What are some of the most iconic music copyright infringement cases involving famous songs like Marvin Gaye’s Got to Give it Up and Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines?
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Some of the most well-known copyright infringement cases occur in the music industry, where accusations of plagiarism can be quite vague. Occasionally, it occurs unintentionally as an unconscious borrowing, while other times it is intentional, described as a musical homage. Recently, Ed Sheeran found himself in the spotlight facing allegations from the descendants of Ed Townsend, who collaborated on Let’s Get It On with Marvin Gaye. Sheeran recently appeared in court to refute claims that his 2014 track Thinking Out Loud borrows significant components from Gaye’s iconic 1973 hit.
The legal issues surrounding Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ song released in November 2014 are ongoing. Despite acknowledging their inspiration from Trinidad James’ 2012 hit All Gold Everything, Ronson and his co-composers faced legal challenges. By February 2015, the Gap Band claimed that Uptown Funk infringed on their 1979 track Oops Upside Your Head. Charlie Wilson of the Gap Band warned in an interview with WBLS that they would have to pay for the infringement.
What happens if I use copyrighted music without permission?
Most of the time, it’s not a matter of whether a song is copyrighted but rather understanding the extent of that copyright, or how restrictive it is. YouTube displays all the restrictions, such as whether playback is limited in specific countries. Copyright holders have the ability to modify their policies and remove all videos that feature their songs. If you use copyrighted music without proper authorization, you risk receiving a copyright strike. YouTube might prohibit your video from being viewed and mute its accompanying music. You might encounter a notification stating: “This video includes audio that has not been approved by all copyright owners. The audio has been disabled.” Even if you have obtained permission to use the music and still see such a message, it indicates a problem.
If you are a musician, it’s important to understand the basics of copyright law and the protections it offers. Copyright protection automatically applies once an original piece is recorded or written down. For instance, recording a song or documenting a musical composition in sheet music or a digital format constitutes fixation. No additional steps are necessary for your work to be safeguarded by copyright. Copyright grants you the authority to reproduce and distribute your music, create derivative works, and, within certain constraints, perform or display your work publicly.
Whenever you upload a video on YouTube, the platform checks for any copyrighted music in it. If it detects copyrighted music, you will receive a copyright claim. The key question is: how can you predict which songs will trigger copyright claims? We tried various copyright checkers claiming to provide this information, but their accuracy was so poor that we chose not to share their links. This leads us to the only reliable, completely accurate solution available within YouTube’s creators studio.
It’s important to understand that all songs are copyrighted. If you plan to use music or audio in your videos, whether on YouTube or for other public purposes, you must know what copyrights apply and how your use complies with copyright laws. For more information on using copyrighted music on YouTube legally, check out the following advice.
How to Verify the Copyright Status of a Song
Although it’s a given that all songs are copyrighted, there are ways to check the copyright status and find out who owns the rights to a particular song or music track.