ABKCO Music, Inc. v. Harrisongs Music, Ltd.

944 F.2d 971
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedSeptember 5, 1991
DocketNos. 1273, 1430; Docket 90-9065, 90-9115
StatusPublished
Cited by39 cases

This text of 944 F.2d 971 (ABKCO Music, Inc. v. Harrisongs Music, Ltd.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
ABKCO Music, Inc. v. Harrisongs Music, Ltd., 944 F.2d 971 (2d Cir. 1991).

Opinions

CARDAMONE, Circuit Judge:

Bright Tunes Music Corporation (Bright Tunes) held the copyright to a song entitled “He’s So Fine” (HSF) composed by Ronald Mack. George Harrison, a former member of the musical group “The Beatles,” had authored a song called “My Sweet Lord” (MSL). In 1971 Bright Tunes sued Harrison claiming that his song infringed the copyright of Mack’s song. A trial court in 1976 agreed. Today, over 15 years later, the damages issue flowing from this infringement is still being litigated, giving true-meaning for those involved to the title of the Beatles’ “It’s Been a Hard Day’s Night.” Subsequent to the determinations to be made on the remand hereby directed, we fully expect the curtain to fall on this long-playing litigation.

BACKGROUND

The events leading up to this appeal are more fully set forth in the four prior opinions in this case, Bright Tunes Music Corp. v. Harrisongs Music, Ltd., 420 F.Supp. 177 (S.D.N.Y.1976); ABKCO Music, Inc. v. Harrisongs Music, Ltd., 508 F.Supp. 798 (S.D.N.Y.1981), aff'd with modification and remanded, 722 F.2d 988 (2d Cir.1983); and ABKCO Music, Inc. v. Harrisongs Music, Ltd., 841 F.2d 494 (2d Cir.1988) (per curiam), familiarity with which is assumed. We recount only those facts needed to resolve this appeal.

In 1971 when Bright Tunes brought its copyright infringement suit against Harrisongs Music Ltd., Harrisongs Music, Inc. and George Harrison (Harrison Interests or Harrison), ABKCO Music, Inc. and its president and “moving spirit,” Allen B. Klein, served as business manager for the Beatles and handled Harrison's business affairs. In an attempt to end the Bright Tunes’ litigation Klein, acting for Harrison, offered to buy out Bright Tunes, the property of which consisted mainly of the “He’s So Fine” copyright and the lawsuit against the Harrison Interests. Negotiations continued slowly over several years.

[975]*975In the meantime Klein and the Beatles had a falling out, ending their relationship and resulting in bitter litigation. In late 1975 and early 1976, the Harrison Interests and Bright Tunes renewed settlement negotiations and the Harrison Interests made an offer that counsel for Bright Tunes considered to be a good one. But Klein, without Harrison’s knowledge, made an offer to buy Bright Tunes for an amount almost double that offered by the Harrison Interests. Bright Tunes, reasoning that Klein’s offer likely indicated an accurate view of the value of the lawsuit because of his inside knowledge of the Harrison Interests’ business affairs, thereupon declined Harrison’s lower offer. Klein’s offer was also rejected, and the case then went to trial. Following a three-day bench trial in 1976, Judge Owen ruled in favor of Bright Tunes, finding that Harrison subconsciously plagiarized HSF, but reserved judgment on the issue of damages. 420 F.Supp. at 177. Klein’s successful efforts to booby-trap the settlement negotiations is critical to an understanding of this lengthy litigation, and was a significant factor in the direction subsequent court opinions have taken.

The damages issue was not decided until 1981, in the meanwhile certain events in 1977, 1978 and 1980 should be recited. In June 1977 an infringement action in England by Peter Maurice Music Co., Ltd. (Maurice) — the subpublisher of “He’s So Fine” in all places other than the United States and Canada — against the Harrison Interests was settled with the Harrison Interests agreeing to pay Maurice 40 percent of the past and future monies received through exploitation of the “My Sweet Lord” copyright in the United Kingdom and retaining 60 percent of those revenues (the UK settlement). The parties also agreed to use “their best endeavours” to secure similar settlements throughout the remainder of Maurice’s territory. Maurice had obtained its interest in “He’s So Fine” under a licensing agreement entered into in 1963 between it and Bright Tunes. Under the agreement, Maurice was obligated to pay Bright Tunes 50 percent of all amounts received from HSF, less sheet music royalties — in exchange for the right to exploit that song worldwide, save for the United States and Canada.

On April 13, 1978 ABKCO purchased all of Bright Tunes’ interest in “He’s So Fine,” including the right to certain royalties and all rights assertable against infringing compositions for $587,000 (the 1978 acquisition). ABKCO adopted Bright Tunes’ complaint and was substituted as the sole party plaintiff in the action against the Harrison Interests. Harrison asserted affirmative defenses and counterclaims against ABKCO and Klein for breaches of fiduciary duty relating to the purchase of the Bright Tunes’ properties. The district court held an eight-day bench trial on damages and counterclaims between August and October 1979.

Finally, on April 2, 1980 Harrison and Essex Music International, Ltd. (Essex), Harrison’s agent and a sub-publisher of “My Sweet Lord,” entered into an agreement authorizing Essex to negotiate and enter into settlement agreements on the same terms as the UK settlement, that is, Harrison paying 40 percent (and retaining 60 percent) of MSL revenues to any parties owning interests in “He’s So Fine” everywhere, except the U.S., the U.K. and Canada. The next day Essex and ABKCO entered into an agreement by which they agreed to settle these “foreign claims” and Essex paid ABKCO a $600,000 non-returnable advance to be recouped through a pooling of their respective interests in the royalties from both songs. The agreement also provided that when Essex recouped the $600,000, the parties would pool their interests in earnings flowing from both songs, with ABKCO assigning to Essex 50 percent of its share of them and Essex assigning 50 percent of its interest in “My Sweet Lord” to ABKCO. Throughout the rest of 1980, the foreign claims were settled on the same 60/40 percent basis used in the UK settlement (the 1980 settlements).

The district court resolved the damages issue on February 19, 1981 holding that the Harrison Interests owed $1,599,987 to ABKCO but, as ABKCO had breached its [976]*976fiduciary duty to Harrison between 1975 and 1978, it was not entitled to profit from its purchase of the “He’s So Fine” rights from Bright Tunes and therefore could not collect that amount. 508 F.Supp. 798. Specifically, the district court found that ABKCO’s “covert intrusion” into the settlement negotiations between the Harrison and Bright Tunes “irreparably destroyed the ability” of the Harrison Interests to settle the case for an amount comparable to their settlement offer, which was in a range already deemed to be good by Bright Tunes’ counsel. The trial court ordered ABKCO to hold the fruits of the 1978 acquisition in a constructive trust for the benefit of the Harrison Interests, to be transferred to them upon their payment to ABKCO of $587,000 (ABKCO’s purchase price for Bright Tunes) plus interest (the 1982 judgment). Id. at 803.

On appeal, we affirmed the finding of a breach of a fiduciary duty owed by Klein to Harrison, but ruled that because the foreign infringement claims were voluntarily settled in 1980, the trust should not include that portion of ABKCO’s acquisition constituting a purchase of the foreign rights that had been so settled. 722 F.2d 988.

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Bluebook (online)
944 F.2d 971, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/abkco-music-inc-v-harrisongs-music-ltd-ca2-1991.