IP Court decides against Warner/Chappell Music in copyright dispute

　The famous Taiwanese songwriter, Vincent Liang (Chinese: 梁弘志) died of illness in 2004 and left a lot of music art pieces.  In recent years, copyright dispute arose between Liang’s family and Warner/Chappell Music Hong Kong Limited (hereinafter “Warner/Chappell Music”) over the economic rights in seven well-known songs written by Liang which include “Restless Heart” (translation of Chinese song name, “驛動的心”), “Please Come With Me” (translation of Chinese song name, “請跟我來”), and other five songs.  

　After Liang’s family filed a complaint with Taiwan IP Court against Warner/Chappell Music, the Taiwan IP Court rendered a judgment.  According to this judgment, even though Warner/Chappell alleged to hold the economic rights in and to the seven songs in dispute, Warner/Chappell can present the relevant documents and contracts proving their rights in and to two of the seven songs in dispute which were assigned to them by Vincent Liang in 1989, but they failed to produce other original documents to prove assignment of the other five songs.  Therefore, the IP Court decided that the economic rights in and to the five songs should subsist in Liang’s family.  This case is appealable.  (March 2018)

/CCS