Law Over Lunch
Copyrights (Jim’s Version)
Date: March 28, 2024
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
Location: Zoom (register here)
Speaker: James Gibson
Sesquicentennial Professor of Law
University of Richmond School of Law
Contact: Tara Casey
Director, Carrico Center for Pro Bono Service
University of Richmond School of Law
28 Westhampton Way
Richmond, VA 23173
804-287-1207
tcasey@richmond.edu
Description:
Taylor Swift dominated the media last year, breaking tour records, sales records, award records, and some even say time-travel records. However, before all of that, some claim that Ms. Swift broke something with potentially even bigger consequences in the music industry: copyright records.
Under her previous recording contract, Ms. Swift had signed away her rights to the first recorded versions of her songs. When relations with her label took a turn for the worse, however, she began re-recording the songs—which the Copyright Act and her contract gave her the right to do. This decision has prompted other artists to follow suit, which has resulted in many music industry executives crying foul – is holding the copyright of a sound recording now worthless? How will that affect future contracts with emerging artists who are seeking to protect their intellectual property?
Please join the Carrico Center as we welcome our esteemed colleague and copyright law scholar, Prof. Jim Gibson, as he explains the copyright laws that existed to empower Ms. Swift in this endeavor, the changes sought in copyright protection and understanding to prevent it from happening in the future, and the predictions for what this means for intellectual property rights in the future. 1.5 CLE credits pending.