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SEGA might come to “Live and Learn” the hard way if the company loses a recent lawsuit that was filed against it. The suit was filed earlier this month in the District Court of Southern California by musician Johnny Gioeli of Crush 40 fame, whose song Live and Learn is at the heart of the proceedings. Gioeli asserts that in his original agreement with SEGA regarding the song that it was only ever authorized to be used in Sonic Adventure 2 on Dreamcast way back in 2001. In the years since, Live and Learn has appeared in multiple other Sonic games, as well as numerous other applications, such as the Super Smash Bros. series.
Gieoli alleges that this was never part of the initial arrangement with SEGA and that the song is wholly his own—composed, recorded, and produced by himself. However, reports out on the web are somewhat contradictory on this point, with some claiming that Gioeli created the song independently of SEGA at his house, while others say that Gioeli created Live and Learn alongside SEGA composer Jun Senoue. Whatever the truth actually is will be for the court to decide.
Regardless, Gioeli is seeking financial compensation for what he considers to be breach of contract. Each violation, if Gioeli wins, would net the musician $500,000 apiece. Gieoli acknowledges that SEGA likely has joint ownership of the song, but the crux of his argument is that this pertains to the lyrics of Live and Learn, not the actual recorded piece of music that he created. Ultimately, the musician wants the court to “conclusively establish” ownership of Live and Learn.
We’ll continue to update as the case unfurls. Keep it posted here for more updates.
Source:Â Game Developer
