CaribWorldNews, NEW YORK, NY - A U.S. judge has ruled against the Bob Marley family in a lawsuit seeking the copyrights to several of the late reggae singer`s recordings.
U.S. District Judge Denise Cote ruled in favor of the UMG Recordings unit of Vivendi SA`s Universal Music Group, saying the company is the rightful owner of copyrights to five albums that Marley had recorded between 1973 and 1977 for Island Records.
The ruling is a defeat for Marley`s widow Rita and nine children who had sought to recover millions of dollars in damages over UMG`s effort to `exploit` what they called `the quintessential Bob Marley sound recordings.
`The albums include `Catch a Fire,` `Burnin`,` `Natty Dread,` `Rastaman Vibrations` and `Exodus.` They were recorded with Marley`s band The Wailers and include some of Marley`s best-known songs, including `Get Up, Stand Up,` `I Shot the Sheriff,` `No Woman, No Cry` and `One Love.’
Cote ruled that Marley`s recordings were `works made for hire` as defined under U.S. copyright law, entitling UMG to be designated the owner of the recordings, for both the initial 28-year copyright terms and for renewals. Marley died of cancer in 1981 at age 36.
