Found this on-line:


If you plan on going commercial with your parodies, then it is courteous to ask the artists if you can parody their song, just like Weird Al does. Even though the "fair-use" statement of the copyright law might suggest you don't have to do so, this remains a very gray area of the law. Getting permission can prevent you from being sued.

And elsewhere, Canadian jurisprudance:

Generally, No. The Supreme Court case Cambell v. Acuff-Rose addressed this issue and ruled that Luther Cambell (of 2 Live Crew) did not owe royalties to the estate of Roy Orbison (Acuff-Rose) for doing a parody of the song "Oh Pretty Women".

However, if you do a parody, it would be wise to contact the rights owner of the original song to get permission (this is what Weird Al Yankovic makes a point of doing for his parodies) if only to save yourself the messiness of legal action (even if you win in the end, will it be worth the trouble?) Incidentally, even though the Court held in Luther Campbell's favor, he ended up settling with Acuff-Rose and paying royalties anyway.

John Conley
Musica est vita