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Sony Music sued over Puerto Rican compilation’s title
By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 29 May 2018
Sony Music has been sued by a Puerto Rican songwriter over allegations it infringed his copyright by naming a compilation album after his most famous song.
Joel Bosch wrote ‘Yo Soy Boricua Pa’ Que Tú Lo Sepas’ in the mid-1990s and it has since become something of an anthem in Puerto Rico. Sony Music then released the compilation album ‘Yo Soy Boricua Pa Que Tu Lo Sepas’ in 2014.
The title translates as ‘I’m Puerto Rican, Just So You Know’ (or, technically, ‘I’m Boricua, Just So You Know’, Boricua being a demonym derived from the island’s original name). Sony’s album was a collection of tracks by Puerto Rican artists.
Bosch and his companies claim that Sony’s use of the title is copyright infringement because ‘Yo Soy Boricua Pa’ Que Tú Lo Sepas’ is also the key lyric in his song.
According to Law360, his lawsuit reads: “Plaintiff’s copyrighted musical composition is centred around the lyric ‘Yo Soy Boricua Pa’ Que Tú Lo Sepas’ which forms the chorus of the composition and is a significant part of the original musical composition. Sony has used plaintiff’s lyrics as the title of its musical compilation. Sony has copied and reproduced plaintiff’s lyrics in its product, in the packaging, inserts and CD”.
The lawsuit also accuses the major of unfair competition as well as the copyright infringement claim. The Sony litigation is the third lawsuit filed by Bosch in relation to his song this year. He has previously sued T-Mobile and Coca-Cola over their use of the musical work in advertising content.
