Woods v. Bourne Co.

60 F.3d 978 (1995)

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Woods v. Bourne Co.

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
60 F.3d 978 (1995)

  • Written by Jack Newell, JD

Facts

Harry Woods composed the song “When the Red, Red, Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin Along” (the song). He licensed it to Bourne Company (Bourne) (defendant). Bourne subsequently licensed the song to ASCAP to show programs on television that incorporated the song in exchange for royalties. After Harry Woods died, his heirs working under the name Callicoon Music (Callicoon) (plaintiff) exercised their statutory right to reclaim the license that had been issued to Bourne. Callicoon claimed that all royalties collected after its reclamation of the license belonged to Callicoon. Bourne contended that it retained rights in the derivative works licensed to ASCAP. Callicoon sued in federal district court. The district court ruled in favor of Callicoon, finding that whether the works created during the license period were derivative was dispositive. Bourne appealed to the Second Circuit.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Feinberg, J.)

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