Factual Summary

Factual Summary 
The song Happy Birthday to You has universal appeal Almost everyone knows its lyrics and melody, and it is sung to millions of people on a daily basis. However, what many people do not know is that the song “Happy Birthday to You” is copyrighted. The song was written by two sisters from Kentucky in the late 19th century. They copyrighted the song many years later in the 1930s. Afterwards, the copyright to the song was sold for a large amount of money. Since then, the copyright to the song has changed hands several times. Nonetheless, the copyright still stands and is not set to expire for quite some time. As a result, any time the song is sung in a “public performance,” the copyright holder is entitled to royalty payments, which bring in millions of dollars every year for the copyright holder. Your Role/Assignment You are an arbitrator who has recently been assigned to resolve a legal dispute between Bobby Bandleader, owner and operator of Bobby- Bistro (a local restaurant), and Johnny Singstealer. Bobby Bandleader has always been a great lover of music and his restaurant is known for its musical offerings in which the staff periodically breaks into impromptu song, often led by Bobby himself. In fact, they are particularly well known for their birthday celebrations during which any customer celebrating a birthday with the Bistro Restaurant family is serenaded with Bobby- own version of the classic “Happy Birthday to You” song. Bobby- version uses the same tune, but somewhat different wording than does the original song. He has perfected this version with over 20 years of singing it at the Bistro, and it is quite good now. Bobby- rendition of the song is very popular with the locals and many people choose to come to Bobby- Bistro on their birthdays specifically for this reason. Unfortunately for Bobby, Johnny Singstealer recently got wind of the Bistro- famous birthday activities. Johnny is the copyright holder of the “Happy Birthday to You” song and he was outraged to learn that Bobby was singing his song to customers at the Bistro without paying any licensing fee to Johnny for the right to do so. Thus, Johnny and his team of lawyers have filed suit against Bobby Bandleader and Bobby- Bistro Restaurant, seeking $1 million in damages for past and present copyright abuse, as well as an injunction against any further performances of the song by Bobby until a licensing agreement is in place. Both parties have agreed to submit the dispute to arbitration to save on the costs of going to trial. You are the arbitrator in charge of resolving this legal dispute. You have been asked by both sides to render a verdict based upon your understanding of copyright law and the facts of this case. You are to decide what amount of damages, if any, Bobby Bandleader owes for singing the song in the past, and whether or not he can continue to do so in the future, absent reaching a licensing agreement with Johnny Singstealer. Please write a one-page ruling that details your answer and explains how and why you reached the conclusion that you did. K E Y P L A Y E R S Bobby Bandleader, Bistro Operator I should not have to pay any money. Everybody sings “Happy Birthday to You.” It- like a national tradition or something. Besides, my version is better anyway. I harmonize it a little bit and use some different words. It- not even the same song; it- much better. People love to come to my bistro to celebrate their birthday because they love how well I sing the “Happy Birthday to You” song. If I have to stop singing it or start paying out a licensing fee, I won’t make as much money as I do now and I really don’t want that. Times are tough as it is and I know that if I have to pay out $1 million, I will have to shut down my restaurant. I worked hard to make my bistro a success and this lawsuit could ruin everything. Johnny Singstealer, Copyright Holder Bobby Bandleader and his bistro are robbing me blind--and have been for 20 years now. I’m glad I finally found out what he- been doing. I inherited the copyrights to the “Happy Birthday to You” song fair and square from my family and I want what- coming to me. I need that royalty money from the song--it- the only income I have and suing people to protect my rights is a full-time job in and of itself. I can’t afford for people to be able to sing my song without paying me my money. How else am I supposed to support myself? Joe, Bistro Customer I like the food at Bobby- Bistro--it- very tasty. I like the song “Happy Birthday to You,” because it was sung to me by my mother every year on my birthday and I sing it to my kids on their birthdays. I think that people have a constitutional right to freedom of speech to sing whatever song they want to sing. However, I do believe that people should not be allowed to steal the copyright-protected works of others and perform them without paying a licensing fee. Y O U D E C I D E Activity Read the scenario summary above and prepare an essay rendering your decision. The components of a legal decision must include the following. Factual Summary: provide a succinct and accurate description of the scenario at hand. Summarize the scenario to include all relevant facts. Issue(s): Restate or summarize the question. What is the legal question you are going to answer? Legal Concept(s): Identify and discuss one or more legal concepts from the course material when exploring the problem at hand. Define the legal concept(s) and explain how the concept(s) relate(s) to the given scenario. Analysis/Conclusion: Analyze the factual scenario in relation to the legal concept in order to reach a well-reasoned conclusion. Be sure to apply the legal concept correctly toward solving the legal issue. The paper should be double-spaced in 12-point font and approximately 500 words. At least two sources must be correctly cited using APA citations, including both in-text parenthetical citations and an end-of-text list of references Week 3 You Decide Rubric Categories Meets All Requirements Meets Most Requirements Meets Some Requirements Points Achieved & Comments Factual Summary Student gives a succinct and accurate description of the scenario. Student does an excellent job summarizing the scenario to include all relevant facts. Student does a great job describing the scenario. Summary includes most of the relevant facts. Student does a good job describing the scenario. Some of the relevant facts are included. Identifying the Legal Issue(s) Presented Student has done an excellent job identifying the legal Issue(s) by clearly restating or summarizing the question(s) to be answered through legal and factual analysis Student has done a good job identifying the legal Issue(s), but could have more clearly restated or summarized the question(s) to be answered through legal and factual analysis Student did not fully restate or summarize the question(s) to be answered through legal and factual analysis Legal Concepts Student has thoroughly discussed one or more legal concepts from the course material when exploring the problem at hand. Student has correctly defined the legal concept(s) and explained how the concept(s) relate(s) to the given scenario. Student does a great job discussing at least one of the legal concepts from the course material, but could have more thoroughly defined the legal concept(s) and explained how the concept(s) relate to the given scenario. Student does not fully discuss at least one of the legal concepts from the course material and does not fully explain how the concept relates to the given scenario. Analysis/ Conclusion Student has clearly demonstrated an in-depth understanding of the task at hand by correctly and thoroughly analyzing the factual scenario in relation to the legal concept in order to reach a well-reasoned conclusion. The analysis is logical and the student does an excellent job applying the legal concept correctly toward solving the legal issue. Student has done a good job demonstrating an understanding of the task at hand, but could have more thoroughly analyzed the factual scenario in relation to the legal concept in order to reach a well-reasoned conclusion. The student could have further demonstrated a logical analysis of the legal concept toward solving the legal issue. Student did not demonstrate a thorough understanding of the task had hand by not thoroughly analyzing the factual scenario in relation to the legal concept. Student did not reach a well-reasoned conclusion. Format Student meets all formatting requirements. Paper is double-spaced in 12-point font and is approximately 500 words. At least two sources have been cited correctly using APA citations, both in-text parenthetical citations and an end-of-text list of references. Paper has no grammar or spelling problems and is well written. Paragraph transitions are present and logical and flow is maintained throughout the response. Sentences are complete, clear, and concise. Student meets most formatting requirements. Paper is double spaced in 12-point font and is 500 or almost 500 words. One to two sources have been cited using fairly accurate APA formatting. Paper has few grammar or spelling problems and is fairly well written. Paragraph transitions are mostly present and logical and a good flow is maintained throughout most of the response. Sentences are mostly complete, clear, and concise. Student has not substantially complied with formatting requirements. Paper may have major grammar or spelling problems and is not well written. Student may not have cited at least one source in APA format. Some paragraph transitions are present, but response lacks logic and flow throughout. Some sentences are complete, clear, and concise.