A Florida federal court jury has ruled that two Live Crew members and their heirs can reclaim the master copyright rights to their music.
However, this may not be the last word on the ongoing legal battle, as lawyers Xiao Qiao RecordsThe company that currently owns 2 rights to “Live Crew” has filed a motion to overturn the jury’s decision.
Jury finds 2 Live Crew’s Luther Campbellas well as the heirs of two other members of the group – Christopher Huang Yuan and Mark Ross – A valid claim was made under U.S. copyright terms, which allow creators of works to reclaim their copyrights, Law360 reported on Wednesday (October 16).
“All our albums, we won, we got everything back from Lil Joe Weinberger,” Campbell said in front of the Dade County federal court, quoted ring the bell.
“God is so good, you have to believe in Him.”
Under Section 302 of the Copyright Act, the creator of a work can ask the licensed copyright holder to give the copyright back to them 35 years after the creation of the work.
2 Live Crew Copyright Xiao Qiao Recordsowner Joseph Weinbergwho purchased the copyright $800,000 In 1996, when Luther Campbell’s label was founded, Luke Recordswas forced into bankruptcy court.
Prior to this, members of 2 Live Crew had sold rights to their music to Luke Records, although when this occurred and under what conditions this occurred was disputed during the trial.
In 2020, Campbell, Mark Ross and the heirs of the late Christopher Wong Won sent a “cease and desist” to Lil Joe Records, informing the company that they would be taking back the mastering rights to 2 Live Crew’s first three albums, We are 2 field staff, move somethingand They can be as annoying as they want.
The termination dates are set for 2022, 2023 and 2024, the 35th anniversary of the album’s release date.
Lil Joe Records filed a lawsuit against the heirs of Campbell, Ross (who died earlier this year) and Wong Won, claiming that the members of 2 Live Crew were legal employees of Luke Records and therefore 2 Live Crew’s music was “works” for rent.
By law, the copyright owner of a work-for-hire is the entity that commissioned the work (in this case, Luke Records), not the person hired to create the work.
Lil Joe Records argued that because the right to terminate copyrights only applies to individuals, not businesses, neither Campbell nor the other heirs could reclaim the copyrights.
2 Live Crew members and heirs responded to the lawsuit with their own counterclaim, arguing that the band’s music was not a work-for-hire; instead, the three band members sold their existing rights to the music to Campbell and Luke Records, After 35 years, they are legally entitled to exercise their termination rights.
They asked the court to declare that “they have the relevant rights and the ability to terminate the relevant transfer, and have effectively served the termination notice.”
You can read MBW’s detailed explanation of the case here.
Although the jury sided with the members and heirs of 2 Live Crew, the legal battle over the rights may not be over yet.
On Thursday (October 17), attorneys for Lil Joe Records filed a “motion for legal judgment,” effectively asking the judge to overturn the jury’s verdict.
These motions ask the court to enter a specific verdict if a reasonable jury could not conclude otherwise. Although these motions are typically filed after the case is heard and before it goes to the jury, in some cases a judge can rule on such motions after a ruling has been made.
“The four members of 2 Live Crew… transfer all recording rights they own to the music of 2 Live Crew to Luke Records, Inc.,” reads the motion, the full text of which can be read here.
“Campbell & Luke Records subsequently filed for bankruptcy and all of their recording rights to 2 Live Crew’s music…were assigned and sold to Lil’ Joe at the time of the bankruptcy, “without any liens, claims, encumbrances, charges, setbacks or sales or compensation of any kind” and thereafter “no royalties shall be paid to any Master, whether as artist, producer, writer, publisher or in any other capacity” [Luke Records owner] Luther Campbell.
2 Live Crew was one of the most famous and controversial hip-hop groups of the late 1980s and early 1990s. At a time when snappy lyrics were still a rarity in pop music, their albums—especially They can be as annoying as they want (1989) – attracted negative attention from some quarters.
Members of the band found themselves accused of indecency for performing songs in public, and They can be as annoying as they want Declared illegal in South Florida by a judge.
In the end, the group was found not guilty of obscenity. Appeal court overturns album ban.global music business
