Originally Posted By: Guitarhacker
Originally Posted By: VideoTrack
It's arguable that there are definite similarities between the two songs.

(Whether any party should contemplate taking any legal action is an entirely different matter.)

I think the purpose of the evaluation was only to determine if there was any "likeness", not to determine if there should be any legal action taken by the relevant parties.

Cheers
Trevor


...

Either way, I'm rather glad that Alan P didn't contact his lawyers and instigate a case. Remember that case where George Harrison was sued for 3 freaking notes on My Sweet Lord? And Men at work were sued by the owner of the Kooka Burra song for the flute part melody in their Men at work song......


Yes, the very first thing that came to mind when I read the original post was "Down Under" by Men At Work.

The interesting thing is that Larrikin Music - who purchased the rights apparently cheaply when they stumbled upon the availability - didn't even recognize the Kookaburra riff in the Down Under tune, even though it was written in 1980. An Australian Music quiz show 'Spicks and Specks' used the song as a panel question, I recall watching the episode, and that is where Larrikin Music saw an opportunity to profit...

So some thirty years later blatant plagiarism was uncovered. And, it only took 30 years for anybody to pick it up.

There is a history of the events on Wikipedia, at this link.

The saddest thing is that the lawsuit outcome resulted in the death of flautist Greg Ham, the guy who played the riff on the recording. It's sometimes better to keep the lawyers out.


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