In Brief

This article first appeared in Entertainment Law Matters, a Frankfurt Kurnit legal blog.

Lady Gaga songwriters in legal scuffle over royalties. Calvin "Sci-Fidelity" Gaines and Rob Fusari, co-composers of some of Lady Gaga's mega hits from her album entitled The Fame, are in a $1 million legal battle over royalties and credit for the Lady Gaga songs. The two have worked together since 1997, composing and producing music for Destiny's Child and Whitney Houston. But their relationship went sour last year when Fusari purportedly ignored Gaines's requests to get credit and royalties for the Lady Gaga songs. In his complaint against Fusari, Gaines claims that Lady Gaga and her production companies have agreed to be bound by the ultimate outcome of the case and compensate him if he comes out victorious. The Fame has been certified platinum three times and has sold over three million copies in the United States alone. This is not the first time Fusari finds himself in