Originally Posted By: David Snyder
I wish I could find a DEFINITIVE RULING on the copyright issue.

I was always told about the 8 note thing (by even lawyers) but now researching it a few seconds ago to double-check I cannot find the law. What is the law? How do they interpret it?

I see that from Marvin Gay'e last winning victory the jury awarded the settlement because somebody copied his "vibe."

http://www.vulture.com/2015/03/what-the-blurred-lines-ruling-means-for-music.html

That is scary. Is there a law or isn't there a law. If so, what is it? If you can win a settlement because someone says you stole their ghost I am going to put my guitars in the closet. That is crazy.


So from everything I've read on the topic, it's all subjective and there is no "hard and fast" rules regarding what constitutes infringement.

George Harrison lost due to 3 notes.... way past the 8 note thing. My Sweet Lord / He's So Fine.

In my tongue-in-cheek post, what I said was really not that far from the truth. There are folks who's job it is to sit around all day and comb the internet for copyright violations on photos and music. All in the hope that they will find a violation and the company they work for sends a threatening letter demanding payment for the alleged violation. Remember the song sharing sites? So how difficult is it for a composer to find a new song that copies his/her melody line or lyric line given the AI search engines and apps created specifically to do that? Not very hard. Do they go after folks like us who have nothing in the bank? Not very often. Yeah, on occasion they send a letter that demands a couple thousand for the "past due licensing"..... but now the big stars, filling arenas and selling millions of copies..... oh yeah... deep pockets.... so.... 3 notes, a groove, a vibe, a bass line, a drum fill, it's all fair game and if they can get a dumb bunch of jurors to agree, it becomes the big star's worst nightmare financially and in a PR sense as well.

BTW: that lawyer doing lunch thing was taken from real life. I was in a car accident. My fault. No one was hurt, but that didn't stop the other 2 people from attempting to sue me for everything I had. They wanted a full financial disclosure and a jury trial. My lawyer said lets settle with them. It was arranged by the insurance co without my consent. They were both paid off with waaaaaaay more than either of them deserved, but as my lawyer pointed out to me.... Do you really want to walk into a South Carolina court room with a jury and see them both sitting in wheelchairs as we try to defend you? Nahhh.... I see your point.

3 notes....4 notes.....or 8 notes...... only a jury will decide if you're going to pay or not.

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