Supreme Court leaves songwriters' worldwide copyright reclaims intact, but only because it could not hear the case

The US Supreme Court on Monday, 19 October 2026, ended a challenge by the major music publishers to a ruling that lets songwriters reclaim their copyrights around the world. It did so without deciding whether the ruling is right.

The case, BMG Rights Management v. Vetter (No. 25-1391), centres on "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)", the 1960s Louisiana party staple written by Cyril Vetter. Under US copyright law, authors can terminate old grants of their rights after a set number of years and take them back. The long-standing industry reading was that this reaches only US rights, with overseas income staying with the publisher.

What the lower courts decided

A federal district court held in January 2025 that Vetter owned the reclaimed rights worldwide. The Fifth Circuit appeals court affirmed that on 12 January 2026. Publishing arms of Universal, Sony and Warner, along with BMG, which had bought a stake from Robert Resnik's Resnik Music Group, took the fight to the Supreme Court.

Why the court did not rule

According to the docket, Justices Sotomayor, Gorsuch, Barrett and Jackson did not take part, and none gave a reason. That left five justices, short of the quorum of six the court needs. Under federal law, when a quorum cannot be assembled and the case cannot be heard at the next term, the lower court's judgment is affirmed.

So this is not a ruling on the merits. The Fifth Circuit decision stands, and it binds federal courts in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Courts elsewhere in the US are free to read the law differently in a future case.

What it means for songwriters

For writers with older catalogues, the practical point is that the worldwide argument is now live in at least one major circuit, and the publishers did not get the reversal they asked for. Enforcement abroad is a separate question: foreign courts, collecting societies and licensees may apply their own countries' laws rather than the Fifth Circuit's reading.

Expect the issue to return in another circuit. ADMC will follow it. For the other big rights fight in the business this month, see our story on DistroKid and the UMG lawsuit.