UNITED
STATES
DISTRICT
COURTSOUTHERN
DISTRICT
OF
NEW
YORK
WE
SHALL
OVERCOME
FOUNDATION,
C.A.
No.
on
behalf
of
itself
and
all
others
similarly
situated,
CLASS
ACTION
COMPLAINT
Plaintiff,
v.
JURY
TRIAL
DEMANDED
THE
RICHMONDORGANIZATION,
INC.
(TRO
INC.)
and
LUDLOW
MUSIC,INC.,
Defendants.
Plaintiff,
We
ShallOvercome
Foundation
(“WSOF”),
on
behalf
of
itself
and
all
others
similarly
situated,
by
its
undersignedattorneys,
as
its
Complaint
againstDefendants,
The
RichmondOrganization,
Inc.
(TRO
Inc.)
“TRO”)
and
Ludlow
Music,
Inc.
“Ludlow”)
for:
(1)
declaratory
judgment
pursuantto
28
U.S.C.
§
2201;(2)
declaratory
and
injunctive
relief
and
damages
under
28
U.S.C.
§
2202;
(3)
violations
of
New
York
General
Business
Law
§
349;
(4)
breach
of
contract;
(5)
common
law
money
had
and
received;
and
(5)rescission
for
failure
of
consideration,hereby
alleges
as
follows:
JURISDICTION
AND
VENUE
1.
The
Court
has
subject-matter
jurisdiction
over
this
action
pursuant
to
28
U.S.C.
§
1331
and
28
U.S.C.
§
1338
with
respect
toclaims
seeking
declaratory
and
other
relief
arising
under
the
CopyrightAct,
17
U.S.C.
§~
101
etseq.;
pursuant
tothe
Declaratory
Judgment
Act,
28
U.S.C.
§~
2201
et
seq.;
and
supplemental
jurisdiction
over
the
entire
case
orcontroversy
pursuant
to
28
U.S.C.
§
1367.
2.
The
Court
has
personal
jurisdiction
over
Defendants
and
venue
is
properinthis
!"#$ &'&()*+),-.-/ 01*23$45 & 678$9 ,:;&-;&( <"=$ & 1> ?,
District
under
28
U.S.C.
§~
1391(b)-(c)
and
28
U.S.C.
§
1400(a),
in
that
the
claims
arise
in
this
Judicial
District
where
Defendants’
principal
place
of
business
is
located
and
wherethey
regularly
conduct
business.
INTRODUCTION
3.
This
isan
action
todeclarethat,despite
theirclaim
to
the
contrary,
Defendants
do
notown
a
valid
copyright
tothe
musicalcomposition
We
Shall
Overcome(the
“Song”)
and
that
theSong
is
dedicated
to
public
use
and
in
the
public
domain;
and
for
return
of
the
unlawful
licensing
fees
collected
by
Defendantspursuant
to
theirwrongful
assertion
of
copyright
ownership
of
the
Song.
4.
According
tothe
Library
of
Congress,
We
Shall
Overcomewas
“the
most
powerful
song
of
the
20th
century,”
largely
because
it
“inspired
one
of
the
greatest
freedommovements
in
U.S.
history,
and
went
onto
topplegovernments
and
bring
about
reform
all
over
the
world.”
We
Shall
Overcome
wasthe
unofficial
anthem
tothe
Civil
Rights
Movement.
5.
Upon
information
and
belief,
We
Shall
Overcome
is
an
adaptation
of
an
earlier
work,
an
African-Americanspiritual
with
exactly
the
same
melody
and
nearly
identicallyricsfrom
the
late
19th
or
early20thcentury.
We
Shall
Overcome
was
first
used
as
an
inspirational
song
by
African
Americans
and
as
a
protest
song
by
the
labor
movement
in
the
early
part
of
the
20thcentury.
6.
By
the
1950s,
We
Shall
Overcome
had
become
the
Civil
Rights
Movement’s
unofficial
anthem.
The
Songbecame
an
important
part
of
American
culture
and
politics.
After
years
of
fighting
forvotingrights
for
all
Americans,
President
Lyndon
Johnsonmade
a
final
promise:
“We
Shall
Overcome.”
7.
More
than
50
yearshave
passed
since
Defendant
Ludlow
purportedly
copyrighted
2
!"#$ &'&()*+),-.-/ 01*23$45 & 678$9 ,:;&-;&( <"=$ - 1> ?,
the
Song,
and
Defendants
wrongfully
and
unlawfully
insistthatthey
own
the
copyright
to
We
Shall
Overcome,
together
with
the
exclusive
right
to
control
the
Song’sreproduction,
distribution,
and
public
performancespursuant
to
federal
copyright
law.
8.
Defendants
either
have
silenced
those
wishing
to
perform
We
Shall
Overcome
by
refusing
to
grant
them
a
license
or
have
unlawfully
demanded
and
extracted
licensing
fees
from
those
unwilling
or
unable
to
challenge
their
false
ownershipclaims.
9.
Irrefutable
documentary
evidenceshows
that
if
Defendants
own
any
copyright
to
We
Shall
Overcome,those
rights
are,at
most,
limited
tothe
extremely
narrowright
to
reproduce
and
distributespecific
arrangements
for
the
Song,
or
additional
verses
that
were
added
to
the
Song,
when
it
was
registered
with
the
CopyrightOfficein
1960and1963.
10.
Significantly,
no
court
has
ever
adjudicatedeither
the
scope
or
validity
of
Defendants’claimed
interest
in
We
Shall
Overcome,
nor
in
the
Song’s
melody
or
its
familiar
lyrics,which
are
independent
works.
11.
Plaintiff,
on
behalf
of
itself
and
all
others
similarly
situated,
seeks
a
declaration
that
Defendants
do
not
own
a
copyright
to
the
melody,
the
familiar
lyrics,
and
other
verses
of
We
Shall
Overcome
and
that
theSong
is
dedicated
to
public
use
and
is
in
the
public
domain,
as
well
as
monetary
damagesand
restitution
of
all
the
unlawful
licensing
fees
that
Defendants
have
improperly
collected
from
Plaintiff
and
all
other
Classmembers.
PLAINTIFF
12.
Plaintiff
WSOF
is
a
California
corporation
with
its
principal
place
of
business
located
in
Los
Angeles
County,
California.
Under
a
disputed
claim
of
copyright
ownershipbyDefendants,
on
orabout
April
14,
2015,pursuant
to
17
U.S.C.
§
115,
Plaintiff
paid
thesum
of
45.50
to
Defendants
for
a
compulsory
license
(commonlyknown
asa
“mechanicallicense”)
to
3
!"#$ &'&()*+),-.-/ 01*23$45 & 678$9 ,:;&-;&( <"=$ ? 1> ?,