A Village Person Tests the Copyright Law

[Ohio Joe]

The companies, Scorpio Music, a French business, and Can’t Stop Productions, one of its American affiliates, do not deny that Mr. Willis, who dressed as a police or naval officer in the group’s live performances, is one of the writers of several of the songs, which have made many millions of dollars. But they have asked a court in Los Angeles to deny his attempt to exercise what are known as “termination rights,” arguing, among other things, that the two companies “employed defendant Willis as a writer for hire, and he therefore has no rights” to any share of ownership of the songs.

“This is going to be an important case because they claim my client was a worker for hire,” said Mr. Willis’s lead lawyer, Brian D. Caplan of the New York firm Caplan & Ross. “We are quite confident there will not be finding of work for hire, and that the rationale of such a decision will have implications for many other cases.”

Lawyers for the two companies, however, dispute the facts and significance of the case and have asked a court to declare Mr. Willis’s filing “void and of no force.” They say his situation has nothing in common with those of Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Tom Petty, the Eagles and other pop stars of the same era, some of whom are beginning to invoke termination rights on their recordings or compositions.

“This is totally different, and outside the scope of these termination rights issues,” said Stewart L. Levy, of the New York firm Eisenberg Tanchum & Levy, who is representing the publishing companies. “The Village People were a concept group, created by my clients, who picked the people and the costumes. It was probably no different than the Monkees when they started. We hired this guy. He was an employee, we gave them the material and a studio to record in and controlled what was recorded, where, what hours and what they did.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/17/arts/music/village-people-singer-claims-rights-to-ymca.html?_r=1

I call bullshit on the music companies, this would most certainly have an impact on other cases and is designed to keep the profits for themselves.