The following are court cases that have influenced and had an impact on the music industry in some way, form, or shape.
The first case is the A&M Records Inc. vs. Napster Inc. in the Implications for the Digital Music Library. Napster is a peer-to-peer file sharing system. A person can upload from their computer an MP3 file online and another person can download that MP3 file from anywhere in the world to their computer. Napster was sued because they were conducting copyright infringement. They were duplicating the works and distributing them to the public. Napster was ordered to shut down from the world. However, Napster came into a settlement with the National Music Publisher Association. Napster agreed to pay twenty six million dollars for music that they distributed as well as ten million for future royalties.
Napster was the pioneer for online piracy. They knew what they were doing. Napster could have been the original iTunes, if they would have seen this great opportunity and done everything legally. However, sadly, this was not the case. Napster has as much right to be sued as the users who use it. Napster knew what their users were doing and they let it happen.
The second case is the George Harrison vs. Bright Tunes Music Corporation. George Harrison was a former member in the band The Beatles. In his solo career, he released a song called “My Sweat Lord.” This was his first single as a soloist. "My Sweat Lord" reached number one on the charts for a number of weeks. Bright Tunes Music Corporation filled a lawsuit against George Harrison for copyright infringement. George Harrison’s “My Sweat Lord” was too similar to Chiffon’s “He’s So Fine.” It was implied that it was the same song, with the exception that the words were different. The court ruled that even though George Harrison may not have intentionally committed copyright infringement, he still had to pay $587,000.
Even though, by all accounts, George Harrison did not intentionally copy Chiffon’s song, he is still guilty. I disagree with Bright Tunes Music Corporation for waiting until the song hit number one in the charts before they sued George Harrison. It seems they were waiting for him to make money and then go after the money in a lawsuit. They should have sued when they first heard the song.
The third and final case is Grand Upright Music, Ltd. vs. Warner Bros. Records Inc. Grand Upright Music sued Warner Bros. Records for copyright infringement. Biz Markie has a song called “I Need a Hair Cut” in which he sampled material from Gilbert O'Sullivan’s song called “Alone Again.” It was clear that Warner Bros. Records Inc. knew that they were committing copyright infringement. They tried to argue that Grand Upright Music did not have the copyright to the song “Alone Again.” The judge simply referred the case to the United States Attorney for criminal prosecution. The charges were intentional infringement against Warner Bros Records Inc. The judge who held this case was highly criticized for his actions. This case affects the Hip Hop genre greatly because fewer samples are being used in songs. It was clear who was guilty and innocent. There was no need for the judge to extend this dispute when he could have ended it right there. Warner Bros. knew they were committing infringement and continued as if it was all right.
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