A songwriter waited 60 years to get his song back. The Supreme Court let him keep it

Cyril Vetter co-wrote 'Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)' in 1962, signed away its worldwide rights in 1963, and lost his co-writer Donald Smith in a plane crash in 1972. Decades later, Vetter used a provision of US copyright law that lets creators reclaim rights they signed away long ago — and a federal appeals court agreed his reclaimed rights extend worldwide, not just in the USA. Four major music labels — BMG, Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Music — asked the Supreme Court to overturn that ruling, warning it would disrupt licensing deals worth billions. On October 19, the justices left the lower court's ruling standing: with four justices not participating and no quorum to hear the case, the judgment in Vetter's favour was affirmed. One songwriter's 1960s rock song is his again, everywhere on Earth.

SDG 8 · Decent work and economic growth — Mechanism: legal ruling