BU Research Blog

The Centre for Intellectual Property Policy & Management (CIPPM) in Faculty of Media and Communication is pleased to announce their upcoming seminar on Monday 21st November 2022, from 15.30-17.00 in F107.

The speakers will be Liz Bailey (PGR, CIPPM) and Dr. Hayleigh Bosher, Senior Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law at Brunel University and author of Copyright in the Music Industry (Edward Elgar, 2021).

The talk titled ‘There is something about music’ will present six cases from the last 20 years from the perspective of unknown musicians who accused the famous of infringement (i.e., such as Ed Sheeran). With some poetic licence and imagining their perspective through case commentary and media interviews, this presentation tells their story from the ‘not so famous’ side of life and how difficult it is to prove someone has stolen your work.

This is also the story of how unknown musicians are faced with finding ways to penetrate the music industry. It appears that the only way this is possible is by showcasing their work through online sites such as SoundCloud or YouTube and playing their work to managers and producers they meet at networking events, in the hope that these people who have heard their music are influential enough to open doors to a lucrative future.

The nature of the industry provides little proof of music changing hands, paper trails are often sketchy or non-existent and denial seems to be the best defence when it comes to being accused of plagiarising music.

The courts have struggled with this lack of factual evidence connecting the original music to the accused, and their solution concludes to one of coincidence, leaving no room for further accusation.

This seminar will be useful for anyone with an interest in music and wishing to know more about the law surrounding it.

All welcome!