When borrowing from oneself, it obviously doesn't matter. When borrowing from someone else, the issue is "how much". Obviously, one can't copyright one chord. Or a three or four chord progression. Or a sequence of 4 or 6 or 8 notes ... but where does one draw the line? Those 24 bars were pretty far over the line, I think. The borrowing was very likely inadvertant, but those 24 bars could hardly be considered "original". As I understand it, the suit was settled out of court. It sure sounds like IYCRMM to me, and it sure did to Lightfoot when he first heard it over the PA system at his health club.
quote:Originally posted by talbot10:
I"n April of 1987, Lightfoot filed a lawsuit against Michael Masser, alleging that Masser's song "The Greatest Love of All" (recorded by Whitney Houston) stole twenty-four bars from Lightfoot's 1969 hit "If You Could Read My Mind"
I think these things are likely accidents.
That does not mean you could still not sue someone of course but Gord has inadvertantly done it too in my opinion. Listen to the opening bars of "Spanish Moss". and tell me that is not Buddy Holly's "it's raining in my heart". It is the same meloday and chord progression.
Bill Hall
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Valerie Magee
Visit my GL web site at
gordonlightfoot.com and Cathy Cowette's site at
cathycowette.com