Copyright is one of the main intellectual property ("IP") rights, yet it tends to enjoy less attention than some of the others, particularly trade marks. Fortunately, the media seem determined to put things right. Here are a few recent stories.
Top Gun
The 1986 movie Top Gun was huge. Tom Cruise, of course, played the leading role as US navy pilot Pete Mitchell, a man who went by the nickname Maverick. In 2022, a sequel was released entitled Top Gun: Maverick. Predictably, it's been a great success earning USD54-million in the first 10 days. As a result, Cruise is very much in the news again, even being photographed at the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
But it's not all good news. The widow and son of one Ehud Yonav, a man who penned an article that was published in 1983 in the California magazine under the title "Top Guns", have filed a lawsuit in a Los Angeles court, claiming copyright infringement. The claim is that the article "Top Guns" inspired the original Top Gun film, and that the rights that were granted to Paramount at that time terminated in 2020. The claimants in fact allege that in 2018, they specifically advised Paramount of the upcoming 2020 termination date. According to the article, the production of the film was delayed by COVID-19, which may suggest that the studio's thinking had been to release the film before the 2020 expiry date. Yonav's widow and son argue that the entire Top Gun franchise is dependent on Ehud's "literary efforts and evocative prose and narrative".
There are distinct copyrights involved in this case. Yonav's widow and son are relying on copyright in a literary work, and they claim that this copyright has been infringed in a cinematograph film. We will no doubt report on the outcome.
All I Want for Christmas
There is a claim that Mariah Carey infringed the copyright in the song All I Want for Christmas is You. A song that was released in 1994 and was hugely successful, with sales of over 16 million. Carey is being sued for USD60-million.
The infringement claim has been criticised made by one Andy Stone, an artist who performs under the wonderfully old-school name Vince Vance & The Valiants. Stone released his All I want for Christmas is You back in 1989. The song apparently did quite well, but not nearly as well as Carey's.
The infringement claim has been. Reasons include the fact that the two songs are completely different, with the similarity relating to nothing more than the song title (which the author says does not enjoy copyright in the USA), as well as the huge delay in bringing proceedings (Carey's song was released 28 years ago and it's very well known).
Rodriguez: the cold facts
A newspaper recently published an article about Rodriguez, a musician who is undoubtedly better known in South Africa than he is anywhere else, and that includes his home country, the USA. Rodriguez's story is truly remarkable. He created extraordinary music in the 1970s, and many of his songs dealt with social issues. Yet his album, Cold Fact, made absolutely no impression in the USA or anywhere else.
Except, of course, in South Africa. Somehow, a few copies of the album made their way to apartheid South Africa, where the album received a rapturous reception from certain sectors of the population, especially after it was banned by the government as being subversive. In total, some 500 000 copies of the album were sold in the country. Copies of the album apparently also made their way to Australia and New Zealand.
Yet Rodriguez, who never left Detroit, knew nothing of this success. Not until many years later, when a South African by the name of Stephen Segerman made it his quest to find out what had happened to this artist he so admired. Segerman finally tracked Rodriguez down and told him the astonishing news – you were an absolute legend in my country. This led to Rodriguez performing sell-out concerts in South Africa. This amazing story was captured in the Oscar-winning documentary Searching for Sugar Man, Sugar Man being the name of one of Rodriguez's songs.
The article discusses the fact that Rodriguez, who is now nearly 80 and who spent much of his life working as a poorly-paid construction worker, is able to live his final years in relative comfort. All thanks to the royalty income that a copyright owner is entitled to, and that Rodriguez is finally receiving. Finally, an IP aspect to this story!
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