Millions at Stake: How 2 Live Crew Beat Bankruptcy to Reclaim Their Music

The 90s hip-hop group 2 Live Crew won big in their copyright case against Lil' Joe Records. Scott Hervey and Jamie Lincenberg break down termination rights, bankruptcy, and what it means for artists reclaiming their work on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel.   Show Notes: Scott: In mid-October, a Miami federal jury handed a win to Luther Luke Campbell and the heirs of Mark Ross and Christopher Wong Won of the 2 Live Crew in their long-running copyright reclamation lawsuit against Lil’ Joe Records. The Master Sound recordings were transferred in 1990 to Skywalker Records, the label that once released the iconic 2 Live Crew albums.   The court case had its twists and turns, including a ruling earlier this month that copyright termination rights survive bankruptcy. I'm Scott Hervey with the Entertainment and Media Group at Weintraub Tobin, and I'm joined today by Jamie Lincenberg, and we're going to talk about this case on this installment of The Briefing. Jamie, welcome back to the briefing. It's been a little while. Jamie: Yeah, thanks for having me. Scott: Jamie, before we get into this, I don't know. I thought we'd chat about what's on your desk. Is there anything interesting that you're working on? Jamie: There's a lot on my desk, always. But let's see. Lately, I've been working on some production legal for a feature film that is going to start principal photography on Sunday. So, it’s been tying up all the loose ends, making sure that we have all of the financing in place, and getting ready to roll camera. Scott: It's always busy right before the start of principal photography, for sure. Yeah. All right. Well, let's get into this. Just some quick background. So, Skywalker Records was formed by Luther Luke Campbell, and it was the record label that owned the master recordings to all five. I didn't know they had that many, but all five of the 2 Live Crew albums. Now, the name Campbell and Skywalker should ring a bell with those of you that follow copyright law, because Campbell was one of the name parties in a case that transformed copyright law, literally. Campbell versus A Cuff Rose, which introduced the concept of transformative use into the lexicon of copyright law and fair use. Skywalker later changed its name to Luke Records. Jamie: In 1995, Luke Records then filed for bankruptcy. Joseph Weinberger, a tax lawyer that served as Luke Records' CFO and In-House Counsel, bought the rights to 2 Live Crew’s master recordings out of bankruptcy for $800,000, and he then formed his own label, Lil Joe Records, to distribute them. Scott: In 2020, Luke Campbell, Mark Ross, and the heirs of Chris Juan, served a notice of termination on Little Joe Records and others purporting to terminate the transfer of the rights to the various 2 Live Crew albums that were transferred to Skywalker Records via a 1987 recording agreement, and then the subsequent transfer from Skywalker/Luke records to Little Joe records pursuing to a bankruptcy court purchase. Jamie: Scott, as we know, Section 203 of the Copyright Act permits authors, or if the authors are not alive, their surviving spouses, spouses, children or grandchildren, or executors, administrators, personal representatives or trustees, to terminate grants of copyright assignments and licenses that were made on or after January first, 1978, when certain conditions have been met. Scott: On the effective date of termination,