Recording artist Kanye West and music publisher EMI are currently embroiled in dueling lawsuits with each other regarding an alleged breach of West’s co-publishing contract with EMI. West, who filed a complaint against EMI in court in California, asserts that California law should govern the terms of the contract. He also asserts that the contract amounts to a contract for personal services that began in 2003, thus violating a California statute that limits personal services contracts to seven years or less. Conversely, EMI filed a complaint in New York, asserting that New York law governs due to the choice of law provision in the contract. EMI also asserts that West’s…
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Recorded Conversations: What Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, and Taylor Swift Can Teach Us
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are not law professors, but in their latest public feud with pop-star extraordinaire Taylor Swift, they are providing an interesting example of the legality of recorded conversations as well as their admissibility in civil court. The Feud Putting aside the inception of the feud (“Imma let you finish…”) and the back and forth since then, the most recent chapter began when Kanye West released his song “Famous” earlier this year with lyrics referencing Taylor Swift: “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / I made that bitch famous.” West claims that he obtained Swift’s consent for the lyrics during a…