NotTV: Iconic song accused of being part-stolen...

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Bob Jersey

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May 21, 2014, 11:35:11 AM5/21/14
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Bloomberg BusinessWeek (link): "It’s no secret Led Zeppelin borrowed from blues and folk musicians in what it said was part of an organic tradition that created new, original works," wrote Vernon Silver last week... it's one of those borrowings, allegedly from the group Spirit's instrumental "Taurus" on its eponymous début album in 1968, over which member Mark Andes and the executor for writer Randy California are seeking a piece of the zillions "Stairway to Heaven" has earned Jimmy Page lo these many decades... if you're good at reading music, a linked game presents measures from both tunes challenging players to determine which is from which...

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M-D November

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May 21, 2014, 2:59:28 PM5/21/14
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There has to be some sort of statute of limitations on a claim like this, right? It's not like Stairway is a new song...even assuming Spirit wanted to wait a bit to see if the song would be a hit, it's been 43 years since the song was released...

Doug Fields

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May 21, 2014, 4:07:18 PM5/21/14
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A statute of limitation applies to criminal offenses, and is pretty cut and dry: you have a finite time period from the date a crime occurs in which to charge somebody for that crime.  Wait too long and the charges simply cannot be filed…the crime will never be prosecuted.

 

In civil suits, the term is “period of prescription” and it’s much more complicated and, as it applies to copyright infringement, almost maddeningly so.  Very generally speaking, in the United States the period of prescription on copyright infringement is three years *from the time that the infringement ends* (back to this in a moment), but that time period can vary depending on the state(s) in which the claim is filed. 

 

So, in the case of a musical recording, the period of prescription clock wouldn’t start ticking until all of the record companies that have been licensed to produce copies of the recording have stopped production and recalled all of their albums back from the stores.  Obviously in the example of “Stairway to Heaven” the Led Zeppelin IV album is still being actively sold today, so the period of prescription doesn’t apply and Spirit is free to sue.

 

There are other complications to be considered as well, but this is a really dry subject to try to explain, much less expect anybody to read, so I’m going to leave it at that.  J

 

Doug Fields

Tampa, FL

Kevin M.

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May 21, 2014, 7:11:20 PM5/21/14
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On Wed, May 21, 2014 at 11:59 AM, M-D November <mdnov...@gmail.com> wrote:
There has to be some sort of statute of limitations on a claim like this, right? It's not like Stairway is a new song...even assuming Spirit wanted to wait a bit to see if the song would be a hit, it's been 43 years since the song was released...

I felt the same when they went after Colin Hay for the flute solo in "Down Under," but alas Doug is correct.  



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Kevin M. (RPCV)

Joe Hass

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May 22, 2014, 1:33:00 PM5/22/14
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On Wed, May 21, 2014 at 3:07 PM, Doug Fields <do...@flids.net> wrote:

 

There are other complications to be considered as well, but this is a really dry subject to try to explain, much less expect anybody to read, so I’m going to leave it at that.  J


Like that's stopped anyone on this board before. 

Bob Jersey

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Jun 23, 2016, 4:10:40 PM6/23/16
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Moi, May 21, 2014:

Bloomberg BusinessWeek (link): "It’s no secret Led Zeppelin borrowed from blues and folk musicians in what it said was part of an organic tradition that created new, original works," wrote Vernon Silver last week... it's one of those borrowings, allegedly from the group Spirit's instrumental "Taurus" on its eponymous début album in 1968, over which member Mark Andes and the executor for writer Randy California are seeking a piece of the zillions "Stairway to Heaven" has earned Jimmy Page lo these many decades... if you're good at reading music, a linked game presents measures from both tunes challenging players to determine which is from which...

Billboard (link): Jury finds for Zep. No substantial similarity.

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Tom Wolper

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Jun 23, 2016, 4:22:06 PM6/23/16
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When the case was first announced I went to Spotify and listened to Taurus. I didn't think they were at all alike but nobody's paying me to be an expert witness.

Doug Eastick

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Jun 23, 2016, 4:51:40 PM6/23/16
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There was a good 13 minute segment on the CBC about this last week.  Includes interview with Rik Emmet from rock band Triumph.





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Kevin M.

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Jun 23, 2016, 5:52:59 PM6/23/16
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The other band has obvious grounds for appeal, inasmuch as the jury wasn't allowed to hear the other song during the trial; their decision was based entirely on sheet music.
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Tom Wolper

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Jun 23, 2016, 6:16:23 PM6/23/16
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On Thu, Jun 23, 2016 at 5:52 PM, Kevin M. <drunkba...@gmail.com> wrote:
The other band has obvious grounds for appeal, inasmuch as the jury wasn't allowed to hear the other song during the trial; their decision was based entirely on sheet music.

I agree with the court on that point. If Taurus were in a different key, played at a different tempo, or there were a producer's effects obscuring similarities that could unfairly influence the jury. Sheet music is the only fair way.

Steve Timko

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Jun 23, 2016, 6:29:40 PM6/23/16
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Jimmy Page stole a lot of music, but I don't think he stole this song.
The Spirit album with "Taurus" also has a song called "Fresh Garbage,"
an overlooked gem.

Bob Jersey

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Aug 18, 2019, 2:32:28 PM8/18/19
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Panel of the 9th Circuit court grants the executor a new hearing, finding the previous judge tilted the case against him in the way the jury was charged, and by refusing to let him compare the tunes audibly to jurors.


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Bob Jersey

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Mar 10, 2020, 11:59:56 AM3/10/20
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The full 9th Circuit finds for Zep, sacking the "inverse ratio rule" it's applied for north-of-40 years...


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Kevin M.

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Mar 10, 2020, 12:06:55 PM3/10/20
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This is one of those instances where the intricacies of the law gets in the way of common sense. They weren’t allowed to play the songs in court because the copyright rules of the day now only apply to the sheet music. If you want to know if something sounds alike, you listen to them. To not do so... to order people to decide without doing so... that’s just asinine. 

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Bob Jersey

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Oct 5, 2020, 5:53:31 PM10/5/20
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The Supreme Court turns down a final appeal.

Moi, March 10th this year:
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