Judge Lets NMPA Double Damages to $300M in Peloton Copyright Suit; Billboard, September 28, 2019

Tatiana Cirisano, Billboard; Judge Lets NMPA Double Damages to $300M in Peloton Copyright Suit

"A Manhattan federal judge has approved the National Music Publishers' Association's (NMPA) request to double damages to $300 million in a lawsuit against Peloton, for the exercise startup's alleged use of more than 2,000 songs in its workout videos without the proper licenses."

We Shall Overcome’ Is Put in Public Domain in a Copyright Settlement; New York Times, January 26, 2018

Christopher Mele, New York Times; 'We Shall Overcome’ Is Put in Public Domain in a Copyright Settlement

"The settlement was “an enormously important achievement” because others can now use the song without paying for it or seeking permission, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, Mark C. Rifkin, said in a telephone interview on Friday night. “We’re really thrilled to be part of an effort to give this song back to the public where it belongs,” he said.

The case is the latest one to cancel the copyright of a time-honored song that many people may well assume was available for anyone to sing: A judge invalidated the copyright on “Happy Birthday to You” in 2015."

‘We Shall Overcome’ Copyright Case Moves Closer to Trial; New York Times, 11/21/16

Ben Sisario, New York Times; ‘We Shall Overcome’ Copyright Case Moves Closer to Trial:

"Along with the recent suits involving “Happy Birthday to You” and Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land,” the case has focused attention on one of the central questions in copyright: finding a balance between protecting intellectual property on behalf of private owners, and giving the public access to famous songs whose origins may be murky.

For “We Shall Overcome” and “This Land,” the issue is also freighted with politics at a time when the songs are being embraced by protesters and activists on multiple sides of major issues.

The suit over “We Shall Overcome” was filed in April on behalf of a nonprofit group called the We Shall Overcome Foundation, and later joined by the producers of the 2013 film “Lee Daniels’ The Butler.” It argues that the song — which was adapted from a 19th-century black spiritual, although its origins may date back even further — should be declared part of the public domain."