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from the http://www.spiderrobinson.com/melancholyelephants.html dept.
The latest battle has been over their classic song "Stairway to Heaven," and amazingly, court proceedings are now in their fifth year. On September 23rd, the battle continues — once again — in federal court.
That's when the full 'en banc' panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the copyright infringement lawsuit that the descendants of Randy Wolfe initially filed against Led Zeppelin. The descendants insist that the opening cords of "Stairway to Heaven" were stolen from a song that the late guitarist wrote called "Taurus," which was performed by the band Spirit.
[...] In August, more than 120 music artists filed an amicus brief in support of the band. The artists have said that if the lawsuit against Led Zeppelin succeeds, it could seriously hamper creativity in music. Even more impressively, the U.S. government also filed an amicus brief on behalf of Led Zeppelin, citing the need to "foster innovation and creative expression."
Previously:
Led Zeppelin Appear in Court Over Stairway to Heaven Vs Spirits Taurus Dispute
Music Copyright Laws Worsen as Artists Give Up
(Score: 3, Funny) by jelizondo on Sunday September 22 2019, @09:08PM (2 children)
Probably you seen Pachelbel rant [youtube.com], if not, it does indeed explain quite a bit about chords being "stolen".
Which is like saying it's all musical notes and they used the same ones as me!
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday September 23 2019, @10:31AM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 23 2019, @11:22AM
Yeah except that the thing about Pachibel rant is that it isn't really the notes, and it isn't even really the chords. It's just the tonal pattern of drop a fourth, raise one minor, drop a third, raise a half minor, drop a third, raise a third, raise one. Execute that pattern in any key and it resembles the Canon, and AFAIK you can do it in any key you like. Claiming that's a copy is somewhat/almost/not quite what's going on with this case (and most any other one).
I think what I'm saying is, humor aside, copyright vios need more than just imitating a tonal pattern. Which is why commercials and shows get away with sound-alikes all the time and it's not a copyvio.