Supreme Court ends music labels' copyright challenge without ruling
Major labels including Sony, Universal and Warner, plus BMG, dropped their appeal over whether termination rights reach foreign rights, and the justices issued no decision on Monday, October 19. The question of whether songwriters can reclaim worldwide copyrights remains unresolved.
By Standard Topic. AI-generated from the reporting listed under Coverage. Published . Updated .
What happened
Major record labels and BMG challenged a ruling that U.S. copyright termination law applies worldwide. The Supreme Court ended the challenge on Monday, October 19, without ruling on its merits.
Why it matters
The case concerns whether songwriters can reclaim copyrights worldwide, and the court did not rule on the merits of that question.
Timeline
- Oct 19, 11:10 AM ET: The Supreme Court ended the labels' and BMG's challenge without ruling on its merits, after four justices sat out.
- Oct 19, 11:41 AM ET: The court rejected the music labels' challenge and upheld the 5th Circuit ruling that U.S. copyright termination law applies globally.
- Oct 20, 12:47 PM ET: Reports said several justices' book deals left the court without a quorum to hear the music copyright appeal.
Coverage
- Book deals leave Supreme Court without quorum in music copyright fight (abajournal.com)
- Supreme Court rejects music labels’ challenge to copyright termination ruling (Reuters)
- Supreme Court Won't Overturn Landmark Music Copyright Ruling (billboard.com)
- Majors and BMG lose Supreme Court fight over songwriters’ worldwide copyright reclaims (musicbusinessworldwide.com)
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