RIAA Copyright Misuse Charged
In RIAA copyright infringement case Lava v. Amurao, the defendant has successfully raised an interesting legal theory of copyright misuse. Judge Charles L. Brieant rejected RIAA's motion to dismiss this charge.
The copyright misuse counterclaim states that the plaintiffs should lose their copyrights in the songs that form the basis for their suit on the ground that they are "competitors in the business of recorded music…..[and] are a cartel acting collusively in violation of the antitrust laws and public policy, by litigating and settling all cases similar to this one together, and by entering into an unlawful agreement among themselves to prosecute and to dispose of all cases in an identical manner and through common lawyers….. Such actions represent an attempt….to secure for themselves rights far exceeding those provided by copyright laws……Such acts constitute misuse of copyrights, and lead to a forfeiture of the exclusive rights…..".
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