## Facts

- Johannsongs-Publishing Ltd. owned the copyright in the musical composition (not the lyrics) of the 1977 Icelandic song *Soknudur*.
- Rolf Løvland and Brendan Graham composed *You Raise Me Up*, released in 2001 and later widely popularized.
- The plaintiff alleged *You Raise Me Up* infringed protectable musical elements of *Soknudur* and also asserted similarities in lyrics and lyrical themes.
- Defendants presented a musicology report by Dr. Lawrence Ferrara comparing the works, identifying similarities traceable to prior art (including public-domain and traditional sources), and evaluating what remained after filtering unprotectable material.
- Ferrara concluded that key similarities were attributable to prior art and that any remaining similarities were minor and scattered.
- Plaintiff offered musicology reports by Judith Finell asserting substantial similarity; defendants challenged the reports under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and *Daubert*.
- The case was decided on defendants’ motion for summary judgment.

## Issues

1. Whether the plaintiff, which did not own the lyrics to *Soknudur*, had standing to pursue infringement claims based on alleged lyrical similarities.
2. Whether the plaintiff’s expert reports were admissible under Fed. R. Evid. 702 and *Daubert*.
3. Whether, under the Ninth Circuit extrinsic test and after filtering unprotectable elements (including prior art and common musical devices), the works were substantially similar in protectable expression.

## Decision

- The court held the plaintiff lacked standing to assert infringement based on lyrics or lyrical themes because it did not own rights in the *Soknudur* lyrics.
- The court excluded the plaintiff’s expert reports as unreliable and unhelpful under Rule 702 and *Daubert*, finding the analysis methodologically deficient, including a failure to filter out unprotectable elements.
- Applying the extrinsic test on the filtered record and crediting defendants’ admissible expert analysis, the court held *You Raise Me Up* was not substantially similar to protectable elements of *Soknudur* as a matter of law.
- The court granted summary judgment for defendants and entered judgment against the plaintiff on the copyright infringement claim.

## Legal Principles

- Copyright infringement requires ownership of a valid copyright and copying of original constituent elements; “copying” includes unlawful appropriation shown by substantial similarity of protectable expression.
- A plaintiff may sue only for infringement of rights it owns; claimed infringement of unowned elements (such as lyrics) cannot support liability.
- In the Ninth Circuit, substantial similarity is assessed using extrinsic and intrinsic tests; at summary judgment, courts apply the extrinsic test (objective analytic comparison), commonly with expert assistance.
- The extrinsic test requires analytic dissection and filtering of unprotectable material, including ideas, scènes à faire, common musical building blocks, and public-domain or prior-art elements.
- Expert testimony must use reliable principles and methods and reliably apply them to the facts; failure to explain methodology, analyze material in context, or filter unprotectable elements supports exclusion under Rule 702 and *Daubert*.
- Similarities that remain after filtering must be qualitatively significant; fragmented, isolated, or trivial overlap is insufficient to show unlawful appropriation.

## Conclusion

The court limited the claim to the musical composition due to lack of standing over lyrics, excluded the plaintiff’s expert reports under Rule 702, and held that no reasonable jury could find substantial similarity of protectable musical expression after filtering unprotectable elements, warranting summary judgment for defendants.


Johannsongs-Publ'g Ltd. v. Lovland, 2020 WL 2315805 (C.D. Cal. 2020)