## Facts

- La Cienega Music Company, owned by Bernard Besman, claimed rights in multiple versions of the blues composition “Boogie Chillen,” embodied in phonorecords commercially released in 1948, 1950, and 1970.
- Besman obtained federal copyright registrations for versions of the work in 1967, 1970, and 1992, but did not renew any registrations.
- In 1973, ZZ Top released “La Grange,” and La Cienega alleged that it copied “Boogie Chillen.”
- The dispute centered on whether La Cienega possessed enforceable rights at the time of the alleged infringement, given the Copyright Act of 1909’s publication-and-renewal scheme.
- The district court granted summary judgment for defendants, concluding the relevant compositions were in the public domain.

## Issues

1. Whether commercial distribution of phonorecords embodying a musical composition constitutes “publication” of the composition under the Copyright Act of 1909.
2. If so, whether failure to renew after the initial 28-year term placed the compositions in the public domain before the alleged infringement.
3. Whether later federal registrations can postpone, reset, or negate a publication-triggered term under the 1909 Act.

## Decision

- The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for ZZ Top and related defendants.
- The court held that commercial sale and distribution of phonorecords constituted publication of the musical compositions under the 1909 Act.
- Because the works’ initial federal terms ran from those publication dates and were not renewed, the compositions entered the public domain.
- Later registrations did not revive exclusive rights or change the publication-based term.
- A judge concurred in part and dissented in part, questioning the majority’s treatment of publication via phonorecords and its effect on older musical works.

## Legal Principles

- Under the 1909 Act, general publication ends common-law protection and places the work within the federal term-and-renewal system.
- Commercial distribution of phonorecords embodying a musical composition generally constitutes publication of the composition.
- A published work receives an initial 28-year federal term; if the copyright owner does not timely renew, the work enters the public domain at the end of that term.
- Once a work enters the public domain, later registration cannot restore exclusive rights.

## Conclusion

The Ninth Circuit ruled that “Boogie Chillen” was published when its phonorecords were commercially released, and because the copyrights were not renewed after the initial terms, the compositions fell into the public domain, defeating La Cienega’s infringement claims against ZZ Top.


La Cienega Music Co. v. ZZ Top, 53 F.3d 950 (9th Cir. 1995)