Eddie Vedder Sued For Changing Lyrics On A Song
from the what's-infringing-about-that? dept
Usually when you see copyright infringement claims, it's for copying something that someone else held a copyright on, but THREsq points us to a case where Canadian songwriter, Gordon Peterson, is suing singer Eddie Vedder for supposedly changing lyrics in a version Vedder did of Peterson's song "Hard Sun." Assuming that the song was properly licensed (which is also in dispute, but that seems to be a separate issue), it's difficult to see what sort of copyright infringement claim there would then be for modifying the song. After all, the modifications wouldn't be covered by Peterson's copyright at all. But, alas, this is what you get with today's "ownership culture," where people just assume more ownership rights over something than they actually have under the law.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: copyright, eddie vedder, gordon peterson, lyrics
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Licensing
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Re: Licensing
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Huh...
Is there an anti-mushmouth clause in the licensing contract?
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Re: Huh...
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Re: Huh...
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I guess is Steve Miller ever catches me singing
"Fly like a Beagle" I'm screwed.
Wait wait wait has anyone told Weird Al about this?
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Re:
PETA, however, might take issue with you throwing beagles out of high-rise windows to see how they fly...
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Re: Re:
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Re: Wierd Al and copyright
The second is that he *asks* before doing so.
The third is that his company also pays a licensing fee.
One idiot pair of singers tried to claim that he never got permission for the parody of one of their "hits."
His lawyer's answer was very short and to the point: "They cashed the check."
So far I am aware, the only performer to actually tell Yankovitc hhat they did *not* want him doing a parody was Prince. Which request he honored.
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Re: Re: Wierd Al and copyright
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Re: Re: Re: Wierd Al and copyright
did Coolio get permission from Stevie Wonder to rip off Past Time Paradise? If Weird Al was going to ask anyone for permission, it should have been Stevie Wonder... It's my understanding that Stevie wasn't too thrilled about Coolio using his song... Could Coolio be more of a hypocrite on this?
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An explanation
I could be wrong, and I have no particular view on this issue - I haven't heard the original song and I don't remember Vedder's version. But that's probably the basis for the suit.
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Re: An explanation
The suit states, "Vedder altered certain key lyrics of 'Hard Sun'... eroding the integrity of the composition."
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answer
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It's bound to take your life.
There's a bathroom on the right.
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with broken arms...
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Re:
My Swedish friend
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Re: Re:
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another runner in the night...
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Weird Al
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Moral rights
From the article:
This is clearly a reference to moral rights. According to the Bern Convention,
Peterson is Canadian, and moral rights are enshrined in Canadian copyright law. Although US has ratified the Bern Convention, it has failed to live up to its obligations by enacting protection for moral rights. I say this not because I think it should, but because it gives lie to claims that international obligations require maximalist copyright laws elsewhere. (I am not a lawyer.)
The consensus of the Canadian fair copyright group of which I am a member appears to be that while the moral right of attribution should be protected, the right of integrity is questionable at best and may pose an unwarranted barrier to freedom of expression.
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Re: Moral rights
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Aside from Sec. 106A of U.S. law, however, which applies to a narrow set of works of visual art, U.S. copyright law doesn't protect moral rights. This (and, of course, fair use) is one of the few areas where U.S. law is less strict than international norms. It is therefore curious that the artist would elect to proceed in a U.S. court. He may ask the court to apply Canadian law (a reach, at best).
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weird AL Dan Bull
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the Uni licensing issue, well, who knows... don't know why their lawyers would drop the ball...
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Or if in covering something like "yellow ledbetter" you guess wrong at what he was mumbling about?
What if you miss notes completely and sing off key or the version you release sucks...have you then ruined the integrity?
Are there precedents already set in Canada for interpreting the Bern Convention?
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the most amusing part
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"It would be against the law"
I doubt that's correct, but it's commonly believed.
And while we're on the subject
East bound and down
Loaded up and trucking
We're gonna do
what they say can't be done
We got it on with a goat
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