Liberty/UA, Inc. v. Eastern Tape Corporation

GRAHAM, Judge.

Plaintiff claims no statutory or common law copyrights in its recordings. Consequently, the principal question presented is whether the defendants’ conduct in appropriating the performances recorded by plaintiff and selling them in competition with plaintiff amounts to unfair competition which may be enjoined. We answer in the affirmative.

In Steak House v. Staley, 263 N.C. 199, 203, 139 S.E. 2d 185, 189, Justice Sharp quoted from the opinion by Denny, Justice (later Chief Justice), in Extract Co. v. Ray, 221 N.C. 269, 273, 20 S.E. 2d 59, 61, as follows: “ ‘The test (of unlawful…