The King of the Road.
Today, the Sixth Circuit upheld the timeliness of copyright ownership and infringement claims relating to songs that singer-songwriter Roger Miller wrote in 1964. The court also affirmed the district court’s ruling that Sony owns the copyright in pre-1964 works as assignee. But the Sixth Circuit held that Sony did not "judicially admit" that the plaintiffs own the copyright in the 1964 songs. Roger Miller Music, Inc. v. Sony/ATV Publishing, LLC, Nos. 05-6824 & 05-6880 (6th Cir. Feb. 13, 2007).
Blawgletter imagines that Sony heaved a corporate sigh of relief when the court threw out the judicial admission, which otherwise would doom its defense. So, at least for awhile, Sony’s lawyers can stop singing Mr. Miller’s first Grammy-winning song — the remorseful Dang Me (1964), the rights to which the parties will now litigate.
