Luke Records: Last News

An ongoing termination rights dispute between Lil Joe Records and the 2 Live Crew got a hearing in the American courts last week. A key part of the dispute centres on whether or not bankruptcy proceedings that took place in the mid-1990s impact the rights of each 2 Live Crew member to reclaim copyrights in their old recordings.

Members of 2 Live Crew have called on a US judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed against them by Florida-based Lil Joe Records and to confirm that they can terminate a 1980s record deal and reclaim the rights in all the recordings released under that deal.The music under dispute was originally released by Luke Records, the label run by 2 Live Crew member Luther Campbell. They were then acquired by Lil Joe Records – along with other copyrights and trademarks controlled by the group – in 1996 when both Campbell and Luke Records went bankrupt.Under US copyright law, if a creator assigns – so transfers – a copyright to a business partner, that assignment can be terminated 35 years later, allowing the creator to reclaim their rights.

Florida-based Lil Joe Records has sued former 2 Live Crew members as part of a big old termination rights dispute. Several former members of the hip hop outfit reckon they can reclaim the rights in their 1980s and 1990s recordings by exercising that termination right.