Thompson Coburn partner Sartouk Moussavi spoke with Bloomberg Law for an article on singer Miley Cyrus’ motion to dismiss a copyright infringement lawsuit related to her hit song “Flowers.”
Cyrus’ argument highlights a quirk in Ninth Circuit precedent that she argues limits who can bring copyright-infringement lawsuits, Bloomberg reported. The motion was set for a Jan. 27 hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Tempo Music Investments sued after buying a stake from one of four songwriters of the song it alleged Cyrus copied, Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man.” Cyrus argued that because Tempo purchased one cowriter’s share without the others’ express consent, it does not have the right to sue. If that argument proves successful, it would have a wide impact on licensing for creative works.
A win for Cyrus’ position at the appellate level would “fundamentally affect the entire entertainment industry, in the way lawsuits are handled, in the way contracts are formulated,” Sartouk told Bloomberg. “It would cast doubt on many prior copyright transactions, some of which were for very high sums of money.”
Read the full article here.