The state’s highest court has been pulled into a case over what could be “multiple millions of dollars” owed for old rock ‘n’ roll.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last Wednesday certified questions of state law to the Florida Supreme Court in a nearly 3-year-old class-action suit by original members of The Turtles, a 1960s band. Their most famous hit is “Happy Together.”
Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, later known as Flo & Eddie, filed suit in California, New York and Florida against satellite radio operator Sirius XM.
That action came after that company stopped paying artists to play their music recorded before 1972, according to a blog post by Nova Southeastern University “copyright officer” Stephen Carlisle.
Federal copyright protection is only available for recordings made after February 15, 1972. “Pre-1972 sound recordings (or ‘pre-72s’) are protected by a patchwork of state and common laws,” according to another blog post from a Chicago law firm.
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