Case: Copyrights/Authorship (6th Cir.)

A federal district court’s denial of singer/songwriter/musician Phil Everly’s successors’ motion for reconsideration of the court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of singer/songwriter/musician Don Everly, in Don’s declaratory copyright action against Phil’s successors, was reversed and remanded by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Sixth Circuit found that a genuine factual dispute exists about whether the 1980 release that Phil and Don executed reflected a repudiation of Phil’s authorship or rather a voluntary transfer of certain ownership rights, possibly including the right to receive public credit, for the hit song at issue — Cathy’s Clown.”