The mixture of success in the Hip Hop Music arena, coupled with the Internet, make copyright infringement and theft of intellectual property wide spread and easy. Defending a claim like this can be expensive and time consuming and is not for those without deep pockets. In a David versus Goliath type struggle, Hip Hop wannabe Vince Peters and SuperStar Kanye West were pitted against one another in a struggle facing many up and coming artists. The Court found that Vince the Plaintiff's claim for copyright infringement failed as a matter of law and dismissed the case.
This case is notable since it appears in an Official Reporter in 2012, indicating it can be safely cited to - 692 F.3d 629 (2012).
Traditionally, these cases are published as SLIP Opinions, though the speed of the Internet and volume of cases is changing that rapidly. E-Discovery cases have been available for some time but Social Media is only now appearing. Therefore the Rules on what does and does not constitute good authority that can be cited are changing daily. Check with your Supervising Attorney or a member of your team to find out how these changes in Law are treated by your Court.
In 2006, Vincent Peters, whose stage name is Vince P, wrote, recorded, and distributed a song entitled Stronger. The song's title comes from a key line in its "hook" (refrain or chorus). The line in turn draws from an aphorism coined by Friedrich Nietzsche: "what does not kill me, makes me stronger."
Vince P believed his song could be a hit and his search led him to John Monopoly, a business manager and close friend of Kanye West, one of hip-hop's superstars. Vince P sent Monopoly a disc containing a recording of Stronger, and even secured a meeting with Monopoly, during which Vince P played his recording of Stronger for Monopoly.
Shortly thereafter, West released a song entitled Stronger. West's song also features a hook that repeats the Nietzschean maxim. Worse, according to Vince P, West's song contains several other suspicious similarities to his song. Vince P tried to contact West, but he was turned away by West's representatives.
Vince P registered his copyright in his version of Stronger with the U.S. Copyright Office and filed suit against West. The district court dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
Vince P describes himself in the complaint as an up-and-coming hip-hop artist and songwriter. In 2006, as he was beginning his career in music, he wrote and recorded a song entitled Stronger, which is about the competitive — indeed cutthroat — nature of the hip-hop and rap world.
Vince P's search led him to John Monopoly, a well-known producer and — importantly for our purposes — a close friend and business manager to Kanye West. On November 12, 2006, Vince P and Monopoly met at the latter's home in Chicago, where Vince P played several of his recordings, including Stronger (VP). At the conclusion of their meeting, Vince P left a CD of some of his songs — including Stronger (VP) — with Monopoly.
In July 2007, less than a year after the November 2006 meeting between Vince P and Monopoly, West released his own single titled Stronger. (We call this Stronger (KW).) It was a huge hit. The song earned the #1 spot in several Billboard charts, the single sold over three million copies, and it eventually earned West a 632Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance. Vince Pnoticed what he thought were several infringing similarities between his 2006 song and West's more recent release. Vince P also saw that Monopoly was listed as a manager on the notes to West's album GRADUATION, on which Stronger (KW) appears. Vince P attempted to contact West, but he was rebuffed by West's representatives, and so he turned to the federal courts. After formally registering his copyright in Stronger (VP) with the U.S. Copyright Office, see 17 U.S.C. § 411(a), Reed Elsevier v. Muchnick, ___ U.S. ___, 130 S.Ct. 1237, 1241, 176 L.Ed.2d 18 (2010) (copyright registration, while not jurisdictional, is a substantive requirement of infringement litigation), Vince P sued West in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. That court dismissed Vince P's complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), and he now appeals.
Vince P's complaint contaied only one claim: his allegation that
Stronger (KW) infringes his valid copyright in
Stronger (VP). Proving infringement of a copyright owner's exclusive right under 17 U.S.C. § 106(1) (the reproduction right) requires proof of "(1) ownership of a valid copyright, and (2) copying of constituent elements of the work that are original."
Feist Publ'ns, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Serv. Co., 499 U.S. 340, 361, 111 S.Ct. 1282, 113 L.Ed.2d 358 (1991);
JCW Invs., Inc. v. Novelty, Inc., 482 F.3d 910, 914 (7th Cir. 2007).
For the benefit of readers interested in coming to their own conclusions about these two songs, the Court included the full lyrics to each one in the Appendix to this opinion. For present purposes, however, it gave the two "hooks," which provide the backdrop to the discussion that follows:
Stronger (VP) [Hook] What don't kill me make me stronger The more I blow up the more you wronger You copied my CD you can feel my hunger The wait is over couldn't wait no longer
Stronger (KW) [Hook] N-N-N-now th-th-that don't kill me Can only make me stronger I need you to hurry up now Cause I can't wait much longer I know I got to be right now Cause I can't get much wronger Man I've been waitin' all night now That's how long I've been on ya.
An undeniable sign of the times appears in the lyrics with "All these dudes in Chicago tried to diss me Cause on the low they girls they kiss me they miss me Check out my MySpace."
(The portion of lyric reproduced here has been abbreviated but appears in full in the Appendix of the Published Opinion)
The Court concluded that the songs are separated by much more than "small cosmetic differences," JCW, 482 F.3d at 916; rather, they share only small cosmetic similarities. This means that Vince P's claim for copyright infringement failed as a matter of law.
The judgment of the district court was AFFIRMED.
692 F.3d 629 (2012)
Vincent PETERS, professionally known as Vince P, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
Kanye WEST, et al., Defendants-Appellees.
No. 11-1708.
United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.
Argued March 26, 2012.
Decided August 20, 2012.
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