BL10: CUFADM02A Posting: Finding / Describing a Copyright, Licensing or Intellectual Property Dispute Case - Film, TV, Games or Multimedia Industry

1. Describe the Search Strategy you used to research this Case (i.e. What Search Tools did you use? What Search Terms did you use? etc)
I searched for the word copyright on the BBC News World Edition website

2. Provide some Background Information on the Case
The creator of the “Wombles” (Mike Batt) has been accused by minimalist composer John Cage, of placing “A One-Minute” silence on his latest release CD, and infringing copyright by saying it was his own composition.

3. Outline some Key Features of the Case in relation to Copyright and Licensing and/or Intellectual Property
· Mike Batt (creator of the Wombles) used the silent composition,“A One-Minute Silence” recorded by John Cage in 1952 and claimed it as his own
· Batt said – “I thought for my own amusement it would be funny to call it something so I called it A Minute's Silence and credited it as track 13 and put my name as Batt/Cage, as a tongue-in-cheek dig at the John Cage piece”
· After the record was released, he was contacted by Peters Edition who said he had infringed its copyright - and Cage's publisher was claiming a quarter of the royalties from the track
· The Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) has so far supported the American composer's case - because, it says, the track was originally registered in his name

4. If the Case is resolved, what were come of the main consequences for the various parties involved?
· Batt said that so far the argument had not become too serious - but this could change
· "This is not an angry dispute - it's a gentlemanly dispute. But there is money involved," Batt said