Sid Bernstein’s Estate has recently lost a battle of copyright infringement against Ron Howard’s documentary film Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years, which uses a clip from a Sid Bernstein concert. This clip was used in Beatles’ Shea Stadium film. Their use of the concert scene from Sid Bernstein Presents, it was claimed, infringed on Sid Bernstein’s copyright. In order to prove this and successfully claim infringement, Sid Bernstein’s Estate wanted ownership of master tapes and copyright of Sid Bernstein Presents. They proceeded with this on the grounds that Sid’s role was crucial and influential to the documentary, Sid Bernstein Presents.
However, on 26 July 2017, the US District Court for Southern New York ruled that Bernstein’s Estate could not claim copyright over the film and consequently did not have enough evidence to justify Bernstein’s role as being so large and crucial to the making of the documentary that would enable them to acquire the pertinent copyright. Bernstein did not film the concert, nor did he have anything physical to do with the production of the film; he had instead signed off the copyright for someone else to film the concert. He consequently did not have enough ground on which to claim the film as his own creation.
Despite this loss, Sid Bernstein’s Estate have said they wish to appeal the decision.
For more details on the above case, see Ben’s article at Music Law Updates below: http://musiclawupdates.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/sid-bernsteins-estate-fails-in-its.html
