OOPS, I DID IT AGAIN


Songwriter Steven Wallace is accusing Britney Spears of copyright infringement before the Indianapolis District Court according to the BBC. Wallace did not register his copyright when he wrote the song. Instead he performed a "poor man's copyright" by putting the lyrics in a sealed envelope and them posting them to himself in order to obtain a postmark. The lyrics of the two songs are almost identical and Wallace claims to be in possession of an email in which Spears admits to copying the song.

The IPKat isn't sure what the point of having a copyright register is if those who don't register are entitled to the same protection anyway.
OOPS, I DID IT AGAIN OOPS, I DID IT AGAIN Reviewed by Anonymous on Friday, May 13, 2005 Rating: 5

3 comments:

  1. I'm surprised the register has been maintained. Seems like too much of an adminstrative burden to justify the potential evidential benefits later on.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I’ve often come across people mailing material to themselves, not only to protect their copyright, but also design rights and even ownership/entitlement of inventions. I’ve always been dubious of the probative value of such methods. Although I assume that each case would be decided on its individual merits, could the IPKat or any of its readers point me to any UK decisions considering the admissibility or evidential weight of such self-postings?

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete

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