Unfair to Genius: The Strange and Litigious Career of Ira B. Arnstein

The long and tortured career of Ira B. Arnstein, the unrivaled "king of copyright infringement plaintiffs," opens a curious window into the evolution of copyright law in the United States. As Gary A. Rosen shows in this frequently funny and always entertaining history, the litigious Arnstein unwittingly transformed not just copyright, but American popular music itself.

A youthful prodigy in the late nineteenth century, Arnstein performed at the famous 1893 "White City" exhibition in Chicago. By the 1920s, he was a moderately successful songwriter and performer in New York, but beginning in 1928, his career entered a steep descent, and he was reduced to near-penury. Embittered, he became convinced that other artists were making fortunes off of his material, and so began a quixotic two-decade campaign to sue each and every one of them. While Arnstein failed in every case, Rosen shows that the decisions rendered--often by the famous jurist Learned B. Hand--ultimately defined some of the basic parameters of modern copyright law. The final case that he lost, against a bewildered Cole Porter, was the most consequential: Arnstein v. Porter. Successful suits against George Harrison, Led Zeppelin, and others for plagiarism owe a great deal to this decision and to Arnstein's relentless efforts over the years.

Although the book focuses on Ira Arnstein, Rosen alternates the story of Arnstein's career with a fascinating account of the period between the Tin-Pan-Alley and rock-and-roll eras, a period when Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin and many others wrote songs that would become classics. Just as important, changes in copyright law shifted the balance of power from music publishing companies to writers and performers, a revolution that occurred in no small part because of Arnstein.

"If you think the current litigious climate around copyright is unprecedented, think again. In this deeply researched and detailed book, intellectual property lawyer Rosen tells the curious story of Ira B. Arnstein, a composer of modest talent who, with his career in a downward spiral, sued dozens of leading composers and publishers for stealing his works. He never won a single case, and his claims often reflected a man on the verge of madness. But in suing, Rosen notes, Arnstein laid the foundation for future, more worthy plaintiffs to prevail, and shifted the power in copyright from publishers to composers. 'The claim that George Harrison's ‘My Sweet Lord' was a subconscious plagiarism of the Chiffons' ‘He's So Fine' might never have gone to trial,' Rosen writes, 'without the legal foundation laid by Arnstein.' The book is not a quick read, and some may find the narrative dense at times. But Rosen paints a fascinating portrait of one of history's most fertile creative eras — the rise of Tin Pan Alley, or the 'Age of the Songwriter,' as Rosen calls it — and the book brims with history relevant to today's disruptive technology climate, particularly ASCAP's efforts to thwart the National Association of Broadcasters 'campaign for free music' over that wondrous technology of Arnstein's day: radio. Agent: Chris Calhoun, Sterling Lord Literistic. (June)" Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

The long and tortured career of Ira B. Arnstein, "the unrivaled king of copyright infringement plaintiffs," opens a curious window into the evolution of copyright law in the United States. As Gary A. Rosen shows in this frequently funny and always entertaining history, the litigious Arnstein was a trenchant observer and most improbable participant in the transformation of not just copyright, but of American popular music itself.

A musical prodigy in the late nineteenth century, Arnstein performed as a boy soprano at the famous 1893 "White City" exhibition in Chicago. He grew up to be a composer of moderate accomplishment, but by the mid-1920s his fortunes had reversed in the face of changing tastes and times. Embittered and confused, he became convinced that he was the victim of a conspiracy to steal his music and set out on a three-decade-long campaign to prove it, suing most of the major players in the popular music industry of his day.

Although Arnstein never won a case, Rosen shows that the decisions rendered ultimately defined some of the basic parameters of copyright law. His most consequential case, against a dumbfounded Cole Porter, established precedents that have provided the foundation for successful suits against George Harrison, Michael Bolton, and many others.

Unfair to Genius alternates the stories of Arnstein and a colorful cast of supporting characters with a fascinating account of the economic, technological, and legal forces of the first half of the twentieth century that shifted the balance of power from the mercenary music publishers of Tin Pan Alley to the composers and lyricists who wrote the Great American Songbook.

Gary A. Rosen has practiced intellectual property law for more than 25 years. Before entering private practice, he served as a law clerk to federal appellate judge and award-winning legal historian A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. He lives outside Philadelphia.

Prologue

PART I: HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN

1. Loony Tunes, Schmaltzy Melodies

2. A Mother's Prayer

3. Soldiers of Zion

4. Unmoved Mover of Melody

5. Arranger on a Train

PART II: YES, WE HAVE NO BANANAS

6. The Tune Detective

7. Song-Lifting Trial Goes into Agitato

8. Justice for Genius

9. My Beer is a Shame

PART III: DON'T FENCE ME IN

10. Bad Music Instead

11. Gift for a President Turned into Song to a Cow

12. Four Last Songs

Acknowledgments and Credits

Bibliography

Notes

Index