Supreme Court Leaves Global-Rights Ruling Intact

The Supreme Court declined to overturn a Fifth Circuit ruling that gave songwriter Cyril Vetter worldwide rights to “Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love)” after he reclaimed the song’s copyright. The court did not decide whether U.S. copyright-termination law applies to foreign copyrights, and its action leaves the ruling in place without making it binding nationwide. The decision binds courts in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas; other U.S. appeals courts could reach a different conclusion, while foreign courts apply their own laws. The case highlights a conflict between artists seeking to reclaim rights decades after transferring them and music companies concerned about the effects on catalog ownership and overseas revenue.