Irving Berlin Music Corporation v. United States
United States Court of Claims
487 F.2d 540 (1973)
- Written by Eric Miller, JD
Facts
Songwriter Irving Berlin formed Irving Berlin Music Corporation (Berlin Music) (plaintiff) to act as the publisher and exclusive agent for performing rights to Berlin’s songs. Berlin owned all of Berlin Music’s stock. Berlin Music was empowered to retain 50 percent of gross royalties paid by those who used Berlin’s music. The United States government (defendant) determined that Berlin Music was a personal holding company and therefore subject to a personal-holding-company tax. A personal holding company was defined by the Internal Revenue Code as a company for which 60 percent of its income derived from personal-holding-company income, which included copyright royalties. Berlin Music filed suit for a refund. Berlin Music argued that the term copyright royalties should be interpreted in the context of copyright law, according to which the party receiving royalties must own a proprietary interest in the copyrighted work—a definition that would not apply to Berlin Music. Both parties moved for summary judgment.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Kashiwa, J.)
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