Rick Astley’s voice ‘theft’ and the limitations of IP – Clive Thorne comments for WIPR
English pop singer Rick Astley is suing Yung Gravy for imitating his voice in Gravy’s billboard charting song, Betty (Get Money). WIPR contacted our IP lawyer, Clive Thorne, for his commentary:
Clive points out that while the voice can be protected in various ways, there isn’t necessarily universal protection.
“There’s no intellectual property right which states a voice can be protected,” he tells WIPR.
The most important relevant IP right in this context, argues Thorne, is the English law of passing off, although it is “deceptive,” he adds.
“You’ve got to show you have a reputation,” he explains. In Astley v Hauri, “Rick Astley would have to show that he had a reputation as a singer, and a distinctive singer, and that’s not difficult because that’s his profession.
“So his reputation and all its different attributes as a singer, whether or not that’s his appearance, if he wears distinctive clothes, his voice, other attributes associated with him are all part of his what would be known as ‘trading goodwill’.”
This article was first published by World Intellectual Property Review and you can read the full article on the WIPR website by clicking here.
DATE 09/02/2023
