Garth Brooks Ordered To Trade Tapes In Copyright Case
Tuesday, June 11, 1996. Reuters
Story by Story by Adam Sandler

HOLLYWOOD - A U.S. District Court judge ordered Garth Brooks to turn over recording tracks of his hit ``Standing Outside the Fire'' to a composer who claims in a $5 million copyright infringement suit that he wrote the song.

Guy Thomas claimed in the lawsuit, filed in July 1995, that Brooks' hit was based on his song ``Conviction of the Heart,'' which was recorded by Kenny Loggins. The suit seeks an unspecified amount of profits and damages.

The lawsuit, in which Thomas claims ``Standing Outside the Fire'' copies elements of the song that he co-wrote with Loggins, also seeks an injunction against Brooks' future use of the song.

U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Lew ordered Brooks and Thomas to exchange recordings of both songs and return them within 14 days.

Brooks' attorney Bruce Isaacs tried to block the exchange because the singer feared the tapes would be used to make bootleg recordings that would end up on the black market.