White Stripes Win Lawsuit Over Royalties Friday, June 16, 2006 (15:54:10) Posted by Btrfly9IRL the stripes actually made a news post about the lawsuit. Studio owner loses lawsuit against White Stripes Jury rejects claim to share copyright June 16, 2006 BY BRIAN MCCOLLUM FREE PRESS POP MUSIC WRITER A jury ruled in favor of the White Stripes Thursday in a case that focused on the genesis of the modern Detroit rock sound. The eight-person panel deliberated just 20 minutes before returning its verdict in Detroit federal court, rejecting claims by studio owner Jim Diamond that he deserved part ownership of copyrights for the band’s first two albums. In addition to back royalties Diamond could have received with a favorable ruling, the case involved credit for the White Stripes' earliest music -- a signature sound closely linked to the internationally celebrated revival of Detroit rock. In closing arguments Thursday morning, attorneys for the band acknowledged Diamond's technical skills as a recording engineer but equated his role with the White Stripes to that of a carpenter following an original blueprint. "The White Stripes" and "De Stijl," recorded at Diamond's Ghetto Recorders studio in 1999 and 2000, sold nearly 600,000 total copies in the wake of the White Stripes' international breakout in 2001. With Jack and Meg White looking on, Los Angeles attorney Bert Deixler told jurors that Diamond's assertion of copyright was akin to the claim-jumping of unscrupulous Old West miners. He argued that Diamond's work in the studio -- microphone placement, reverberation effects, mixing -- did not meet the standards necessary to claim co-authorship. "None of that constitutes originating an original work or causing it to come into being," Deixler said Thursday in court. Diamond's attorneys cited liner notes from the 1999 album "The White Stripes," in which the band voluntarily gave Diamond a co-producer credit. Stephen Wasinger told jurors it was his client's most persuasive evidence, from a time period "when credit was more important than money." "Mr. Diamond at that time, in that place, was equally talented," he said during his closing argument. Anthony Deluca, a Grosse Pointe attorney representing Diamond, said late Thursday that the case had presented unique difficulties. "How do you explain to the average juror what was going on in the underground Detroit music scene in 1999 -- especially in the context of a complicated copyright case?" Deluca said. "Jim Diamond gave those bands life. It's a tragedy for Detroit, and for underground music, that the White Stripes won't acknowledge Jim Diamond's contributions to the evolution of the band." At issue were so-called mechanical rights to the sound recordings of "The White Stripes" and "De Stijl." Rights to the White Stripes' compositions -- credited to Jack and Meg White -- were not in dispute. Before sending jurors to deliberate Thursday, federal judge Avern Cohn patiently walked them through the basics of the notoriously complex field of copyright law, an area in which he'd earlier acknowledged a lack of experience. But jurors apparently had little trouble navigating the case, delivering their decision far more quickly than many onlookers expected. Jack and Meg White were still eating lunch nearby in downtown Detroit when word came that the jury was returning to the courtroom. source feel free to take these banners to show your support for the white stripes. Content received from: Candy Cane Children: A White Stripes Fan Community, http://candycanechildren.com