In this 1961 file photo, Chet Baker sounds his trumpet in his Italian attorney's office at Lucca, west of Florence, after he was released from jail there Dec. 15, 1961. He had been jailed for illegal drug use. ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE
A lawsuit seeking class action status launched by the estate of jazz musician
Chet Baker against Canadian major labels and publishers is seeking damages for unpaid royalties.
The Yale, Okla., born jazz trumpeter's music is being used without permission, his estate claims in a lawsuit filed this week.
The claim could reach nearly $6 billion for an array of 300,000 works by affected artists in Canada, as alleged by the lawsuit, reports
Billboard Biz online in today's editions.
The suit has not yet been given class action status.
In it, his estate alleges that some 300,000 have not been paid royalties by Canada's four major record labels:
Sony, Universal, EMI and
Warner. It also argues that the artists are owed "statutory damages" of $18,900 per song, under Canada's current copyright regulations.
The suit was filed in the
Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and wants compensation for "over 300,000 works for which no license has been obtained and no compensation has been paid."
The filing, originally made in October 2008, was not publicized, said Billboard Biz online.
See the full story and the full suit at
Billboard Biz online,
here.
