US Judge Upholds Landmark Ruling That Songwriters Can Reclaim Their Copyrights Worldwide

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has upheld a decision that songwriters can use US copyright law to regain control of their works from publishers in both the US and the rest of the world. This decision could potentially upend thousands of contracts signed over the last several decades.

The details:

• The ruling centers on a provision in copyright law known as termination rights.

• Such rights under the US’s Copyright Act of 1976 allow copyright ownership to be reclaimed by original authors from current owners after a certain expiration date.

• As it stands, authors of works written in 1978 or later must wait 35 years. For works written before 1978, it’s 56 years.

• Prior to this decision, it was assumed that the provision only applied to the US. Now there is a precedent that it applies to global ownership.

Why it matters:

• Under this new ruling, authors could legally reclaim their rights to thousands of songs.

• Royalties will be diverted away from current rightsholders and back to original authors. This could potentially drain serious income from prominent music companies, but also see authors receive payouts for songs that had latent success.

• Music trade bodies Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) wanted the decision overturned, while the Music Artists’ Coalition (MAC), which exists to support songwriters, wanted the decision upheld.

What they said:

• Susan Genco, Music Artists Coalition Co-Founder and Board Member: “MAC exists to ensure songwriters have a voice and are represented in a case like this. When artists sign away worldwide rights early in their careers for little money, meaningful termination should let them recapture worldwide rights, not just domestic.”

• RIAA and NMPA: “The district court’s decision unsettles the bedrock understanding of foreign exploitation rights against which tens of thousands of agreements respecting recorded music and music publishing copyrights have been drafted, negotiated, and executed.”