Music Building Blocks or Mass Infringement?
Everything You Need to Know About That Giant Reggaeton Case
What do Bad Bunny, Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran have in common, musically speaking? They each released a song that employs an infectious rhythm pattern associated with reggaeton music. In 2021, the producers and songwriters of a 1989 work, “Fish Market,” the alleged source of the catchy rhythm, sued over 150 artist and music companies for unlicensed use of the popular beat. We’re privileged to have two leading attorneys in the case, Browne v. Clark – Stephen Doniger, representing plaintiffs, and Ken Freundlich, representing defendant Bad Bunny – explain what’s at stake in the long-running litigation. They’ll also exchange views on a recent partial summary judgment ruling following a motion to reconsider that resulted in dismissal of plaintiffs’ music composition claims, as well as a motion to reconsider the reconsideration.
Stephen Doniger is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Doniger / Burroughs. He represents musicians, producers, writers, and a variety of other artists, with a focus on copyright, trademark, publicity, and contract disputes. In 2022, his firm's wins included two of IP Law360's 6 "Biggest Copyright Rulings" of the year (Unicolors v. H&M and McGucken v. Pub Ocean), and in 2023 he received the California Lawyers Association IP Law Section Vanguard Award which “honors outstanding legal professionals... for their contributions to the advancement of intellectual property law.” He currently sits on the Executive Committee of the CLA IP Law Section, serves as advisory counsel for American Photographic Artists, works with a coalition of trade groups to advance artist rights through legislative and other avenues, teaches "Music & Law” at UCLA, and teaches the IP survey course at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law.
Kenneth D. Freundlich is a leading authority on copyright, trademark, DMCA, publicity and defamation law. For over 40 years he has resolved business, entertainment and IP disputes, from everyday matters to groundbreaking cases. A lifelong musician, he has authored amicus briefs on behalf of musicologists in the Blurred Lines, Stairway to Heaven and Katy Perry appeals and defended Pandora, LyricFind, Bad Bunny and Walter Afanasieff in copyright cases. Licensed in New York and California, he has tried and argued matters from the Labor Commissioner to the U.S. Supreme Court. He is immediate past Chair of the ABA Sports and Entertainment Forum's Litigation Division.
CLE materials
This event is eligible for 1.0 California MCLE credit.
