When an artist records a song, they may create two works that have copyright protection: (1) a musical work; and (2) a sound recording. The question before the jury then was whether an artist could copyright a common building block of songs that have appeared in dozens of other popular songs. The Dynamics of Ed Sheeran’s CaseAs in most copyright cases, each team in the Sheeran litigation provided expert musicologists to analyze the musical components of the songs. And we work with what we’ve got.”[8] Ultimately, the jury loved good music, deciding that the basic building block of so many hits is not afforded copyright protection. [12]ConclusionAs technology advances, so should the legal framework for copyright protection.

Source: New York Times June 06, 2023 15:57 UTC