Season 5, Episode 11 episode of the popular CBS legal
drama The Good Wife entitled “Goliath
and David,” concerns a copyright battle over a parodied song. The legal issue was a ripped-from-the-headlines story based on the hit show Glee ripping off a cover of the song "Baby Got Back" by singer-songwriter John Coulton.
In “Goliath and David,” a quirky folk
duo created a cover of a popular rap artist’s song that is then used on
a television show. The duo decides
to sue the television studio, which opts to countersue because it claims that
it received permission from the original rap artist to use his song, while the
duo failed to get such permission.
The judge ruled that while the television show did steal the duo’s song,
they were not entitled to damages because while they obtained a compulsory
license for the original rap song, they did not get the appropriate derivative
rights to use the lyrics.
Under U.S. copyright law, a
publisher must get a compulsory license to record a song that has already been
recorded and released commercially.
Additionally, a publisher must acquire a derivative work right to
develop a new work that is based on an original work protected under copyright
law. A parody falls into this
category.
In the real life version of this
story, Glee used an arrangement of
“Baby Got Back” made by Jonathan Coultron in 2005. Coultron claimed the show never contacted him and tweeted
his dissatisfaction. The show
eventually responded, saying that it was within their legal rights to use
Coultron’s cover, such usage was its typical protocol for covers, and he should
be happy for the publicity.
In The Good Wife, the situation is neatly resolved in favor of the
folk duo by a music analysis showing the television studio using part of the
duo’s actual recording. Coultron
is looking for similar evidence of his original recording being played on Glee; without that, there is unlikely any
winnable legal action that he can take.
*Photo is taken from cbs.com
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