Copyright Infringement

Prof. Priti Gadhvi Made by : Anshu Agrahari

Vibha Kumari Nikita Roy Kirti Saini

Ruchika

Copyright Infringement

• Copyright infringement is the use of works protected by copyright law without permission, infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, such as the right to reproduce, distribute, display or perform the protected work, or to make derivative works.

• The copyright holder is typically the work's creator, or a publisher or other business to whom copyright has been assigned. Copyright holders routinely invoke legal and technological measures to prevent and penalize copyright infringement.

Introduction• Michael Bolotin (born February 26, 1953),

known professionally as Michael Bolton, is an American singer and songwriter. 

• Bolton originally performed in the hard rock and heavy metal genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, and had his own band “ Blackjack”.

• Bolton's achievements including sold more than 75 million records, recording eight top 10 albums and two number one singles on the Billboard charts, as well as winning multiple American Music Awards and Grammy Awards.

The Isley Brothers

• The Isley Brothers are an American musical group originally a vocal trio consisting of brothers named O’kelly Isley, Rudolph Isley, Ronald Isley.

• The group has been cited as having enjoyed one of the "longest, most influential, and most diverse careers in the pantheon of popular music".

Michael Bolton vs. Isley brothers

• The Isley Brothers isn’t as well known a name as Michael Bolton, but unfortunately for Mr. Bolton, they share a song with the same name and some of the same lyrics.

• The Isley Brothers song was released in 1966 under the name “Love is a Wonderful Thing, Michael Bolton’s song was released in 1991. 

• A suit was brought against Michael Bolton by the Isley Brothers for allegedly lifting parts from their original song of the same name and in 1991.

• Despite Michael Bolton and the co-author of the song’s argument that there was insufficient evidence supporting the jury’s findings, the district court found in favor of the Isley Brothers and left the largest award in history for plagiarism in the music industry intact.

• The Isley Brothers were awarded 5.4 million dollars, the calculation based on sixty-six percent of past and future royalties.

•  Bolton's song contained similarities to the song by the Isleys that exceeded the title: in 1994, a jury found songwriters Bolton and Goldmark, along with Sony Music Entertainment (the parent company of Bolton's label, Columbia Records), liable for copyright infringement due to multiple similarities between the two songs and ordered them to pay the Isleys all profits earned from the single plus 28% of the album profits, which amounted to over $5 million (U.S.)

Johnny Cash vs. Gordon Jenkins

• Gordon Jenkins:- Jenkins was a respected composer and arranger throughout the 1940s and 1950s. As musical director for Decca Records, Jenkins released an experimental concept album “ SevenDreams” consisting of seven radioplay-style musicals named for their protagonists.The album became a top-ten hit on the Billboard charts.

Johnny Cash

• John R. "Johnny" Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was a singer-songwriter, actor, and author, widely considered one of the most influential American musicians of the 20th century.•Although primarily remembered as a country musician icon, his genre-spanning songs and sound embraced rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, folk, and gospel. This crossover appeal won Cash the rare honor of multiple induction in the Country Music, Rock and Roll, and Gospel Music Halls of Fame.

Controversy• This particular case hit the courts, but was settled out of court. The original song

in question was recorded on a concept album called Seven Dreams, the song in question was part of the ‘Second Dream: The Conductor”.

• When the lyrics to the two songs are compared side by side, there is no question that they are kissing cousins. Though Johnny Cash’s version is more fine tuned and shows more experienced talent, some of the lines are word for word and some of them have a word or two difference.

• It took fifteen years, from the release date of Johnny Cash’s version, for Gordon Jenkins, the original song. owner to sue. The 1968 out of court settlement approached the hundred thousand mark.

Thankyou