Copyright Infringement
Sixth Circuit
Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. UMG Recordings, Inc.
2007-5596
USDC MD Tennessee
Was fragmented literal similarity and thus copying determinable as a matter of law, and was a jury which had found willful copyright infringement and awarded statutory damages properly instructed regarding the questions of willfulness and the tributary fair use defense, where defendants merely had used the phrase “bow wow wow, yippie yo, yippie yea” as well as repeated the word “dog” in a low tone of voice at regular intervals along with the sound of rhythmic panting on defendants’ hip hop song “D.O.G. in Me” and these salient elements appear in plaintiffs’ original funk composition and recording musical work “Atomic Dog”?
Tags: Composition Work, Copyright, Fair Use, Sound Recording