ARTICLE · 12 JULY 2006

State Voice Protection Statute Pre-Empted by Copyright Laws

McDermott Will & Emery

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a vocalist’s state law claims, based on protection of a performer’s voice, were pre-empted by the Copyright Act in Debra Laws v. Sony Music Entertainment, Case No. 03-57102 (9th Cir. May 24, 2006) (Bybee, J.).

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Jennifer Mikulina

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a vocalist’s state law claims, based on protection of a performer’s voice, were pre-empted by the Copyright Act in Debra Laws v. Sony Music Entertainment, Case No. 03-57102 (9th Cir. May 24, 2006) (Bybee, J.).

Debra Laws entered into a recording agreement with Elektra/Asylum Records in 1979. This agreement gave Elektra numerous rights in Laws’ recordings, including the exclusive rights to the song "Very Special," which Laws recorded and released in 1981. In turn, Elektra granted Sony a non-exclusive license to sample Laws’ "Very Special" in the 2002 hit single, "All I Have," performed by Jennifer Lopez and LL Cool J.

In February 2003, Laws brought an action in California state court claiming violations of her common law right to privacy and statutory right of publicity based on Sony’s alleged misappropriation of her name and voice. The case was removed to federal district court, which found that the Copyright Act pre-empted

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