Harlem Shake's Copyright Issues
Drake prevails again – this time at the Second Circuit. On February 3, 2020, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Drake, finding that his use of a...more
In December 2018, CJEU Advocate General Szpunar took the view that the reuse of a sound sequence in a new song (referred to as sampling) without the author’s permission violates copyright law (case C-476/17 – Moses Pelham et...more
Rapper Tyler, the Creator (“Tyler”), is facing a lawsuit for copyright infringement, which alleges he illegally sampled a 1971 soul song, “Why Can’t There Be Love,” in his 2015 hit, “Deathcamp.” ...more
English pop musician Ed Sheeran has been sued for copyright infringement in the Central District of California over his recent hit song “Photograph,” which peaked at number ten on Billboard’s “The Hot 100” chart. The two...more
Greenberg Glusker partner Glen Rothstein was quoted in “Big Pimpin' gets big win in copyright case” (Daily Journal, October 22, 2015). In the closely watched Fahmy v. Jay Z., complex issues of international copyright,...more
Songwriter Earl Shuman sued Alicia Keys for allegedly “sampling” parts of the composition “Hey There Lonely Boy” (“Lonely”) that he co-wrote in 1962. According to the complaint, Keys’ recording of “Girl on Fire” (“Fire”),...more