the Skidmore decisions. Part I of this Note examines the history of the Copyright Act and the development of copyright infringement case law in the Second and Ninth Circuits. Part II of this Note describes the harmful effects of the complicated and inconsistent copyright infringement tests. Part III of this Note proposes safeguards to preserve the integrity of the infringement inquiry and further the subsidiary goals of attribution and upfront communication between artists.
Author: Ellen Komlos
Language: English
Topic: Intellectual Property Law
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3190788051