Think Tom Petty's gonna sue?

[The Mask]

srsly though, i don't think it's even possible anymore to come up with a few albums of material without copying something someone has done before. at least in a basic band setting. over 50-60 years you're bound to come across plenty of stuff people have done before, cause there's only so much you can do.

[Kane Knight]

Originally Posted by The Mask srsly though, i don't think it's even possible anymore to come up with a few albums of material without copying something someone has done before. at least in a basic band setting. over 50-60 years you're bound to come across plenty of stuff people have done before, cause there's only so much you can do.

Well, one of the major things is how much it copies. most of the claims that something is ripped off really don't count as copyright infringement or whatever. Since you can't copyright an arrangement, a progression, etc., they can only come up in copyright cases as supplements to other issues (realistically, that is. I could sue your pants off for using a C-E-G progression, but I'd likely never even make it to court). Leads, solos, vocals, are all things that are easier todeal with an easier to prove.

The real exception is riffs, because riffs are often generic, anyway, It's hard to call them intellectual property, as you're ripping off black men from 70 years ago. The easiest example is White Stripes fans whining that Jet ripped off "Screwdriver" for "Be My Girl," And Iggy Pop fans whining the stripes ripped it off from him. That is such a rudimentary blues lick it's not funny, and there's no way the Stripes, Pop, or Jet came up with it themselves. Is it stolen? No, not really. I mean another song had that sound, but it's like copyrighting a scale.

...Dibs on D minor, G major, and C dorian.