Law Commons^™

Misappropriation Of An Instrumental Musician’S Identity, Peter Pawelczyk

University of Massachusetts Law Review

In some cases, singers have been able to vindicate property rights in their identities when advertisers have featured sound-alike singers in commercials. However, there is no case law to support that an instrumental musician can protect herself from an advertiser imitating the characteristic sound of her playing. This Comment will explore whether and how the law should protect “musical identities”, particularly when the plaintiff is an instrumental musician rather than a singer.

The Copyright Infringement Test: A New Approach To Literary Misappropriation In Film, Rikki Bahar

Pace Intellectual Property, Sports & Entertainment Law Forum

This Note argues that courts’ emphasis on the ordinary observer test to prove illicit copying in film is misguided. The ordinary observer test relies on whether the accused work captures the total feel of the copyrighted work, but overlooks an essential aspect of unlawful appropriation and copyright law – the idea that only particular elements of a work are copyrightable. If a jury is exposed to expert testimony regarding probative similarity before making their evaluation, it is unlikely they will forget such evidence when evaluating the illicit copying.

A better test for infringement would be one that allows the ordinary …