American music publisher, Bourne Co., co-founded in 1919 by songwriter Irving Berlin, has initiated a copyright dispute lawsuit before the New York Supreme County Court against the UK-based Booey & Co. Ltd. alleging conspiracy to deprive Bourne Co. of its share of rights in the highly popular song ‘These Foolish Things’ written by Eric Maschwitz and Jack Strachey.
Released in 1936, renditions of the song were recorded by various artists including Billie Holiday, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald as well as…
One of the primary purposes of the Copyright Amendment in 2012 was to ensure that authors get their well deserved consideration. The focus was primarily on authors, who create works for feature films. Other authors, unfortunately, received little or no attention. After making sure that producers do not take away ownership rights by signing 'work for hire' engagements, the amendment made changes to provisions with respect to assignment in Section 18.
The first provision in Section 18, the subject of…