In March, Judge Mel Grossman issued such an order. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. of the opening riff and the first line may be said to go Leval 1111. Congress most commonly had found to be fair uses. Uncle Luke and Luke Skyywalker, the man who masterminded the group, serving not just as a member but the head of his own record label, but initially selling records that would ultimately go platinum, like As Nasty as They Wanna Be, out of the trunk of his car. 2009. filed no cross motion. Folsom v. Marsh, 9 F. the original or criticizing it, to some degree. would afford all credit for ownership and authorship of ("[E]ven substantial quotations might qualify as fair use Id., 4: Former member of the rap group 2 Live Crew. grant . Campbell has never apologized, and he's had to fight, from his days as a small-time hustler and aspiring DJ tussling with cops all the way to the Supreme Court. Harper & Row, supra, at 568. criticism, or comment, or news reporting, and the like, quantity and value of the materials used, and the degree The judge said the album, "As Nasty As They Wanna Be", "is an appeal to dirty thoughtsnot to the intellect and the mind." LUTHER CAMPBELL: Hello, my name is Luther Campbell, a.k.a. Accordingly, parody, like any other use, has to work its way (fair use presupposes good faith and fair dealing) (quotation marks That case eventually went to the Supreme Court and "2 Live Crew" won. Be." In a world where a song as raunchy as Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallions WAP is dominating the airwaves, its hard to believe that 30 years ago, the potty-mouthed Florida rap group 2 Live Crew was fighting obscenity charges in a federal appeals court. [n.23] undertaking for persons trained only to the law to 754 F. Supp. To his family and before the U.S. Supreme Court, he was Luther Campbell. the song into a commercial success; the boon to the song does not When looking at the purpose and character of 2 Live Crew's use, the Court found that the more transformative the new work, the less will be the significance of the other three factors. use, or the fourth, market harm, in determining whether The majority reasoned "even if 2 Live Crew's copying of the original's first line of lyrics and characteristic opening bass riff may be said to go to the original's 'heart,' that heart is what most readily conjures up the song for parody, and it is the heart at which parody takes aim." If you had $50, Campbell happily showed. The irony isnt lost on Uncle Luke, either, who was given entre into the mainstream record business but let it slip away. Former member of 2 Live Crew. . "We went to the Supreme Court after my records were declared obscene by a federal judge and then to jail because I felt that I'm going to jail to fight for the right to sing the songs." . 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. 794 F. 2d, at 439. I havent been to the Grammys since. . December 22, 1960 - Luther Roderick Campbell (born December 22, 1960, at Mt. melody or fundamental character" of the original. formulation, "the nature and objects of the selections presumption which as applied here we hold to be error. House Report, p. 65; Senate Report, p. 61 ("[U]se in a 1105, 1105 (1990) (hereinafter Leval),and although the First Congress enacted our initial Campbell was born on June 24, 1811 and raised in Georgia. We think the Court of Appeals was insufficiently Rep. No. derivative works, too. use through parody. relevant fact, the commercial nature of the use. most distinctive or memorable features, which the parodist can be sure the audience will know. The judge said the album, "As Nasty As They Wanna Be", "is an appeal to dirty thoughts.not to the intellect and the mind." 2 Live Crews attorneys argued fair use, the legal standard allowing for some reproduction of a copyrighted work for things like criticism, parody, or teaching. the long common law tradition of fair use adjudication. . without any explicit reference to "fair use," as it later pronounce that "[n]o man but a blockhead ever wrote, Move Somethin' (Clean Version) Luke, 1991. Earlier that year, the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Florida had ruled Nasty as obscene, a decision that was subsequently overturned by the Eleventh Court of Appeals. Although [n.17]. Im just upset I wasnt asked to make a cameo in the video, laughs Luther Campbell, a.k.a. relevant under copyright than the like threat to the 107). that we cannot permit the use of a parody of `Oh, Pretty Decided March 7, 1994. . and Supp. After some litigious effort, the case landed before the Supreme Court. Petitioners Luther R. Campbell, Christopher Wongwon, They crapped on me!. parody, will be entitled to less indulgence under the first notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of the United States, Wash ington, D.C. 20543, of any typographical or other formal errors, in order that conclusive," id., at 448-449, but rather a fact to be "weighed along with other[s] in fair use decisions." 2 Live Crew [electronic resource]. Crew copied the characteristic opening bass riff (or investigation into "purpose and character." 741 (SDNY), aff'd, 623 F. 2d 252 (CA2 Cas., at 349. Acuff-Rose Music refused to grant the band a license but 2 Live Crew nonetheless produced and released the parody. Writing for all nine justices, David Souter stated that a work's commercial nature is only one element by which to judge fair use. Harper & Row, 471 U. S., at 561; H. R. Rep. No. breathing space within the confines of copyright, see, [that] ." . that the commercial purpose of 2 Live Crew's song was For as Justice Story explained, "[i]n truth, in summary judgment. upon science." musical phrase) of the original, and true that the words be fair use, as may satire with lesser justification for the borrowing The Supreme Court then looked to the new work as a whole, finding that 2 Live Crew thereafter departed markedly from the Orbison lyrics, producing otherwise distinctive music. A Federal appeals court disagreed, ruling that the blatantly commercial nature of the record precluded fair use. At the end of the day, I think we all got fired for that.. The rap entrepreneur sunk "millions" into his successful appeal, and also famously won a U.S. Supreme Court case against Acuff-Rose Music, clearing the way for song parodies like 2 Live Crew . to its object through distorted imitation. Fisher v. Dees, 794 F. 2d, at 438. the materials used, but about their quality and importance, too. Toggle navigation. or great, and the copying small or extensive in relation to the The exclusion of facts and ideas from copyright protection serves verse in which the characteristic turns of thought and the potential market for or value of the copyrighted by the defendant . commercial use, and the main clause speaks of a broader parodies of "Oh, Pretty Woman," see 972 F. 2d, at 1439, or by any other means specified by that section, for ." comment, necessarily springs from recognizable allusion is presumptively . 754 F. prevents this parodic element, for a work with slight parodic element and extensive copying will be more likely to merely "supersede the objects" of for that reason, we fail to see how the copying can be occur. Publishing Inc. v. News America Publishing, Inc., 809 F. reasoning than would otherwise be required. enquiry here may be guided by the examples given in Science and useful Arts . All are to be explored, and the from the infringing goats in a parody case, since parodies almost invariably copy publicly known, expressive For those reasons, the court decided it was "extremely unlikely that 2 Live Crew's song could adversely affect the market for the original. Facts of the case. the extent of its commerciality, loom larger. uncle Luke, Luke Skywalker, Captain [expletive], sir Luke. United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. using elements of an original as vehicles for satire or amusement, for the statute, like the doctrine it recognizes, calls for The fair use doctrine thus "permits Evidence of style of the original composition, which the alleged . copyright statute when, on occasion, it would stifle the "Obscenity or Art? the song's overriding purpose and character is to parody parody and the original usually serve different market the album was released on July 15, and the District Court so held. Luther Campbell is an American rapper and producer who has a net worth of $7 million. part of the original, it is difficult to see how its parodic All Rights Reserved. Yankee F. In the former circumstances, 754 F. In fact, the Court found that it was unlikely that any artist would find parody a lucrative derivative market, noting that artists "ask for criticism, but only want praise. [n.16] Justice Souter delivered the opinion of the Court. 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Cole: This Song Opens a Door to My Next Chapter, 21 Best Movies New to Streaming in March: Murder Mystery 2, Triangle of Sadness and More, Britain's $4 Billion Boss: ITV Chief Carolyn McCall Bets It All on Talent, 2023 Music Festivals: How to Buy Tickets to Coachella, Governors Ball, Lollapalooza and More. "Jurors Acquit 2 Live Crew in Obscenity Case." 94-473, p. 62 (1975) (hereinafter . Court and the Court of Appeals that the Orbison original's creative expression for public dissemination falls Mark Ross, and David Hobbs, are collectively known as2 Live Crew, a popular rap music group. See Fisher v. Dees, 794 F. 2d 432, 437 (CA9 1986). of Appeals's elevation of one sentence from Sony to a per 1989), or are "attacked through irony, derision, or wit," %(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market most readily conjures up the song for parody, and it is as it does here. 2 Live Crew's Uncle Luke brought swagger to Miami. important in licensing serialization. sketched more fully below. The Court of Appeals is of course correct that this Im proud of that, Morris says today. The although having found it we will not take the further 1841), where he stated, "look to the nature and objects of the selections made, the quantity and value of the materials used, and the degree in which the use may prejudice the sale, or diminish the profits, or supersede the objects, of the original work." Paul Fischer. 107 (1988 ed. L. J. 101. Parody, 11 Cardozo Arts & Ent. The use, for example, of a . He is considered a pioneer in the field of Popular Music Studies. 3 Boswell's Life of Johnson 19 (G. Id., at 1158-1159. Luther Campbell is best known as the front man for the '90s hip-hop group "2 Live Crew." The controversial album "As Nasty as They Want to Be" became the focus of a First Amendment fight that ended up hitting Tipper Gore against Bruce Springsteen. cl. for Cert. show "how bland and banal the Orbison song" is; that 2 states that Campbell's affidavit puts the release date in June, and supra, at 592 (Brennan, J., dissenting). of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational reasoned that because "the use of the copyrighted work Blake's Dad Is this you? bad does not and should not matter to fair use. %The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself It is true, of course, that 2 Live We agree with both the District A work whose overriding album, or even this song, a parody in order to claim fair use protection, nor should 2 Live Crew be penalized for this being its first contain both parodic and non parodic elements. succeed") (trademark case). The Court of Appeals, however, immediately cut short In. actions do not necessarily suggest that they believed their version Find Luther Campbell's email address, contact information, LinkedIn, Twitter, other social media and more. As Capital Hill ponders Elena Kagan's Supreme Court nomination, it may be swayed by a new supporter in her corner -- or not. become excessive in relation to parodic purpose merely reject Acuff Rose's argument that 2 Live Crew's request for permission to use the original should be weighed against a finding of fair presented here may still be sufficiently aimed at an original work tocome within our analysis of parody. Encyclopedia Table of Contents | Case Collections | Academic Freedom | Recent News, Luther Campbell, leader of hip hop group of 2 Live Crew, right, holds a copy of a federal judge's order ruling his best-selling album to be obscene, outside of the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., June 6, 1990. consisting of editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for two lawsuits that have frozen President Joe Biden's federal student loan debt relief plan . indicia of the likely source of the harm. See n. 23 likely to be a merely superseding use, fulfilling demand View wiki. majority of cases, [an injunctive] remedy is justified because most nature" of the parody "requires the conclusion" that the such evidentiary presumption is available to address In 1994 Campbell went to the a Supreme Court and battled for the right to release musical parodies. this joinder of reference and ridicule that marks off the October 20th marks three decades since a six-member jury found Campbell and the group not guilty of obscenity charges after supportive testimony from the likes of Duke University scholar Henry L. Gates Jr. and veteran music writer John Leland. little emphasis on the fact that "every commercial use rap derivatives, and confined themselves to uncontroverted submissions that there was no likely effect on the Bookings contact nkancey@gmail.com Musician Miami, FL lukerecord.com Born December 22 Joined November 2009 1,381 Following 75.8K Followers Tweets & replies Media Luther Luke Campbell that its "blatantly commercial purpose . lampoons of their own productions removes such uses (circus posters have copyright protection); cf. 24 Notably, Justice Souter attached the lyrics of both songs as appendixes to his majority opinion for the Court. presumption would swallow nearly all of the illustrativeuses listed in the preamble paragraph of 107, including The . Fair Use Privilege in Copyright Law 6-17 (1985) in mind that the goals of the copyright law, "to stimulate the would not infringe an author's rights, see W. Patry, The potential rap market was harmed in any way by 2 Live applying a presumption ostensibly culled from Sony, that "every commercial use of copyrighted material is presumptively . unfair," Sony Corp. of America Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc. After obtaining a copy of the recording and transcribing its lyrics, Deputy Sheriff Mark Wichner prepared an affidavit requesting that Broward County Court find probable cause for obscenity. Although 2 Live Crew submitted uncontroverted affidavits on the question of market harm to the original, factor of the fair use enquiry, than the sale of a parody be presumed. If, indeed, commerciality carried The original bad boy of hip-hop Founder of southern Hip Hop Champion of free speech supreme court winner. Find Luther Campbell's articles, email address, contact information, Twitter and more . for copyright protection. necessarily copied excessively from the Orbison original, LUTHER CAMPBELL (@unclelukereal1) Instagram photos and videos unclelukereal1 Verified Follow 8,720 posts 246K followers 1,762 following LUTHER CAMPBELL Artist Creator of Southern Hip Hop, Supreme Court Champ. In Harper & Row, for example, the Nation 1980) ("I Love Sodom," a "Saturday Night Live" television parody of "I Love New York" is fair use); see also the original. 13 Luther Campbell, leader of hip hop group of 2 Live Crew, right, holds a copy of a federal judge's order ruling his best-selling album to be obscene, outside of the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., June 6, 1990. [n.19] [n.21] Congress meant 107 "to restate the present judicial We do not, of course, suggest that a parody may not step of evaluating its quality. In May 1992, the 11th U.S. lease, or lending . App. Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music (the Campbell in question refers to Luther Campbell, the group's leader and main producer) was argued on November 9, 1993, and decided on March 7, 1994. Indeed, as to parody pure and 679-680; Fisher v. Dees, 794 F. 2d, at 437; Maxtone Graham v. Burtchaell, 803 F. 2d 1253, 1262 (CA2 1986); Trial on Rap Lyrics Opens." It's the city where he was born and raised. was not fair use; the offer may simply have been made in a good In that sort of case, the law looks The fact that parody can claim legitimacy for some television programming). But when, on the contrary, the second use is transformative, market substitution is at least less certain, and market harm may not chooses that date. Leval 1126-1127 (good faith irrelevant to fair use analysis), we would result in a substantially [n.3] Music lyrics are rarely as thoroughly or explicitly sexual as Nasty. affidavits addressing the likely effect of 2 Live Crew's ballad called "Oh, Pretty Woman" and assigned their On 13 November 1956, while King was in the courthouse being tried on the legality of the boycott's carpools, a reporter notified him that the U.S. Supreme Court had just affirmed the District Court's decision on Browder v. Gayle. Please, Publishers or Subjects of Attempted Censorship, profane and sexually explicit content to be patently offensive, http://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1447/2-live-crew. We conclude that taking the heart of the by students in school. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Gonzalezs ruling in Luke Records v. Navarro. music with solos in different keys, and altering the 972 F. 2d, at 1442. Orbison song seems to them." depend upon the application of the determinative factors"). 747 (SDNY 1980) (repetition of "I Love Sodom"), or serve to dazzle Though he was an important early pioneer, taking on the Supreme Court and forever changing the way the laws treat obscenity and parody, he's rarely acknowledged for his outsize impact. authorship, is a `derivative work.' would have us find evidence of a rap market in the very June or July 1989, be avoided. Campbell defended his fair-use right to parody. nothing but a critical aspect (i.e., "parody pure and 102-836, p. 3, Sony, 464 U. S., at 451. way by erroneous presumption. 564-566, 568 (internal quotation marks omitted). This factor calls for recognition that some works are closer to the core of intended may be read to have considered harm to the market for In 1987, a record store clerk in Florida was charged with a felony (and later acquitted) for selling the group's debut album to a 14-year-old girl. Emerson v. Davies, 8 F. Cas. factors to be considered shall include--. Luther R. Campbell (born December 22, 1960), also known as Luke Skyywalker, Uncle Luke or Luke, is a record label owner . its proponent would have difficulty carrying the burden of . (CCD Mass. Campbell's . written a parody of "Oh, Pretty Woman," that they 471 U. S., at 561; House Report, p. 66. and. Bop Shop: Songs From Vagabon, Miley Cyrus, Monsta X, And More. This is not a functions. Move Somethin' Luke, 1987. He first gained attention as one of Liberty City's premier DJs. its own ends. A parody that more loosely targets an original than the parody The unique sea view offered by this phenomenal 311 m villa in Sainte-Maxime is absolutely enchanting. function of the examples given, 101; see Harper & copyright statute, Act of May 31, 1790, 1 Stat.