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posted by martyb on Sunday September 22 2019, @03:20PM   Printer-friendly
from the http://www.spiderrobinson.com/melancholyelephants.html dept.

https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/09/20/led-zeppelin-stairway-to-heaven-copyright-lawsuit-resumes/

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


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  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday September 23 2019, @12:53PM

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Monday September 23 2019, @12:53PM (#897528)

    By making the fees optional, artists can make the decision: does this popular song go public domain, or do I instead "pay taxes" to ensure it remains exclusively mine? As it is, copyright protection is "free" for all artists, and any agent or legal representation would be negligent to not enforce copyright for all works under their care.

    I like the three year intervals - starting artists can just take the free 3 years, and... if a publishing house gets interested in them, they can start paying for protection. The fees don't really amount to anything significant for the first 30 years, it wouldn't be surprising to me if publishers just prepaid the first 20-30 years to avoid the clerical work and possibility of missing a filing. Further, as works approach expiration, you might see publishers offering to buy the rights and extend protection on valuable IP.

    Now, how does any of this get Stairway to Heaven into the public domain any faster? Maybe it doesn't work for Stairway to Heaven, but it does open up hundreds of contemporary songs by lesser known artists which are just as good, and gives the lesser known works a competitive advantage in the popularity game, because people can practice them without fear of prosecution.

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