![]() ![]() But more importantly, it raises the notion that musical “plagiarism,” whether subconscious or not, can indeed result in distinct, crowd-pleasing works of authorship. This observation may lead some to conclude that a market-based solution is inevitable-if the artists are still making money, then no foul. Number 1 hits and both songs continue to be consumed by the public. It is worth noting that, despite sharing musical DNA, both songs were major U.S. Įven when musical borrowing is painfully obvious, as it was when George Harrison lifted major portions of the melody to “My Sweet Lord” from the Chiffons’ early ‘60s hit single “He’s So Fine,” copyright law might not provide the proper solution. Moreover, relying on derivative works doctrine may prove prohibitive to musicians, as they would be in constant danger of producing an unauthorized work whenever they lifted musical passages. The idea-expression dichotomy, a key test for determining what is copyrightable, may be ill-equipped for music it isn’t perfectly clear where a musical “idea” ends and its “expression” begins. Of course, how the law should address this is not always clear. In a world where every melody may have already been written, it seems that in order to truly protect musicians, copyright law has to take into account the culture of borrowing that actually produces music. ![]() There are, after all, only twelve notes in the Western musical system. While there can be no denying that musicians need some form of protection for their artistic works, the nature of music creation seems largely opposed to a legal system that threatens to punish any form of substantial similarity between works. Indeed, several of the lawsuits that Led Zeppelin faced before its recent victory, involved music from some of those very traditions. Some genres-from Blues and Folk all the way to Classical-expressly encourage composers to liberally lift guitar riffs, melodic passages and compositional structures from other artists. But while courts may have begun putting the brakes on excessive music infringement claims, copyright law itself may continue standing in the way of musical progress.īorrowing has long been a defining feature of the creation of music. The Court’s decision to deny certiorari and curtail an infringement suit -in a case holding that the band’s legendary 1971 song “Stairway to Heaven” did not infringe Spirit’s song “Taurus”-comes after a tidal wave of copyright infringement litigation that has led some songwriters to seek insurance for fear of facing crippling liability. Songwriters across the country likely breathed a sigh of relief in response to Led Zeppelin’s recent victory in the Supreme Court.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |