Pribek

Funkmeister uber alles, George Clinton, just won an interesting copyright infringement lawsuit. From the Tennessean…

Bridgeport Music, the company that administers Clinton’s work, sued Universal Music Group for copyright infringement over those words in 2001. At issue: the 1998 release of “D.O.G. in Me,” a song by hip-hop and R&B group Public Announcement, one of Universal’s artists. In the song, Bridgeport claimed, Public Announcement wrongfully used the words “bow wow wow, yippie yo, yippie yea,” as well as a repetitive use of the word “dog” in ways that infringe on Clinton’s copyright…

…A federal jury agreed with Bridgeport and awarded the company about $89,000 in damages.

Hunh!!??

I kind of get the “bow wow wow, yippie yo, yippie yea” thing…kind of. But, does George Clinton own the word “dog”?

Here’s what Clinton’s lawyer, Richard Busch sayeth…

“It confirms that even the use of the word ‘dog,’ if used in an unusual way, can be an original part of a composition” and protected under copyright law, he said.

If you like, you be the judge. First up, “D.O.G. In Me” by Public Announcement then, the Clinton opus.

As always, do the dog catcher and click pause on the music player located in the side bar before playing the YouTube.

Apparently, Joe Satriani and Coldplay have settled. From Billboard…

Guitar hero Joe Satriani and British pop-rock band Coldplay have settled their legal entanglements and the guitarist’s lawsuit alleging copyright infringement has been dismissed, Satriani’s representative confirmed to Billboard today. While details of the case remain sealed, legal sources tell Billboard a financial settlement between the two parties may have been reached. Coldplay will not be required to admit to any wrongdoing.

“Legal sources tell Billboard a financial settlement between the two parties may have been reached.”

Good “source” there Billboard.

So, it will be interesting. I guess, to see if Satch is credited as a writer on the Coldplay song.

Did Joe get what he wanted?

Well, here’s my favorite part of the article…

Through his representative, Satriani declined to comment on today’s developments.

You know…that’s when you know you’ve really made it; when you can hire a guy to say “no comment”.

You know the part on the Ellen DeGeneres Show where they play some song and Ellen does her little dance?

Well, it turns out that the show has never payed any royalties for the songs they use and now, they are getting sued. From the AP…

According to the suit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Nashville, when representatives of the recording companies asked defendants why they hadn’t obtained licenses to use the songs, defendants said they didn’t “roll that way.”

“As sophisticated consumers of music, Defendants knew full well that, regardless of the way they rolled, under the Copyright Act, and under state law for the pre-1972 recordings, they needed a license to use the sound recordings lawfully,” the suit states.

“Defendants knew full well that, regardless of the way they rolled”!!!

Who knew Nashville music lawyers have senses of humor?

But seriously, this is the type of thing where the public opinion is often along the lines of; “Here we go again, the greedy record labels are trying to squash a little harmless fun.”

In truth, even greedy record labels employ a lot of regular folks and, Ellen, who cries about puppies, is taking food off their tables. But mostly, in these cases, I think of the songwriters, who don’t reap the benefits of the spotlight, not getting their just due from an entity that makes millions.