Billboard report
Lil Joe Records argues in a new complaint that the rap group shouldn’t be allowed to use an element of copyright law to win back their works. They also claim the band never owned them in the first place.
The members of rap provocateurs 2 Live Crew are facing a courtroom fight from a small record label over efforts to win back control of their catalog, in the latest music industry battle over copyright law’s so-called termination right.
In a complaint filed Thursday, Lil Joe Records Inc. asked a Florida federal court to rule that 2 Live Crew is not allowed to use the termination right — a provision that allows creators to regain ownership of their works decades after they sold them.
2 Live Crew is just the latest musical act to become embroiled in a termination battle. Both Cher and KC and The Sunshine Band have recently kicked off such lawsuits, and major record labels are facing class actions from huge groups of artists who want to recapture their masters.
Read more at
