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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: 5, Insightful) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday September 22 2019, @03:29PM (13 children)
I just listened to "Taurus" and agree with the U.S. Government, because the two songs sound nothing alike. You really, really have to stretch your imagination to say that the songs are similar. It's like saying the composer of Super Mario World was ripping off Supertramp, or that the final Kefka battle theme from Final Fantasy 6 was a ripoff of Emerson Lake and Palmer.
There are plenty of examples of obvious ripoffs in music, even one Metallica admitted to (though they didn't identify the band), but this ain't one of them.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Runaway1956 on Sunday September 22 2019, @03:34PM (3 children)
You could even say that Ethanol-fueled is a ripoff of a tired old wino.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday September 22 2019, @03:39PM (1 child)
And just like Metallica, I keep on going even though my content sucks and I should have retired a long time ago. NIGGERS.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 22 2019, @05:07PM
Some moderators seem to have a big problem with your endorsement of Ralph Northam and Justin Trudeau.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 22 2019, @03:52PM
It almost like "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind" ripped off the first 5 notes from "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 22 2019, @04:33PM (1 child)
If you listen very hard, the tune will come to you at last.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 23 2019, @01:07AM
Not many zep fans on SN!
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 22 2019, @05:28PM (3 children)
It's like saying the composer of Super Mario World was ripping off Supertramp
May want to rethink that comment :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDvMuGz-PWY [youtube.com]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBNJ5cAxcQ8 [youtube.com]
The bit they are talking about is at about 57 seconds in
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFHLO_2_THg&t=57 [youtube.com]
and the intro here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXQUu5Dti4g [youtube.com]
They are thematically similar with a few bits switched and the second part punched out a bit. Very similar but not the same. Rippoff? Plausible. But they switched enough of it up that it is different. Inspired would be better.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Sunday September 22 2019, @06:46PM (2 children)
Ir it's just that there is a large but finite combination of notes that people find musical and so composers in isolation will occasionally come up with similar combinations. That's why there have been infringement claims against videos featuring the sound of wild bird song.
A fair number of these copyright complaints amount to a mechanical engineer complaining that someone else used screws to hold a box together in clear infringement of their design.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 22 2019, @07:45PM (1 child)
You realize the coincidence of about 50 notes in a row being the same is fairly astronomical in nature right? This is not black midi set to random and seeing what pops out. You may want to click on the links I put in my post. You will find it is very different than what you want it to be.
More than likely they heard the melody and had it rolling around in their heads and plunked that other one out. They changed it up. But it is similar. The one bringing the lawsuit is however just digging for cash.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by sjames on Sunday September 22 2019, @11:40PM
It would be if the notes were drawn at random out of a hat without regard to aesthetics.
However, the guitar line in Taurus and Stairway do not share 50 notes. The sharing first breaks on the 3rd note.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 22 2019, @07:49PM (1 child)
Not Randy Wolfe, but the descendants of Randy Wolfe. I think there lies the key. They are not musicians, or involved. They just caught a whiff of the dollar breeze, a highly contagious disease. Fanned on by a greedy lawyer of three, the sue wagon was boarded, ticket or no ticket. Sad, and it ties up legal resources better expended on taking down real baddies.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Monday September 23 2019, @12:49AM
I wonder what will happen when Mick Jagger's grandchildren find out the money has all been squandered and set about looking for someone to sue?
The never-ending copyrights we have had forced on us by Disney are not for the benefit of any artists.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday September 23 2019, @09:18AM
Confusion will be your epitaph.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves