Mr Fisher was the co-author of the Work by virtue of his “significant and hugely famous” 8 bar organ solo melody.Ģ. In a decision which broadly favoured Mr Fisher, The High Court judge made the following declarations:ġ. Reimbursement of his share of past royalties paid by societies who collected in and paid out royalties to the defendants in the six years before the claim was issued (i.e. In the High Court case Mr Fisher claimed that he owned the copyright in his organ solo in the Work and he sought:Ī declaration that he owned a 50% share of the copyright in the Work.Īn injunction to prevent the defendants from exploiting the copyright in the Work without his consent. On, Mr Fisher brought proceedings against Mr Brooker and Onward Music Limited (the “Defendants”) to claim what he believed to be his rightful share of the copyright in the Work and its associated royalties. Onward Music Limited was therefore a co-defendant in the legal proceedings. Although he was aware of his ability to claim an interest in the copyright in the Work or royalties earned from it, at this stage, he did not notify Mr Brooker or Essex Music of any such claim.Įssex Music Limited later assigned their rights to Essex Music International Limited, which in turn assigned them to Onward Music Limited in December in 1993. When Mr Fisher left the band in August 1969, he did not relinquish his entitlement to a share of the copyright or to royalties earned from the sale of his various compositions, including the Work. It is referred to in this article as the “Work”.Ī clip of the song may be seen on YouTube here. The version of the song containing this organ solo was recorded and released as a single in 1967. During rehearsals of the song, Mr Fisher improvised a distinctive organ solo which features in the song’s eight-bar introduction. Mr Brooker and Mr Reid then formed the band and Matthew Fisher subsequently joined as an organist. In March 1967, Mr Brooker and Mr Reid assigned their copyright in the song’s lyrics and music to Essex Music Limited. “A Whiter Shade of Pale” as recorded by the Procol Harum and released on is one of the most successful and well-known songs ever recorded, with world-wide sales in excess 6 million and over 770 cover versions.īefore the band Procol Harum formed, its current frontman Gary Brooker composed the music to “A Whiter Shade of Pale”. The House of Lords has overturned the Court of Appeal’s ruling of April 2008 that prevented the former organist of the band Procol Harum, Matthew Fisher, from obtaining a 40% share in any future royalties from musical copyright in the band’s 1967 hit single “A Whiter Shade of Pale”, 38 years after the record was first released.
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