THE WAILERS/TUFF GONG RECORDS LTD./COPYRIGHT REVERSION

This was to be posted weeks ago. Sorry for the lateness.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE WAILERS/TUFF GONG RECORDS LTD./COPYRIGHT REVERSION


The agreement that has been referred to and relied on by the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 08-06143 that denied the return of copyrights to the Marley Family, and inferred that Robert Marley’s solo contract and The Wailers group contract with Island Records was ‘Work For Hire’ is in direct contravention with the facts and history of The Wailers. This information can be supported by the legion of published books and recorded interviews that have been done to date.

The Wailers, Robert Marley O.M., Winston McIntosh and Neville Livingston C.D. have since 1964 entered into a series of formal recording contracts as Recording Artists and Writers since that time and subsequently as solo Recording Artists since 1974, starting with
• Jamaica Recording & Publishing Company/Studio One,
• Wail ‘N’ Soul ‘M’ – the first independently owned label for The Wailers,
• Upsetters/Lee Perry a Joint Venture and
• Danny Simms/JAD where in this instance only Robert Marley & Peter Tosh signed on,
• Chris Blackwell/Island Records where the world knows the story of the group being given $4000 on ‘faith’ to go and record the Catch A Fire album.

• Tuff Gong Records Ltd & Tuff Gong Music - Solomonic/Tuff Gong Records Ltd where the group themselves owned and transferred their own recording and publishing interests

This judgment is coming forward in the general environment of 50 Years of Jamaica’s music industry where expiring copyrights are threatening some of the world’s major catalogs from such greats as Elvis Presley, The Beatles and certainly now The Wailers to revert to either the bands themselves and or Public Domain. This represents one of the greatest threats to the major record and publishing companies, their catalogs and dominance over the genre Reggae.

It is in this environment that this sudden revelation that Robert Marley in his solo career, contract and subsequent Estate with Island Records/Universal is suddenly being deemed a ‘Work For Hire Artist’, a clearly underhanded conspiracy, years in the making, to defraud not only Robert Marley but The Wailers collectively of their rights to the reversion of these copyrights and opens up a Pandora’s box of violations and breaches by Chris Blackwell/Island/Universal and their agents in this matter. This as the only caveat to the reversion of these rights is if the recorded work was done ‘Work For Hire’.

It is further interesting to note that in the 1992 lawsuit by Tuff Gong Records Ltd., challenging Tuff Gong International rights to trade outside of Tuff Gong Records Ltd. as owners of The Wailers Recordings and trading unchallenged in Jamaica and The Caribbean since 1973, without the negotiated interest of Neville Livingston C.D. and the Winston McIntosh Estate as co-owners, that a series of contractual agreements, reported in the various journalistic reports, during this period was done converting and transferring rights that involves The Wailers, bringing into breach attempts at settlement, that never in those negotiations indicated that The Wailers recordings and interests were transferred and converted to ‘Work For Hire’ during this time.

Solomonic/Tuff Gong Records Ltd. can clearly state that at no time in the history of The Wailers as a group or as solo artists with Island/Universal has ‘Work For Hire’ been associated with any business dealings. We have contacted our lawyers in Jamaica, USA and the UK to vigorously move forward with existing plans and negotiations to recover the copyrights of The Wailers, sue for various breaches of existing settlement agreements and for intentional interference with prospective economic advantage and to invoke the Berne Convention in the protection of all related rights in international territories outside of Jamaica.

Is Robert Nesta Marley and Bob Marley separate and apart or one and the same or does Robert Nesta Marley or his respected Estate own the trade name Bob Marley, if not who does?



















FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

ORIGINALWAILERS@YAHOO.COM
876-934-5034