Special Event
Time:
There’s a long history of white musicians appropriating black musicians’ work. Copyright law has facilitated this appropriation. This talk will briefly outline that history and then pose a new question: has copyright litigation served as a tool of black musical resistance? Famous cases – including the Chiffons successfully suing George Harris, and a Motown group similarly suing Michael Bolton – make it seem like a possibility. Beyond these anecdotes, we know surprisingly little about racial patterns in copyright litigation. How does this particular legal tool, litigation in federal court, play into this complicated historical dynamic? This talk will share some initial empirical results from a study of the 1980s, discuss plans for diving into the archives of Black music magazines, and invite feedback on directions of this project.
Mailyn Fidler - STIR Talk: Cross-Racial Copyright Litigation
Date:
4:00 pm –
5:00 pm
McCollum Hall
Room: Acklie Family Student Commons
1875 N 42nd St
Lincoln NE 68503
Lincoln NE 68503
Additional Info: LAW
Contact:
Bambi King, bambi.king@unl.edu
There’s a long history of white musicians appropriating black musicians’ work. Copyright law has facilitated this appropriation. This talk will briefly outline that history and then pose a new question: has copyright litigation served as a tool of black musical resistance? Famous cases – including the Chiffons successfully suing George Harris, and a Motown group similarly suing Michael Bolton – make it seem like a possibility. Beyond these anecdotes, we know surprisingly little about racial patterns in copyright litigation. How does this particular legal tool, litigation in federal court, play into this complicated historical dynamic? This talk will share some initial empirical results from a study of the 1980s, discuss plans for diving into the archives of Black music magazines, and invite feedback on directions of this project.