Music and Copyright This page intentionally left blank Music and Copyright Ronald S. Rosen 1 1 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offi ces in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Th ailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright © 2008 by Ronald S. Rosen Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press Oxford University Press is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Ronald S. Rosen. _____________________________________________ Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rosen, Ronald S. Music and copyright / Ronald S. Rosen. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-19-533836-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Copyright—Music—United States. 2. Fair use (Copyright)—United States. 3. Copyright infringement—United States. I. Title. KF3035.R67 2008 346.7304’82—dc22 2008013929 _____________________________________________ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Note to Readers Th is publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is based upon sources believed to be accurate and reliable and is intended to be cur- rent as of the time it was written. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Also, to confi rm that the information has not been aff ected or changed by recent developments, traditional legal research tech- niques should be used, including checking primary sources where appropriate. (Based on the Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations.) You may order this or any other Oxford University Press publication by visiting the Oxford University Press website at www.oup.com To My Family Florence and Daniel Rosen Who Started All Th is Judith Spouse, Partner, and In-House Editor Matthew, Philip, and Galit Th e Generation in Whom We Take Great Pride and Chloe, Gilad, and Eitan Th e Generation in Whom We Place Our Faith and Hope for a Better World This page intentionally left blank Contents PREFACE PRELUDE 1 I. Music and Copyright: The Search to Separate Idea from Expression 2 A. Idea and Expression in Music 2 B. Vivaldi v. Bach: A Paradigm for the Ages 4 II. The Rise of Copyright: A Brief Review 5 CHAPTER 1 The Copyright Law: An Overview 9 I. The Lawyer’s Mission 11 II. Basic Principles: An Introduction 12 III. The Idea/Expression Dichotomy 14 A. Arnstein v. Porter and Its Legacy 15 B. The Reinterpretation of Arnstein v. Porter 17 1. Sid & Marty Kroff t Television Productions Inc. v. McDonald’s Corporation 17 2. Fine Tuning Kroff t: Litchfi eld, Berkic, Aliotti and Olson 19 3. Shaw v. Lindheim and Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Company, Inc. 21 4. An Interim Stopgap: Latman’s Probative Similarity 23 5. Expert Testimony and the Future of the Two-Prong Test 23 IV. Filtration 24 A. The Use of Filtration to Separate Unprotectable Elements from Protected Expression: Two Early Formulations 24 B. Filtration: Contemporary Formulations 25 V. Expert Testimony under the Two-Prong Test: Suggested Alternatives 27 A. Combine the Two Tests 27 1. To Eliminate the Inherent Confusion Regarding Use of Expert Testimony 27 2. The Necessity for Musicology Experts: Recognition of the Complexity of Musical Language and the Public’s Unfamiliarity with That Language 28 viii Contents B. Recognition of Current Practice 28 1. Burden of Proof: Components and Responsibilities 28 2. Ritualized Procedures 29 C. The Copyright Registration Certifi cate and the Rebuttable Presumption 30 D. Music’s Need for a Translator and Educator: Two Scenarios 30 1. Scenario Number One 31 2. Scenario Number Two 31 VI. Legal and Equitable Defenses 33 A. Statute of Limitations 33 1. Accrual 33 2. Tolling 36 B. Laches and Estoppel 38 1. The Two Defenses Compared 38 2. Laches 38 3. Estoppel 42 C. Other Defenses 44 1. Abandonment 45 2. Innocent Intent 45 3. Res Judicata and Collateral Estoppel 47 4. Unclean Hands and Misuse of Copyright 54 VII. Lack of Jurisdiction: Extraterritorial Acts 61 VIII. Conclusion: The Lawyer’s Mission Redux 61 CHAPTER 2 Remedies 63 I. Actual Damages and Profi ts 66 A. Actual Damages 68 1. Lost Sales 69 2. Value of Use of the Copyrighted Work (The Imputed License Fee) The Deltak/Business Trends/Davis Trilogy 72 B. Profi ts 76 1. Profi ts and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles 77 2. Sheldon v. Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corporation: A Case Study 77 C. Indirect Profi ts 80 D. Apportionment of Profi ts 83 E. The Prohibition Against Double-Counting: The Courts Speak 83 F. Double-Counting and Statutory Damages 86 II. Statutory Damages: An Overview 88 A. Theory and Practice: The Need for Statutory Damages 88 B. Statutory Damages: Parsing the Statute 90 1. Section 504(c)(1) 90 Contents ix 2. “ . all infringements involved in the action, with respect to any one work” 91 3. “ . for which any one infringer is liable individually, or for which any two or more infringers are liable jointly and severally” 92 III. Multiple Infringements and Statutory Damages: The Courts Construe the Statute 93 A. The Predecessor to Section 504(c): The Supreme Court and Section 101(b) of the 1909 Act 93 B. The Feltner/Columbia Trilogy 94 1. Columbia Pictures Television v. Krypton Broadcasting of Birmingham, Inc. 95 2. Feltner v. Columbia Pictures Television, Inc.: Feltner Seeks a Jury Trial 96 3. Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. v. Krypton Broadcasting of Birmingham, Inc.: Feltner Gets His Jury Trial 97 4. Post-Feltner and Summary Judgments 98 C. Compilations and Their Constituent Elements 99 1. The Defi nition and Nature of Compilations 99 D. Derivative Works 102 1. The Statutes: Sections 504(c)(1), 101, 102 and 103 102 2. A Case in Point: Gamma Audio & Video, Inc. v. Ean-Chea 102 IV. Statutory Damages: Willful and Innocent Infringement 103 A. Section 504(c)(2): Enhanced and Remitted Statutory Damages 103 B. A Sampling of Statutory and Case Authorities 104 1. Willfulness 104 2. Innocence 108 V. Coda to Statutory Damages: Five Scenarios 109 1. Scenario No. 1 109 2. Scenario No. 2 110 3. Scenario No. 3 110 4. Scenario No. 4 110 5. Scenario No. 5 110 VI. Attorney’s Fees 111 A. The Landscape Pre-Fogerty v. Fantasy 111 1. The Confl ict Among the Circuits 111 2. A Sampling of Case Authorities on Opposite Sides of the “Dual” and “Evenhanded” Approaches 112 B. Fogerty v. Fantasy, Inc.: The Evenhanded Rule Prevails 114 1. The Supreme Court Speaks 114 2. The Ninth Circuit Converts 115 3. Fantasy, Inc. v. Fogerty 116 x Contents C. The “Prevailing Party” 117 1. Who Is the Prevailing Party? 117 2. A Sampling of Judicially Created Guidelines 118 VII. Costs 121 VIII. Arbitration 123 A. The Availability of Arbitration to Resolve Infringement Claims 123 B. Kamakazi Music Corporation v. Robbins Music Corporation 123 C. The Federal Court v. The Arbitration Tribunal: Advantages and Disadvantages 125 D. Practice Point: Whether to Choose Arbitration as a Remedy 126 IX. Injunctive Relief 129 A. General Principles 129 B. Temporary Restraining Orders 133 C. Preliminary Injunctions 134 1. General Considerations and Procedure 134 2. Elements for Obtaining Preliminary Injunction 135 D. Permanent Injunctions 140 X. Impoundment 141 A. Requirements and Court Discretion 141 B. Constitutionality of the Impoundment Procedure 143 C. Practical Considerations of an Impoundment Order 146 CHAPTER 3 The Basic Elements of Musical Language and Ideas: The Copyright Perspective 149 I. Music as Language 151 II. Copyright and the Components of Musical Language and Ideas 152 A. The Trinity: Melody, Harmony and Rhythm 152 1. Melody 153 2. Harmony 153 3. Rhythm 153 B. Supplementing the Trinity 154 C. The Building Blocks of Music 157 1. The Phrase 157 2. Motive (Motif) 157 3. Counterpoint 158 4. Tempo and Expression Marks 158 5. Meter 158 6. Two Basic Forms: Binary and Ternary Form 159 III. Musical Ideas and Expression: A Sampling 159 A. Bach v. Mozart and Chicago, Their Contemporary Colleagues: Using and Exploiting the Triad 159 Contents xi B. Equal Temperament and Scènes à Faire: The Harmonic Imperative 162 1. Equal Temperament 162 2. Scènes à Faire 163 C. Musical Scènes à Faire: Two Examples 164 1. Progressions 164 2. Cadences: Two Examples 166 D. Comment: Harmony and Scènes à Faire 167 IV. Form/Structure and “Forms” 168 A. The Issue: A Question of Terminology and Context 168 B. § 102(b) of the Copyright Act: “Procedures, Processes, Systems” 169 C. Musical Form/Structure and “Procedures, Processes, Systems” 170 D. Conclusion: Original Musical Works and the Vast Storehouse of Musical Ideas and Building Blocks 171 CHAPTER 4 Infringement and the Commencement of Litigation 173 I. Pragmatism and Ethics: Initial Considerations 174 II. Pre-Meeting Tasks for the Parties 175 A. The Plaintiff 175 B. The Lawyer for the Plaintiff 175 C.