Janice Brooks
From:
Pleasant Gap Pa
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Posted 17 Jul 2001 2:47 pm |
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Country Music Rising Star Sues Over CD Piracy; Cory Morrow Accuses Record Store of Copyright Infringement
LUBBOCK, Texas, July 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas country music recording artist Cory Morrow filed suit yesterday against a Lubbock, Texas, record store that produced and sold pirate copies of Morrow's first CD.
The presence of the bootleg CDs came to light when one of Morrow's fans reported to him that she was able to purchase a copy of the CD from the store, but that the CD she purchased was obviously a reproduction, not an original, says Morrow's attorney, Mark Thompson, with the Houston law firm of Hicks Thomas & Lilienstern, LLP. Morrow is also represented by Hicks Thomas name partner John Thomas.
Surprisingly, Thompson says, the jewel case insert in the unauthorized copy faithfully copied from the original the statement: "WARNING: Unauthorized reproduction of this recording is prohibited by law."
Morrow, a rising star in the Texas Music scene, claims that Larry Thompson, owner of Ralph's Records Tapes & CDs at 909 University Avenue in Lubbock, produced and sold bootleg copies of his CD, The Cory Morrow Band -- Texas Time Travl'n. The limited edition CD was released in 1995 and has not been offered for sale by Morrow for several years. It is also not available in stores.
"That first CD was an early work, my first effort at a commercial recording," Morrow says. "While I am still proud of it, it doesn't represent the quality of my recent work. Having it available in the market detracts from my current status and I do not want it in commercial circulation."
The lawsuit, Cory Morrow v. Larry Thompson, d/b/a Ralph's Records Tapes & CDs, was filed in U.S. District Court in Lubbock. It seeks $150,000 in damages, destruction of all pirated copies of the CD, the surrender and destruction of all equipment used to create the copies, and an injunction to prevent further copying.
According to a report published recently by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), music piracy is on the rise and was worth $4.2 billion in 2000. One in three of all cassettes or CDs sold each year are illegally produced.
"It is time for the commercial rip-off of Texas musicians to stop," Morrow says. "I hope that this lawsuit will send a strong signal to anyone considering the unauthorized copying and sale of my CDs, and those of other Texas artists as well. Such copying for profit is no longer going to be tolerated."
Morrow's CDs can be purchased legally at records stores and elsewhere, or at www.CoryMorrow.com . His CDs include The Cory Morrow Band, Cory Morrow -- The Man That I've Been, Cory Morrow Live -- Double Exposure, and Pat Green and Cory Morrow -- Songs We Wish We'd Written.
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Janice "Busgal" Brooks
ICQ 44729047
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