[3] Jolly Roger was one of several labels operating in American cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Cleveland which in the 1950s issued compilations of early 78rpm recordings without authorization from the companies that had produced the originals.
[5] At the time Bollettino was operating, sound recordings were not eligible for federal copyright under United States copyright law; only the musical composition underlying the recording was eligible, and a mechanical license was available to Bollettino to release performances of the compositions without permission by paying a flat fee.
[4] However, he did not pay royalties on all of the reissue recordings, and in 1952, the American Federation of Musicians blacklisted Paradox Industries and its subsidiary labels.
[2] Bollettino initially fought the ruling, but was fined $5,000 for copyright infringement,[5] and eventually settled, remarking, "My lawyer insisted that we had a good case and could win, but I knew the record companies would feel they couldn't afford to lose and would throw in everything they had.
"[2] The legal battles over Jolly Roger's output, which attracted major newspaper and magazine attention in the early 1950s, were used by the recording industry as evidence to Congress that stronger copyright protection was needed.