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<b>Decision of Note</b> Copyright License From Less than All U.S. Owners Bars Claim of Foreign Infringement

By Stan Soocher
February 28, 2012

The U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada decided ' in an ongoing dispute over the musical Jersey Boys ' that a license obtained from less than all the owners of a U.S. copyright is sufficient to defeat a claim for infringement of the work in a foreign country that itself requires permission from all the owners of the copyright for a license to be valid. Corbello v. DeVito, 2:08-cv-00867.

The litigation over Jersey Boys, a musical about the 1960s vocal group the Four Seasons, involves a suit by Donna Corbello, the widow of attorney/journalist Rex Woodard, who co-authored an unpublished autobiography of original Four Seasons member Tommy DeVito. DeVito granted a license to use his autobiographical materials to Four Seasons co-founders Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli, who are behind the musical's production. (For more on the case, see, “'Jersey Boys' Case Considers Licensing of Underlying Rights,” Entertainment Law & Finance, Dec. 2011, p. 1., http://bit.ly/w17Kha.)

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