A statute of limitation applies to criminal offenses, and is pretty cut and dry: you have a finite time period from the date a crime occurs in which to charge somebody for that crime. Wait too long and the charges simply cannot be filed…the crime will never be prosecuted.
In civil suits, the term is “period of prescription” and it’s much more complicated and, as it applies to copyright infringement, almost maddeningly so. Very generally speaking, in the United States the period of prescription on copyright infringement is three years *from the time that the infringement ends* (back to this in a moment), but that time period can vary depending on the state(s) in which the claim is filed. So, in the case of a musical recording, the period of prescription clock wouldn’t start ticking until all of the record companies that have been licensed to produce copies of the recording have stopped production and recalled all of their albums back from the stores. Obviously in the example of “Stairway to Heaven” the Led Zeppelin IV album is still being actively sold today, so the period of prescription doesn’t apply and Spirit is free to sue. There are other complications to be considered as well, but this is a really dry subject to try to explain, much less expect anybody to read, so I’m going to leave it at that. J Doug Fields Tampa, FL From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of M-D November Sent: Wednesday, May 21, 2014 2:59 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [TV orNotTV] Re: NotTV: Iconic song accused of being part-stolen... There has to be some sort of statute of limitations on a claim like this, right? It's not like Stairway is a new song...even assuming Spirit wanted to wait a bit to see if the song would be a hit, it's been 43 years since the song was released... On Wednesday, May 21, 2014 11:35:11 AM UTC-4, Bob Jersey wrote: <http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-05-15/led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-vs-dot-spirits-taurus-a-reckoning> Bloomberg BusinessWeek (link): "It’s no secret Led Zeppelin borrowed from blues and folk musicians in what it said was part of an organic tradition that created new, original works," wrote Vernon Silver last week... it's one of those borrowings, allegedly from the group Spirit's instrumental "Taurus" on its eponymous début album in 1968, over which member Mark Andes and the executor for writer Randy California are seeking a piece of the zillions "Stairway to Heaven" has earned Jimmy Page lo these many decades... if you're good at reading music, a linked game presents measures from both tunes challenging players to determine which is from which... B -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
