I'd have to respectfully disagree that this case must rest on the copyright of "chord progressions":
From the US Copyright Office Compendium 300:
COMPENDIUM: Chapter300
Copyrightable Authorship: What Can Be Registered
313.4(D)... (NOTE: some material excised by me as extraneous)
"...For the same reasons, the Office cannot register a claim in common sayings, diatonic and chromatic musical scales, or common chord progressions that merely consist of standard harmonies or common musical phrases. "
When I copyright my original songs, I include the chords that I use. The copyright office specifically states the chords are extraneous and only the copyright to the lyrics will be enforced. Note this applies to my "Composer" copyrights. I suspect this case will rest on a different type of copyright, that of the original "Sound Recording" copyright of "Let's Get It On" vs the "Sound Recording" copyright by Mr. Sheeran or his label of his song. Sound Recording copyrights are where an artist can secure rights to the arrangement of a song, and any subsequent rearrangement, which may be the actual issue in this case.
So that’s actually what’s fascinating here. My understanding is that since this is before 1978 you couldn’t copyright the recording. Only the song. So this lawsuit is specifically about the sheet music that was submitted to the copyright office in 1973. Nothing about the recording is at play
That may change the dynamic, certainly. Artists may avoid even listening to, much less covering pre-1978 songs then to be able to say truthfully they relied on the copyright office’s scrutiny of their sound recordings to avoid infringement. My most recent sound recording copyright got really complicated in a hurry, but the copyright specialist was very helpful (after a lot of back and forth) in offering an elegant solution. I was expecting faceless bureaucracy, but it was exactly the opposite. I am hopeful the Sheeran case will provide some clarity and I’m in complete agreement with you that it at least appears absurd.
I'd have to respectfully disagree that this case must rest on the copyright of "chord progressions":
From the US Copyright Office Compendium 300:
COMPENDIUM: Chapter300
Copyrightable Authorship: What Can Be Registered
313.4(D)... (NOTE: some material excised by me as extraneous)
"...For the same reasons, the Office cannot register a claim in common sayings, diatonic and chromatic musical scales, or common chord progressions that merely consist of standard harmonies or common musical phrases. "
When I copyright my original songs, I include the chords that I use. The copyright office specifically states the chords are extraneous and only the copyright to the lyrics will be enforced. Note this applies to my "Composer" copyrights. I suspect this case will rest on a different type of copyright, that of the original "Sound Recording" copyright of "Let's Get It On" vs the "Sound Recording" copyright by Mr. Sheeran or his label of his song. Sound Recording copyrights are where an artist can secure rights to the arrangement of a song, and any subsequent rearrangement, which may be the actual issue in this case.
So that’s actually what’s fascinating here. My understanding is that since this is before 1978 you couldn’t copyright the recording. Only the song. So this lawsuit is specifically about the sheet music that was submitted to the copyright office in 1973. Nothing about the recording is at play
That may change the dynamic, certainly. Artists may avoid even listening to, much less covering pre-1978 songs then to be able to say truthfully they relied on the copyright office’s scrutiny of their sound recordings to avoid infringement. My most recent sound recording copyright got really complicated in a hurry, but the copyright specialist was very helpful (after a lot of back and forth) in offering an elegant solution. I was expecting faceless bureaucracy, but it was exactly the opposite. I am hopeful the Sheeran case will provide some clarity and I’m in complete agreement with you that it at least appears absurd.
Totally interested to see how it plays out. Gotta check out your newsletter