In this week’s Legal Beat, Earth Wind & & Fire wins a suit over its name, Kanye gets taken legal action against by Donna Summer’s estate, YoungBoy deals with drug claims and far more.
Ralph Johnson, Philip Bailey and Verdine White of Earth Wind and Fire carry out at Chase Center on Sept. 8, 2023 in San Francisco, Calif. Steve Jennings/Getty Images
This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, providing you a one-stop cheat sheet of huge brand-new cases, crucial judgments and all the enjoyable things in between.
Today: Earth, Wind & & Fire wins its hallmark claim versus a homage band that utilized the group’s name without approval; Kanye West deals with a copyright suit from Donna Summer’s estate that claims he “shamelessly” copied her tune; federal district attorneys implicate YoungBoy Never Broke Again of utilizing drugs while under home arrest; and far more.
THE BIG STORY: Will The Real Earth Wind & & Fire Please Stand Up?
After simply a year of lawsuits, Earth, Wind & & Fire dominated in its hallmark claim versus a homage act that called itself “Earth, Wind & & Fire Legacy Reunion”– an usage of the famous R&B group’s name that a federal judge called “misleading and deceptive.”
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Homage acts– groups that solely cover the music of a specific band– are lawfully enabled to run, and they typically embrace names that mention the initial. They need to make clear that they are just a homage band, and they can get into legal hot water if they make it appear that they are associated with or backed by the initial.
The case versus Legacy Reunion took that standard structure and included difficult concerns. The homage band truly did function artists who had actually when carried out with Earth, Wind & & Fire, and they argued that they were lawfully permitted to inform that to fans. Earth, Wind & & Fire argued that those entertainers were simply a couple of “side artists” who had actually briefly played with the band, and that they had actually actively intended to deceive customers into believing the main gamers were likewise included.
In a choice released Monday, Judge Federico A. Moreno sided decisively with Earth, Wind & & Fire, stating the proof tipped “extremely” in the band’s favor. Go check out why here.
Other leading stories today …
KANYE SUED OVER VULTURES 1– The other shoe dropped. 2 weeks after the estate of Donna Summer openly implicated Kanye West of unlawfully inserting her 1977 hit “I Feel Love” in his “Good (Don’t Die),” the vocalist’s successors submitted a copyright claim versus the embattled rap artist, implicating Ye of “arrogantly and unilaterally” utilizing the tune after he was clearly declined a license. The track has actually currently been pulled from banners, however the estate stated the claim had to do with more than simply that: “It is likewise about the rights of artists to choose how their works are utilized and provided to the general public.”
HOME ARREST DRAMA– Federal district attorneys implicated YoungBoy Never Broke Again (a.k.a.
