Spotify Settles Class Action Lawsuits Filed By David Lowery and Melissa Ferrick With $43.4 Million Fund — Rob Levine reports on the settlement between the songwriters and the popular music streaming service over allegations that it had not licensed mechanical rights for compositions. Says Levine, “Beyond past and future compensation, the settlement agreement outlines a process by which Spotify and the class counsel ‘will work collaboratively to improve the gathering and collecting of information about composition owners to help ensure those owners are paid their royalties in the future,’ according to the plaintiffs’ motion.”
Miranda Mulholland lays bare the reality for creators in the digital age at the Economic Club of Canada — “On May 24, Miranda Mulholland became the first musician to deliver a keynote address to the Economic Club of Canada. Her speech, titled ‘Redefining Success in a Digital Marketplace,’ drew on her years of experience as a musician, label owner and entrepreneur to shed light on the reality artists face in the digital age. In her speech, she also identified actions that government, the music industry and music fans can take to help bring balance to the world in which creators live.”
Copyright Office Releases an Updated Draft of the Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition — The Compendium is the Copyright Office’s administrative manual and provides attorneys, copyright owners, and creators a comprehensive guide to registering their works. This week, the Copyright Office released a draft of an updated version that clarifies a number of policies and takes into account recently changed Office regulations.
Speech by Vice-President Ansip at the “Meet the Authors” conference — “Investments made by creators, artists, performers and creative industries should be properly recognised and rewarded. It is not right for the revenues that flow from their work to end up disproportionately with a few large players who may not themselves be involved in content creation – but who do make money off the back of it. Otherwise, we risk a situation where there is less creation, less diversity and less quality. Why? Because there would be less incentive for creators to invest in producing creative content in the first place.”
Instagram DMCA case over removal of copyright notice moves forward — Evan Brown reports on a recent decision in Gattoni v Tibi, an interesting case currently in the Southern District Court of New York. There, the court dismissed a claim for copyright infringement, holding that a registration certificate is required before filing suit, rather than just an application to register (an issue that the Second Circuit has not weighed in on yet but that has split other Circuit Courts). However, the court did not dismiss a claim for unauthorized removal of Copyright Management Information, allowing that claim to proceed.