Claims of George Clinton Music Ownership Too Late, 2nd Cir. Says

Record label TufAmerica Inc. contested ownership of some of funk musician George Clinton’s work decades too late, the Second Circuit said Monday as it solidified Bridgeport Music Inc.'s win.

Bridgeport openly exploited the six songs at issue since the 1970s, starting the clock on the Copyright Act’s three-year statute of limitations, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said. While TufAmerica acquired rights in 2011, its predecessor-in-interest knew that another party was exploiting the songs well before its 2017 letter to Bridgeport, the opinion said.

The summary order stressed that while the clock to sue re-starts upon every ...