Bixio Music Group Defeated by Ennio Morricone over Copyright Claim
The legal battle against Bixio Music Group on the copyright of six films won by Ennio Morricone. The case was about the actual owner of the copyright of music scores of Cosi Come Sei (Stay As You Are), 1979's Il Giocattolo (A Dangerous Toy) and 1980's Un Sacco Bello (Fun Is Beautiful) and other three films. In an appeal against the decision of District Court, Ennio Morricone won the case with flying colours and regained copyright.
Copyright Act of 1976 allows authors or their heirs to cancel a grant of 35 years after initial publication, Under 17 U.S.C.§ 101, a work that is embedded in another work is a “work made for hire” if it is prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or specially ordered or commissioned for use as a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work provided the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a ‘work made for hire'. As the agreement was made under Italian law, so, it was a tussle between U.S. doctrine and Italian doctrine on 'works made for hire. Italian law permits an author to assign by contract all rights in the work to the commissioner of the work.
Morricone music is the assignee of the United States copyright in the film scores by virtue of assignments from Ennio Morricone, the sole author and composer of the scores. Morricone filed a lawsuit against Bixio Music Group in 2016 in attempts to regain the copyrights to six of his film scores, mentioned above.
Morricone's lawsuit stated that he made written agreements from 1978 to 1980 with Edizioni Musicali to compose the scores to the films mentioned in the suit. Musicali then signed over the U.S. copyrights to Bixio Music Group. Bixio is the assignee of the United States Copyright in musical works owned by Edizoni Musicali Bixio. He is an Italian business entity engaged in the music publishing business. The Composer on October 25 2012, terminated the rights of Bixio in the above-mentioned films.
In 2016, the Composer assigned the United States copyright to Morricone Music. Morricone Music tried to register its claim of all royalties with the film scores played in public performance. Bixio denied relinquishing its claim. Bixio said that the creation of the film scores was made by hiring and therefore it is not subjected to the termination.
Morricone Music denied the allegations of Bixio and said that he acted as an independent contractor and was not in the employment of Edizioni Musicali. Further, the Composer did not agree in writing that any of the film scores would constitute a work made for hire. In October 2017, a New York federal judge ruled against Morricone. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit reversed that 2017 decision on August 21 2019. The Court stated that the scores were not created on “work made for hire” basis.
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