View source for Mills Music, Inc. v. Snyder

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox SCOTUS case
  |Litigants=Mills Music, Inc. v. Snyder
  |ArgueDate=October 9
  |ArgueYear=1984
  |DecideDate=January 8
  |DecideYear=1985
  |FullName=Mills Music, Inc. v. Snyder
  |USVol=469
  |USPage=153
  |ParallelCitations=105 S. Ct. 638; 83 [[Lawyers' Edition|L. Ed. 2d]] 556; 1985 [[LexisNexis|U.S. LEXIS]] 32
  |Prior=
  |Subsequent=
  |Holding=If the author of a work authorizes derivatives, the terms negotiated in exchange for that grant stand even if the grant is later rescinded. If the copyright holder deputizes another person to authorize derivative works, the law draws no distinction between such works and those directly authorized by the copyright holder.
  |Majority=Stevens
  |JoinMajority=Burger, Powell, Rehnquist, O'Connor
  |Concurrence=
  |JoinConcurrence=
  |Concurrence2=
  |JoinConcurrence2=
  |Concurrence/Dissent=
  |JoinConcurrence/Dissent=
  |Dissent=White
  |JoinDissent=Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun
  |Dissent2=
  |JoinDissent2=
  |LawsApplied=
}}

'''''Mills Music, Inc. v. Snyder''''', 469 U.S. 153 (1985), was a [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]] case in which the Court held that if the author of a work authorizes derivatives, the terms negotiated in exchange for that grant stand even if the grant is later rescinded. If the copyright holder deputizes another person to authorize derivative works, the law draws no distinction between such works and those directly authorized by the copyright holder.{{explain|date=July 2018}}<ref>{{ussc|name=Mills Music, Inc. v. Snyder|volume=469|page=153 |pin= |year=1985|reporter= |reporter-volume=}}</ref>

The case was a dispute regarding publishing royalties for the popular song "[[Who's Sorry Now? (song)|Who's Sorry Now?]]", which Mills Music had licensed (through [[mechanical license]]s) to recording companies, who created records of the song, or derivative works; after the death of [[Ted Snyder]], the song's composer, his heirs terminated the agreement with Mills Music. They believed that Mills was no longer entitled to its share in the royalties. Mills, through the [[Harry Fox Agency]], sued in federal court in New York, where it won, but was overturned in the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit|Second Circuit]], before finally appealing to the Supreme Court, which granted ''certiorari'' in March 1984.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/27/business/music-copyright-case-taken-by-justices.html |title=Music Copyright Case Taken by Justices |date=March 27, 1984 |work=The New York Times |access-date=July 3, 2018 |language=en-US}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{caselaw source
 | case = ''Mills Music, Inc. v. Snyder'', {{ussc|469|153|1985|el=no}}
 | cornell =https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/469/153
 | justia =https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/469/153/case.html
 | findlaw = https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/469/153.html
 | googlescholar = https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1446033467705496904
 | loc =http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep469/usrep469153/usrep469153.pdf
 | oyez = https://www.oyez.org/cases/1984/83-1153
}}

{{USArticleI}}

[[Category:1985 in United States case law]]
[[Category:United States Supreme Court cases]]
[[Category:United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court]]
[[Category:United States copyright case law]]


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