NEW COURSE – 2007 Fall:
“Music Copyright Infringement In The Courtroom” (MBU 4990)
Professor: Dr. E. Michael Harrington
Tuesdays 3:30 – 6:15 PM
This new and unique course will cover music copyright infringement as it is treated in federal courts, as well as specific issues including sampling, interpolation and replay, independent creation, borrowing, referencing, fair use, parody and the First Amendment. Important related forms of intellectual property – right of publicity, trademark and unfair competition – will also be included.
Students will learn the mechanics of a music copyright infringement action – what happens after the songwriter/artist/publisher suspects that his/her music has been infringed, the evaluation of the music involved, the determination of the strength of a copyright infringement suit, how discovery and depositions take place, what issues and parties should be involved in discovery and depositions, what is involved in a trial, an out of court settlement, how litigation can be avoided, and related issues.
During the semester, students will participate in moot court by comparing a pair of songs to determine whether or not there is a copyright infringement. Students will prepare a case for their side, present evidence, exhibits and witnesses, and give oral arguments in moot court.
Musical examples in the course will be drawn from numerous musical genres including rock, country, rap, hip hop, R & B, urban, jazz, electronica, folk, world music and classical music, as well as music used in advertising, television and film.
No prior knowledge of copyright and/or intellectual property is required for this course.
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E. Michael Harrington is Professor of Entertainment and Music Business at Belmont University and a Leadership Music alumnus. He has been interviewed by the New York Times, CNN, Bravo, Associated Press, PBS, the TODAY Show, NPR, Canadian Public Radio, PC Magazine, Billboard, USA Today, Salon, XM Radio, Rolling Stone, Money Magazine, Investor’s Business Daily, Mergers & Acquisitions, People Magazine, Life Magazine, Readers’ Digest, Associated Press, Washington Times, Miami Herald and others. He has worked as consultant and expert witness in hundreds of music copyright matters involving the Dixie Chicks, Woody Guthrie, director Steven Spielberg, producer Mark Burnett, Steve Perry, Beatallica, Keith Urban, Ne-Yo, Collin Raye, Tupac Shakur, George Clinton, Mariah Carey, Patty Loveless and others, and delivered more than 100 lectures to more than 70 law schools, organizations and universities throughout North America including Harvard Law, Yale Law, the Boston Bar Association, Future of Music Coalition, the European Film Commission, the Experience Music Project, NEMO, NYU, UCSD, McGill, Carleton, Eastman, Emory, Miami, Berklee and others.