Billboard; Taylor Swift ‘Shake It Off’ Trial Alarms Legal Experts: “Makes Copyright Law Look Absurd” |
"There’s a lawsuit alleging that Taylor Swift stole the lyrics to “Shake It Off.” The pop star could win the case, but some legal experts tell Billboard they’re alarmed that the case is headed to trial at all."
Justin Beckner, Ultimate Guitar; How Led Zeppelin Gave Us All a Lesson in Copyright Law
"We often think of music as being a therapeutic, enjoyable, carefree world of creative expression, some of us decide to make our living in an industry built on those principles. That’s when things get very dark very quickly. Visions of rainbows and artistic freedom are crushed between binding contracts regarding the financial and legal terms of your intellectual property and the foaming mouth of the public ready to tear you apart because your music is too commercial. It can be a dark industry for anyone to navigate, especially those without law degrees.
Many litigations in the industry hinge on copyright law. So we sought out the aid of an expert in the field to help us understand the basics of copyright law using some high-profile case studies you have undoubtedly heard of. This article was written in collaboration with a copyright attorney, Rikki Mays-Reak, who helps us navigate the treacherous legal waters of the music industry...
With only 12 notes at our disposal in western music (I'm speaking in generality, of course), it's hard to imagine any combination of notes being so unique that it doesn’t sound like anything that has ever been recorded or composed in history of music. So these copyright lawsuits regarding intellectual property can be very complex and tricky, especially when you consider that it covers any improvised version of the song committed to some form of recording."
