Defended Copyright Infringement Claim Relating to a Song by The Spenser Davis Group

Defended music publishing company Universal Music Group in a claim of copyright infringement of a song riff brought by Willa Dean Parker and Rose Banks, as successor to Homer Banks, in the U.S. District Court Middle District of Tennessee. The plaintiffs alleged that The Spenser Davis Group has access to the plaintiffs’ song, “Ain’t That a Lot of Love” prior to creating “Gimme Some Lovin’,” and knowingly incorporated the riff. Loeb successfully filed a motion to dismiss the complaint against Universal Music Group, asserting that the plaintiff failed to state a claim on two grounds: (1) plaintiffs’ lack of standing and (2) Universal Music Group is a common owner of the copyright and therefore cannot infringe its own copyright.