Infinite Case Ends ' With Limited Award Of Damages For Infringing Copies Of Eminem's Album

• Published date: 01 July 2021
• Subject Matter: Intellectual Property, Media, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment, Copyright, Media & Entertainment Law, Music and the Arts
• Law Firm: Simkins
• Author: Mr Tom Iverson and Rachael Heeley

The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court has assessed damages for copyright infringement by making unauthorised vinyl copies of Eminem's first album, Infinite.¹

On the facts, the IPEC rejected damages claims based on:

(a) loss of opportunity to license a third party to coincide with the 20^th anniversary of Infinite; and/or

(b) losses arising from the licence that the claimant would have offered the defendant for releasing the album.

Instead, the IPEC assessed damages on the basis of a reasonable royalty for the defendant's actual sales of the record, assuming a negotiation between a willing licensor and willing licensee. That resulted in a putative fee of '2.50 per unit, plus interest.

Comment

While this case does not establish any new point of law, it provides a helpful illustration of the law that the court is likely to apply when deciding whether there has been a loss of opportunity to grant a licence to a third party, and what might be considered to be a reasonable royalty, based on the notion of a willing licensor/licensee negotiation. It also confirms several...