11.1 Copyright | Communication Law and Ethics

Plant and Page performing in Chicago Stadium in Chicago on 10 April 1977, during Led Zeppelin's last North American tour. Jim Summaria, http://www.jimsummariaphoto.com/

Led Zepplin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page performing in Chicago on 10 April 1977, during Led Zeppelin’s last North American tour.
Photo by Jim Summaria, Wikimedia Commons.

High profile rock bands and their infringement lawsuits are probably the first thing that comes to mind when most people think about copyright law, and few are as high profile as the Skidmore v Led Zepplin case decided by the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals on March 9, 2020. The suit was filed in 2014 by Michael Skidmore on behalf of musicians from a band called Spirit. Skidmore said their 1968 song “Taurus” in 1968 was copied by Led Zepplin in the 1971 song “Stairway to Heaven.” (A comparison of the two songs is available here and also here and also here.)

There are similarities between the two songs, and a jury found for Spirit in 2016. But the decision was reversed by an appeals court in 2020.

Similarly contentious music infringement suits have been filed over the Happy Birthday song, We Shall Overcome, My Sweet Lord by George Harrison, Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke and Marvin Gaye’s Got to Give it Up among many others. George Washington University has a database of music copyright lawsuits.

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Unit 11 – Intellectual property overview

11.1 – overview (this page)
Also see Lecture notes / Slides

11.2 – copyright basics and history

- What is copyright?
- What can be copyrighted? What are other forms of intellectual property?
- How long does copyright last?
- The Berne Convention
- Copyright Controversy

11.3 – copyright and music

11.4 – Traditional copyright and trademark issues and cases

11.5 – Copyright and public domain

11.6 — Copyright and digital media

11.7 — Trademark issues

<h4>Copyright and creative issues</h4>When students first hear about copyright, it’s usually in the context of a warning about not violating copyright law or infringing on someone else’s copyright. While this can be a problem, another issue is the over-reaction to copyright piracy which may choke off creativity and impose a “read only” culture. Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig makes this point in the 2007 TED video above. <h4>Copyright enforcement </h4>The Copyright Office keeps records but is not charged with enforcing the law it administers. Copyright infringement is generally a civil matter, which the copyright owner must pursue in federal court. Under certain circumstances, the infringement may also constitute a criminal misdemeanor or felony, which would be prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice. .