Shhh, it’s copyright protected | Irish Bentley Laywers
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A firm understanding of copyright and the scope of copyright enforceability is critical in the digital era. In the early 2000s Mr John Cage had threatened to sue the British composer Mike Batt for his one minute silent song aptly entitled “One Minute Silence”. Although this particular dispute was resolved before it reached the courts, it highlights the importance and complexity of copyright law.

Recently, the copyright subsistence in silence was been enlivened with online music streaming provider, Soundcloud, becoming embroiled with the Mr Cage silence saga by (automatically) removing a 4 minute 33 second conceptual silent track by DJ Detweiler. This sounds rather odd, given there is no (or at least very minimal) sound in the silent track. However, this stems from a lengthy history of Mr Cage’s song “4’33” which is a 4 minute and 33 second song in silence and it is relevant to note that DJ Detweiler had also boldly chosen to name his song “4’33”.

Irish Bentley Lawyers have a significant level of experience in intellectual property law. We have been successfully involved in a number of copyright disputes, within Australia and internationally. We are able to assist at the onset of a future business endeavour and at all stages of infringement action.

Please note that the above does not constitute legal advice and Irish Bentley Lawyers make no representations or warranties as to the accuracy of any of the information contained herein. If you have a copyright issue, then please do not hesitate to contact the team at Irish Bentley Lawyers – there is no substitute for proper legal advice based on your individual and unique circumstances.

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