Fame Publishing Co., Inc. v. Alabama Custom Tape, Inc.

LEWIS R. MORGAN, Circuit Judge.

Although defendants-appellants are popularly known as “tape pirates” they could more accurately be described as “tape parasites.” When it becomes apparent that a recording of a composition copyrighted by one of plaintiffs-appellees is destined to become a “hit,” appellants purchase a copy of the recording, reproduce it hundreds of thousands or millions of times, and sell the copies to the public. While most record producers face substantial risks and expenses, never knowing whether their efforts will succeed, appellants encounter no such problems; they buy their…