True. There have been some odd decisions in recent times, but they are not the precedent yet, and won't be if the laws that define copyright are followed.
Malmsteen’s riff in the Alcatrazz song Jet To Jet always sounded suspiciously like Rainbow's song Spotlight Kid. Didn’t even bother to change the key.
'All Summer Long' samples from those two songs with songwriters credited - so not fair to say 'stolen'
See my other response - Kid Rock sampled both 'Werewolves' and 'SH Alabama' and credited the writers of those songs - so not a ripoff.
Coolio even said that he had to remove some profanity from the lyrics since Stevie vetoed it "I had a few vulgarities...and he wasn't with that. So I changed it. Once he heard it, he thought it was incredible."(from Wikipedia that cites an interview in BillBoard)
Also, don’t know if it’s just a common chord progression, but Webber also used as the opening of phantom of the opera, the chord progression after wings chorus of..Mary had a little lamb.
I think you're getting your Hendrix songs mixed up. "Dreamer" catches a similar feel of "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)," but it's not a direct rip of the Hendrix riff.
Parts of the bassline riff/melody in "Hey Joe" the cover by Hendrix, were lifted for "Whole Lotta Love" by Zeppelin. 0:26 - 0:30 seconds, is the best example as Jimi's guitar follows the bass melody.
Okay, but Hendrix recorded his in 1966 while Zep recorded theirs in 1969. Besides, that's a common blues phrase, regardless. I think we're getting plumb silly now (about 10 pages back).
No, they have a similar sound but different notes, different rhythm. And anyone who watched Saturday morning cartoons in the 60s knows that line. And I assume that Powerhouse was public domain at that point. Yes, that ruling was just wrong. I would call that an Error of Law since the ruling didn't conform solely to what the Copyright Law describes. Thicke/Williams/et al should have appealed.
i have worked prosecution and defence and mediation as an expert witness in forensic accounting and am often astounded at the decisions brought down.