Alvertis Isbell v. DM Records, Incorporated

STEPHEN A. HIGGINSON, Circuit Judge:

The popular song Whoomp! (There It Is) 1 was released in 1993. For more than half of the song’s existence — since 2002— the parties to this action have been litigating the question of who owns the composition copyright to the song. After an eleven-day trial, the district court ruled that, as a matter of law, Plaintiff-Appellee Ad-vertís Isbell owned the copyright and Defendant-Appellant DM Records, Inc. was liable for copyright infringement. The jury awarded over $2 million in damages. DM Records appeals these and several other district court decisions. We…