Lead Belly Estate Files Copyright Infringement Suit Against Publishers

The estate of folk and blues pioneer Lead Belly is suing The Richmond Organization and nine affiliated publishing companies for copyright infringement.

The defendants:

• The Richmond Organization is a longstanding independent music publishing company.

• Its catalog includes compositions by Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Pete Townshend, among others.

• Also listed as defendants are Cromwell Music, Inc., Essex Music, Inc., Folkways Music Publishers, Inc., Hollis Music, Inc., Ludlow Music, Inc., Melody Trails, Inc., Songways Services, Inc., World Wide Publishing Co., and Worldwide Publishing, Inc.

The allegations:

• As reported by Music Business Worldwide, the complaint alleges the defendants continued to exploit 49 Lead Belly compositions after being served formal copyright termination notices.

• It also alleges that an audit of the defendants’ books uncovered more than $289,000 in wrongfully retained royalties.

Damages:

• The lawsuit seeks a judgment that the defendants wilfully infringed Lead Belly’s copyrights in the compositions, statutory damages and attorney’s fees, and recovery of damages in excess of $289,000, as per MBW.

• The plaintiffs have also demanded a jury trial.