Comments on: Was That Your Idea?

By: heather

heather — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:40:58 +0000

Some people need do differentiate between inspiration and intellectual theft.

By: Warren Morrison

Warren Morrison — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 12:12:47 +0000

Wow thats quite interesting, I’m reading more on the discovery now. I guess it makes sense really as in societies people have the same wants and needs so similar products would be made independently.

By: shabina

shabina — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 14:29:46 +0000

I’m not surprised about Timbaland or the Hindi film industry, it’s so common everywhere as artists are getting lazy and don’t even care to give any credits to the original artists,I think it’s the least they can do!

By: Shobnah Golzar

Shobnah Golzar — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 01:12:44 +0000

Carmen, I wasn’t talking about stealing a song from an unknown and making millions, I see the music in the Hindi films more as a tongue in cheek reference… I still see it as plagiarism, but even to the songwriters it’s not worth pursuing as a court case.

By: Ian Taylor

Ian Taylor — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:01:59 +0000

Funny you should mention this, Men At Work have just hit the news for their hit ‘Down Under’.

They apparently ripped off song from Girl Guides called ‘Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gum Tree’. They are have been ordered to pay 60% and I believe that comes to £33 million according to Daily Mail.

That’s going to kill the band since they were pretty much a one hit wonder.

By: Carmen Singleton

Carmen Singleton — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:29:32 +0000

how can u really say that shobnah? stealing is stealing, it doesn’t matter whos done it, its still a crime. you cant condone one criminal and punish another…

By: Shobnah Golzar

Shobnah Golzar — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 02:50:12 +0000

It is indeed true about the blatant copyright infringements in Hindi filmi music. Whilst it is breaking the law, I think it appeals to us listeners who are familiar with the original work as a light hearted kind of joke, and not in the same vein as the bully Timbaland.

You have to remember that copyright laws aren’t really taken seriously in Eastern countries, and people will act on what they know they can get away with.

By: Hank S.

Hank S. — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:31:45 +0000

I think the judge was spot on, Stuart. The possibilities of melodies and chords may seem endless, but if you take a look at it in depth with the way the melody might work with the chords and the way everything relates with each other musically there is a bit of a limit than you might think.

By: Stuart Ryan

Stuart Ryan — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:36:55 +0000

Actually i totally agree about being influenced by what you listen to. To name 2 cases : Zeppelin were successfully sued for “whole lotta love” and another band – i think U2 – got away with as the judge said “there are only so many notes”.

I think the fear of “accidental plagiarism” has led a lot more people to experiment with unusual dynamics/instruments for the type of music traditionally associated with their field. As you say you can write something and someone will say how its sounds like this or that, i’ve done it myself as has the person i used to work with who had never heard the song i said it sounded like (or even heard of it).

By: Victoria Jenkins

Victoria Jenkins — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:13:55 +0000

I had no idea Do It was copied from another song! What a poor excuse too!

It’s not right for bigger artists to steal from smaller ones and not expect retaliation.

Vik