Hi Ed,

I'm not sure about parodies but I seem to remember reading something about a case recently in the US where a judge dismissed a copyright claim because s/he said the song was a parody and not intended as a commercial venture. That being said, though, I'd research this extremely carefully because melodies and lyrics are strictly off-limits from a copyright perspective unless you have permission. Chord progressions and accompaniment patterns (mostly) are not copyrightable.

If you have written some lyrics that fit the melody of an existing song, you would not be able to use that existing melody. However, the melodic rhythm of the notes cannot be copyrighted so you are free to use different notes playing the same melodic rhythm; this would be a completely different melody.

Regards,
Noel


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