Songwriters Guild and SCL Submit Brief in Pivotal Copyright Termination Lawsuit

The Songwriters Guild of America (SLC) and Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL) have weighed in on whether US copyright terminations extend to markets outside of North America.

Some context:

• As per Digital Music News, Section 203 of the Copyright Act enables rights-transfer terminations on non-work-for-hire creations 35 years after the fact.

• In February a Federal Court ruled that “Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love)” songwriter Cyril Vetter could reclaim rights to the 1963 work in all territories.

• The February ruling also determined that US copyright terminations extend to rights assigned globally.

• The ruling was immediately appealed by the opposing company, Resnik Music Group.

SLC & SCL weigh in:

• In an amicus brief submitted to the Court supporting Vetter, the SLC and SCL claim: “Granting authors the broadest possible termination right, unlimited in geographical scope, is consistent with the Constitution, the statutory text of Sections 203 and 304, and the intent of the Framers and of Congress.”

• They add that limiting terminations to the US would create a problematic loophole whereby copies legally manufactured overseas could be brought into the States to “compete with those authorized by the author.”

• They write this “would eviscerate the terminating author’s exclusive domestic rights,” and pave the way for publishers to exploit the loophole by “importing lawful international exploitations into the States.”

• The full submission can be found here.