Mazick v. Daughtry et al
Filing
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COMPLAINT. Filing fee received: $ 350.00, receipt number 09700000000002229624, filed by Randy Mazick. (Attachments: #
1 Civil Cover Sheet, #
2 Summons Daughtry, #
3 Summons Gootwald, #
4 Summons Sandberg, #
5 Summons Solomon, #
6 Summons Bertelsmann, #
7 Summons Apple)(Harris, Ray)
Mazick v. Daughtry et al
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FENNEMORE CRAIG, P.C.
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FENNEMORE CRAIG, P.C. Ray K. Harris (No. 007408) 3003 North Central Avenue Suite 2600 Phoenix, AZ 85012-2913 Telephone: (602) 916-5000 Email: rharris@fclaw.com Attorneys for Plaintiff Randy Mazick
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF ARIZONA Randy Mazick, Plaintiff, v. Chris Daughtry; Lukasz Gootwald a/k/a Dr. Luke d/b/a Kasz Money Publishing; Martin Karl Sandberg a/k/a Max Martin d/b/a Maratone AB; Sheppard Solomon; Bertelsmann Music Group, LLC, a Delaware Corporation d/b/a RCA Records; Apple, Inc., Defendants. No. _________ COMPLAINT FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
Plaintiff alleges: 1. This case arises from the smash hit song "FEELS LIKE TONIGHT"
performed and recorded by defendant CHRIS DAUGHTRY on his album "Daughtry." Measured by chart position, sales and other uses, the song-- purportedly written by defendants LUKASZ GOTTWALD, MARTIN KARL SANDBERG and SHEPPARD SOLOMON--has achieved worldwide success and notoriety since its release in November 2006. The problem is that the song's hook is a copy of the copyrighted song "TONIGHT" written by plaintiff RANDY MAZICK, and first publicly performed by his
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band, The Asphalt, in early 2005. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 2. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 1338(a). Defendants have caused the alleged events to occur within the District of Arizona and are subject to jurisdiction in this District. 3. Venue is proper in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b), (c) & (d). THE PARTIES 4. 5. Plaintiff is a musician and songwriter residing in Lake Havasu, Arizona. Defendant CHRIS DAUGHTRY is a musician and songwriter who, on
information and belief, resides in North Carolina. 6. Defendant LUKASZ GOTTWALD is a musician, producer and songwriter
who, on information and belief, resides in Los Angeles, California and New York, New York. Gottwald is also known in the music business as "DR. LUKE." 7. Defendant KASZ MONEY PUBLISHING is a music publishing company
which is a dba of GOTTWALD, and which does business throughout the State of Arizona and the world. 8. Defendant MARTIN KARL SANDBERG is a musician and songwriter
who, on information and belief, resides in Sweden. SANDBERG is also known in the music business as "MAX MARTIN." 9. Defendant MARATONE AB is, on information and belief, a music
publishing company which is a dba of SANDBERG, and which does business throughout the State of Arizona and the world. 10. Defendant SHEPPARD SOLOMON is a musician and songwriter who, on
information and belief, resides in New York and California. 11. Defendant BERTELSMANN MUSIC GROUP LLC, a Delaware limited
liability company, with its principal place of business in New York City, is "doing
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business as" RCA RECORDS. RCA RECORDS does business throughout the State of Arizona and the world. 12. Defendant APPLE, INC., is a California corporation with its principal place
of business in Cupertino, California, and does business throughout the State of Arizona and the world. 13. Plaintiff alleges, on information and belief, that each Defendant named in
this complaint is responsible for the damages alleged and was acting, at least at times, as the agent, servant, partner, alter ego and/or employee of the other defendants, and within the course and scope of his or her or its authority as such agent, servant, partner, and/or employee with the permission and consent of the other defendants. Further, all acts herein alleged were approved of and ratified by each and every other defendant. CLAIM FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT (Against All Defendants) 14. Plaintiff incorporates herein by this reference each and every allegation
contained in paragraphs 1 through 13 above. 15. In or about January 2005, plaintiff authored the musical composition
"TONIGHT." The song is original to plaintiff and is copyrightable subject matter under U.S. law. 16. On April 17, 2008, the copyright in the song was registered with the U.S.
Copyright Office, registration number PA0001596143. Plaintiff is the sole owner of all right, title and interest in and to the foregoing copyright. The song has been published, performed and otherwise exploited by Plaintiff, or by others under Plaintiff's authority or license, in conformity with the Act. 17. The song has been widely performed throughout the southwest United
States by The Asphalt, a Lake Havasu, Arizona based rock band of which Plaintiff is a member, from early 2005 to the present.
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18.
Starting in or about November 2006, and from time to time thereafter,
defendants, and each of them, infringed Plaintiff's copyright by, among other things, publishing, reproducing, distributing and publicly performing a musical composition entitled "FEELS LIKE TONIGHT." This song, purportedly written by Defendants
GOTTWALD, SANDBERG and SOLOMON, was released as a single and as one of the tracks embodied on the best-selling album entitled "DAUGHTRY," featuring Defendant CHRIS DAUGHTRY. CHRIS DAUGHTRY performs the song on this recording. 19. The album DAUGHTRY and the single FEELS LIKE TONIGHT were
released and distributed for sale by RCA RECORDS. 20. APPLE, INC. has distributed copies of FEELS LIKE TONIGHT through its
website service, iTunes. 21. Defendants continue to infringe Plaintiff's copyright by, among other
things, creating and distributing phonorecords in various formats, including but not limited to compact discs and digital downloads, embodying or incorporating performances of the infringing work. At no time has Plaintiff authorized Defendants, or any of them, to republish, perform, create derivative works based on or otherwise exploit all or any portion of his song. 22. As a direct and proximate result of the infringement by Defendants, Plaintiff
is entitled to damages and to Defendants' profits in amounts to be proven at trial, which are not currently ascertainable. PRAYER FOR RELIEF WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays for judgment as follows: A. trial; B. C.
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Plaintiff's damages and defendants' profits in an amount to be ascertained at
Plaintiff's reasonable costs of suit; Prejudgment interest on any monetary award; and
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D.
Such other and further relief as this Court may deem just. JURY DEMAND
Plaintiffs hereby demand a jury trial as provided by Rule 38(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. DATED this 17th day of September, 2008. FENNEMORE CRAIG, P.C. By s/Ray K. Harris Ray K. Harris Attorneys for Plaintiff Randy Mazick
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