Patrick Leahy: “I am proud to salute the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, better known as ASCAP, on its…”

“I am proud to salute the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, better known as ASCAP, on its anniversary of 90 years of successful representation of America's songwriters and music publishers. ASCAP formally began when a group of noted songwriters and their supporters gathered at the Hotel Claridge in New York City on February 13, 1914, at a monumental event that would forever change music history. These visionaries, whose members included some of that era's most active and talented songwriters, such as Irving Berlin, James Weldon Johnson, Jerome Kern and John Philip Sousa, began a tradition of outstanding public advocacy on behalf of songwriters that continues to this very day. Soon after its founding, a prominent member of ASCAP, Victor Herbert, brought a lawsuit against Shanley's Restaurant that established the legal basis for songwriters to protect their 'performing right' in the music they created. In a legal battle that took 2 years to reach the U.S. Supreme Court, ASCAP finally prevailed in a unanimous opinion written by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.”