Former Village People Lead Singer Wins Right to Terminate Copyright Grants
MAY 10, 2012
Former Village People lead singer wins right to terminate copyright grants
By John A. Chatowski and Robert A. Weikert
Victor Willis, perhaps best known as the former lead singer of the iconic ‘70s band the Village People, won an important victory in a closely watched copyright case pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. In Scorpio Music S.A., et al v. Victor Willis, U.S.D.C. S. Dist. Cal. Case No. 3:11-cv-01557-BTM-RBB, French music publisher Scorpio Music S.A. (“Scorpio”), and its sub-publisher and U.S. administrator, Can’t Stop Productions, Inc. (“CSP”), sued Willis arguing that he was not entitled to terminate grants of his copyright interests in 33 works, including the Village People’s hits “Y.M.C.A.” and “In The Navy” under Section 203(a)(1) of the Copyright Act. The Act, which was amended in 1976, generally gives musicians the right to terminate after 35 years grants of a transfer or license made after January 1, 1978. District Court Judge Barry T. Moskowitz held that Willis had the right to terminate his grants notwithstanding that there were other co-authors of the works at issue.
Scorpio and CSP claimed that Willis was hired to translate lyrics and/or create new lyrics for musical works owned and published by Scorpio in France. Willis signed “Adaptation Agreements” with CSP for each work in which he transferred his copyright interests to CSP in exchange for a royalty (which ranged from 12 to 20 percent depending on the work). The 33 works were then all registered with the U.S. Copyright Office and named Willis as one of several co-authors. In 2011, Willis served a “Notice of Termination” on Scorpio and SCP for the works pursuant to the 1976 Amendments to Section 203(a)(1) of the Copyright Act. Scorpio and CSP responded by filing a declaratory relief action in California, claiming that because Willis was one of several authors of each work in order to terminate the grants he needed to have a majority of the authors agree to the termination. Willis countered that while it is true that Section 203 provides that in the case of a “grant executed by two or more authors, termination of the grant may be effected by a majority of the authors that executed it,” in this case, the only grants that Willis was seeking to terminate were signed by him alone; the fact Willis’ co-authors also executed separate grants to Scorpio and/or SCP, he claimed, was of no consequence. Looking to the “plain meaning” of Section 203(a)(1), Judge Moskowitz held that where joint authors of a work transfer their copyright interests to another in separate agreements, any one of the authors may terminate their respective grant. In so doing, Judge Moskowitz rejected Scorpio and CSP’s argument that the term “grant” in Section 203(a)(1) refers collectively to all transfers by co-authors, even if those transfers were made in separate documents. The court did, though, provide Scorpio and CSP leave to amend their complaint to seek a declaration regarding the determination of the issue of ownership of the works—Willis claimed that some of the purported co-authors listed in the works’ copyright registrations were not, in fact, authors of the works—as well as the percentage of copyright interest Willis will be entitled to receive back for each work. Whether Scorpio or CSP will accept Judge Moskowitz’s invitation or wait to wage those battles at a later time is unclear.
The implications of Judge Moskowitz’s decision could be significant, not only for Willis, but also for others similarly situated in the music industry. As a result of the court’s order, once Willis’ terminations become effective, he will become a co-owner of each work, holding an undivided interest in the whole. Thus, from a financial perspective, if Willis was one of three co-authors of one of the works for which he was receiving 12 percent in royalties, the termination of his grant will result in his share increasing to 33 percent. Further, from a practical standpoint, Judge Moskowitz’s decision may result in more cases of musicians who played a small role in the creation of works coming out of the woodwork looking for a larger piece of the royalty pie.
For more information, please contact your Nixon Peabody attorney or:
John A. Chatowski, 415-984-8410, [email protected]
Robert A. Weikert, 415-984-8385, [email protected]
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