Intellectual Property News and Reports

If you think that Paul, John, George, and Ringo were "the recording artist[s] . . . featured" on the White Album -- even though that iconic record's cover mentioned none of The Beatles by name -- then you will not be surprised by the analysis that follows. The prompt for our analysis, however, is not a trivia question. It is an appeal from a judgment by the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico in connection with a dispute between the owners of El Gran Combo -- one of the most popular Puerto Rican bands in history -- and the band's former lead vocalist, Carlos AponteCruz. The dispute concerns the Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act of 1995 ("DPRA"), Pub. L. No. 104-39, 109 Stat. 336, which entitles the "recording artist or artists featured on [a] sound recording" to a 45% share of certain royalties that the recording generated. 17 U.S.C. § 114(g)(2)(D).

Aponte-Cruz contends that he is the "artist . . . featured" on certain El Gran Combo sound recordings for which he was the lead vocalist and so is entitled to his portion of the 45% share of the statutory royalties for those recordings. Id. The owners of El Gran Combo contend that the band -- as an independent entity distinct from any of its individual members -- is itself the "artist . . . featured" on those recordings. Id. They thus contend that only the company that owns the band, EGC Corp., and the company's sole owner, Rafael Ithier, have an entitlement to the 45% royalty share in the recordings at issue. Id.

We conclude that even though the covers for the El Gran Combo albums that contain the disputed recordings refer only to the band itself and not to any of its individual members, the Paul (or, if you prefer, the John) of El Gran Combo, Aponte-Cruz, is a "recording artist . . . featured" on the recordings in dispute and that neither EGC Corp. nor Ithier is. Id. Accordingly, we reverse both the District Court's ruling granting summary judgment to EGC Corp. and Ithier on their claims for declaratory relief under § 114(g)(2)(D) and the District Court's ruling denying summary judgment to Aponte-Cruz on his claims for that same kind of relief.

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