Musical innovations's sworn enemy : The infringer

Journal article

29 pages

0736-7694

This Note, in seeking to justify the application of a less onerous standard to prevail in musical infringement lawsuits, will examine the doctrines surrounding liability in cases of musical infringement and subconscious copying as well as the various considerations that must be considered in a musical infringement action in Part I. While applying a higher standard to creators may seem like an outrageous proposal, Part II of this Note will seek to explore the effects that creative accountability could have on the market and the progress of music as a whole. Part III of this Note will offer several approaches that a court hearing a musical infringement lawsuit may adopt to create an enhanced doctrine of creative accountability. This Note argues that requiring a lower standard to prevail in such cases will force music creators to evaluate their works in light of their influences and in a manner more conducive to the progress of the art. Finally, Part IV explores the world of musical theater, which provides an illustration of how proposals analogous to those presented here do, in fact, promote musical innovation and progress.

Published in : Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law, vol. 36, no. 3 (2018)

[New York City, New York] : Yeshiva University Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, 2018.

English