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Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.

United States Supreme Court

510 U.S. 569 (1994)

Facts

In 1964 Roy Orbison and William Dees wrote the song “Oh, Pretty Woman,” and assigned their rights to Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. (Acuff-Rose) (plaintiff). In 1989 Luther Campbell and his group 2 Live Crew (defendants) wrote a song called “Pretty Woman,” in which the group intended, “through comical lyrics, to satirize the original work.” The 2 Live Crew song copied Orbison’s opening bass riff and first line of lyrics, but generally, the 2 Live Crew song replaced Orbison’s romantic lyrics with “degrading taunts, a bawdy demand for sex, and a sigh of relief for paternal responsibility.” The district court granted summary judgment to 2 Live Crew. The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (Sixth Circuit) reversed, finding that the 2 Live Crew song’s “blatantly commercial purpose” prevented it from being a fair use, and that 2 Live Crew copied too much of Orbison’s song to constitute fair use. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Rule of Law

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Issue

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Holding and Reasoning (Souter, J.)

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A "yes" or "no" answer to the question framed in the issue section;
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