3 Count: Bound 2 Settle

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1: Musicians Union Slaps Studios With Lawsuit Over Reuse Of Film Tunes

First off today, Dominic Patten at Deadline Hollywood reports that the American Federation of Musicians has filed a lawsuit against several movie studios alleging that the studios have violated an agreement with the group by reusing soundtrack music in various films

According to the AFM, their agreements with the studios, the most recent finalized in 2010, film producers can only use music recorded for a movie in the specific film it was prepared for, with some exceptions. Yet, the lawsuit alleges that the studios have repeatedly used clips from one film in others, such as a 1:10 second clip from Titanic that was used in This Means War.

The lawsuit claims breach of contract and is seeking damages for all losses including prejudgment interest.

2: Kanye West Settles ‘Bound 2’ Sample Lawsuit

Next up today, Luke Britton at NME reports that Kanye West has settled a lawsuit with Rick Spicer, a member of the 60’s group The Ponderosa Twins Plus One, who accused West of using a sample of his voice without permission.

According to the lawsuit, West used a sample from The Ponderosa Twins Plus One’s song Michael Jackson in his song Bound 2. According to the lawsuit, the sample featured heavily in the song and was presented exactly as it was recorded in the 60s.

However, paperwork filed with the court earlier this month indicates that the two sides have reached a settlement and are asking the lawsuit to be dismissed. There’s no indication as to how much money, if any, changed hands in the settlement.

3: Northwestern to Settle Suit Involving Book on Leopold and Loeb Murder Trial

Finally today, Tony Briscoe at The Chicago Tribune reports that Northwestern University has settled their case against author and former employee Nina Barrett, who they accused of copyright infringement over a book Barrett wrote about the 1924 trial of Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Loeb, who were convicted of murdering 14-year-old Bobby Frank.

Dubbed the trial of the century at the time, the case remains a notorious one in Chicago-area history. Barrett, while employed by Northwestern, ran a successful exhibit about the trial in 2009 and then used the materials form it to write a book. She then submitted a book proposal to the school in 2010, which was approved. However, Barrett resigned from the school in 2013, taking her work with her despite repeated demands to return it.

Under the settlement, Northwestern and Barrett will jointly publish the book and will share copyright ownership. Beyond that, the terms of the settlement are not known.

Suggestions

That’s it for the three count today. We will be back tomorrow with three more copyright links. If you have a link that you want to suggest a link for the column or have any proposals to make it better. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. I hope to hear from you.

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