Nearly a decade ago, George and Ira Gershwin, known as the Gershwin brothers, fought to have copyright extended to their songs. Now, after their deaths, the heirs of these songwriting brothers are disputing over how to divide the royalties, which have come from the copyrighting of this music. Since the American royalties were previously divided equally between the brothers, there is no dispute regarding them. However, in the EU copyright law differs from US copyright law. Since, Ira Gershwin outlived his brother by about 40 years, there arises a problem with European copyright law. In the EU, the copyright of a lyricist and a composer are distinct. Furthermore, these rights expire 70 years after the death of the lyricist or composer, and the music then enters the public domain. Thus, since technically George’s copyright earnings on his compositions expired in 2007 in the EU, there is a dispute. Since Ira’s copyright of his lyrics is still effective, his estate still gains royalties from the use of his songs. Thus, Ira’s heirs believe they deserve foreign royalties on his lyrics.
For more on this story, please go to: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-ca-gershwin1-2009nov01,0,6051370.story.
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1 comment:
The Gershwin brothers created some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century. Their ticket to fame were the songs that have been used in major opera and theater productions of that time.
As most artists, royalties for songs are handled by an intellectual property attorney. Denver and other states have a lot of practitioners for that field. An intellectual property lawyer, Denver and other parts of the country, handles personal accounts like trademark issues and copyright laws. Since intellectual property is a very vast arena, celebrities and companies find it necessary to hire such individuals to assert their rights.
Sometimes, cases get more problematic due to geographical differences in laws. EU laws can be different from foreign laws. Indeed, the Gershwin case is an example of varied systems of laws.
Hope they would be able to settle the royalty issues soon. Very informative post. Thanks!
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