Cases

Fisher v Brooker & Onward Music Ltd

Comment

There may be some truth to Mr Brooker's comment that this judgment heralds "open season on songwriters": not because it marks a departure from previous decisions but because it makes clear that the traditional industry practice of attributing the authorship of songs to the composer of the basic melody and the lyrics is simply inconsistent with the law. Where a band member makes a contribution to a song that "is both significant (in the sense that it is more than merely trivial) and original (in the sense that it is the product of skill and labour in its creation) and the resulting work is recorded (whether in writing or otherwise), that band member is entitled to copyright in the work as one of its joint authors and to any composing royalties that follow."

Areas of work

Copyright
Entertainment Law
Intellectual Property
Music Law

Also