Amazon Gets Partial Win in Tin Pan Alley Copyright Case

Amazon.com Inc. escaped one of the copyright claims brought against it by the heirs of three prominent Tin Pan Alley songwriters, because making the songs available for sale didn’t violate the heirs’ copyrights, a federal court in Seattle ruled.

Tin Pan Alley songwriters Harold Arlen, Ray Henderson, and Harry Warren wrote musical standards including “Over the Rainbow,” “At Last,” and “I Only Have Eyes for You.” Their heirs sued Apple, Amazon, and Google for allegedly selling unauthorized recordings of their songs from “pirate” record labels. According to the complaints, these labels rip the recordings from old vinyl records and upload ...