R. Guy Cole, Jr.

“ Further, because we are remanding the case for a determination as to whether Sony can raise its argument that it is the owner of the renewal copyrights in the 1964 songs, we need not decide whether the district court correctly determined that Sony has an implied, non-exclusive license in Miller’s 1964 songs. A determination as to whether Sony has an implied license in the 1964 songs is relevant only if the district court concludes that Sony is not the owner of the renewal copyrights in those songs, because a license is a defense to a claim of copyright infringement. ”

“ Plaintiffs-Appellants Mary Arnold Miller and Roger Miller Music, Inc. (the “Appellants”) brought this copyright-infringement-and-ownership action against Defendant-Appellee Sony/ATV Publishing, LLC (“Sony”) . Mary Miller is the wife of the late Roger Miller, a renowned country-music singer and songwriter, and Roger Miller Music, Inc. (“RMMI”) is an assignee. Sony is the successor-in-interest to Tree Publishing Co., Inc. (“Tree”) , the publishing company Miller contracted with from 1958 until his death in 1992. ”

“ First, the publishing agreements expressly state that the parties intend to be bound by the Exhibit A agreement: the publishing agreements (for 1958, 1960, and 1962) declare that “both [Miller] and [Tree] are to be bound by the terms, covenants, and conditions of [the Exhibit A agreement] as if herein fully set forth.” The parties indicated an intent to be bound by the terms of the unexecuted Exhibit A agreement because the 1969 agreement does not alter language in the original publishing agreements binding the parties to all the terms of the Exhibit A agreement. ”