JUDGE RULES AGAINST CLASS-ACTION ATTEMPT V. UMG

A federal judge has ruled against a class-action lawsuit request, led by John Waite, that attempted to allow hundreds of UMG artists to join forces and sue for the rights to their master recordings.

Waite's case focused on copyright law's "termination right," which grants authors control over their original work. But rightsholders overwhelmingly structure contracts for sound recordings as works-for-hire, which aren't subject to termination rights.

Judge Lewis Kaplan denied Waite's request, noting, “The individualized evidence and case-by-case evaluations necessary to resolve those claims make this case unsuitable for adjudication on an aggregate basis.”