Fact #157115
When:
Short story:
Duran Duran lose a high court battle in the UK over rights to some of their most famous songs in the USA.Full article:
Nick Rhodes (keyboards, Duran Duran) : We signed a publishing agreement as unsuspecting teenagers, over three decades ago, when just starting out and when we knew no better.
Today, we are told that language in that agreement allows our long-time publishers, Sony/ATV, to override our statutory rights under US law.
This gives wealthy publishing companies carte blanche to take advantage of the songwriters who built their fortune over many years, and strips songwriters of their right to rebalance this reward.
We are shocked that English contract law is being used to overturn artists’ rights in another territory. If left untested, this judgment sets a very bad precedent for all songwriters of our era and so we are deciding how properly to proceed.
(Source : https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/dec/02/reflex-action-duran-duran-lose-court-battle-over-song-rights)
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Today, we are told that language in that agreement allows our long-time publishers, Sony/ATV, to override our statutory rights under US law.
This gives wealthy publishing companies carte blanche to take advantage of the songwriters who built their fortune over many years, and strips songwriters of their right to rebalance this reward.
We are shocked that English contract law is being used to overturn artists’ rights in another territory. If left untested, this judgment sets a very bad precedent for all songwriters of our era and so we are deciding how properly to proceed.
(Source : https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/dec/02/reflex-action-duran-duran-lose-court-battle-over-song-rights)