Would Bright Tunes v. Harrisongs be decided differently today?
If you haven’t seen “Rip! A Remix Manifesto”, stop now, click on the link, and go watch it for free. It’s good. And the filmmakers encourage people to download it for free (or pay whatever you want; I got it free). Good things that are also free are awesome. So go watch it, and come back to finish reading this article.
If you have seen “Rip!”, or you just kept reading like most people did (seriously. it’s free. go watch it), do you think the 1971 Bright Tunes Music v. Harrisongs lawsuit, in which George Harrison was sued for copyright infringement because the chord progression to “My Sweet Lord” is similar to the Chiffons’ “He’s So Fine,”would be settled differently today?
Let’s review. Harrison’s classic tune:
is it just me, or do the Kelso hair and Yusuf Islam beard just not go together well?
Anyways, here’s the Chiffons:
The judge ruled against Harrison and he paid damages for copyright infringement. I think it would be totally decided differently today – you don’t see Madonna suing Lady Gaga because “Born This Way” is similar to “Express Yourself” – and I think these two songs are just as similar as Harrison and the Chiffons.
What do you think?
