Under the Copyright Act of 1976, which took effect in 1978, anytime a person writes or records an original piece of music, a copyright automatically exists. 'Of all the kinds of law I've practiced over the years, copyright law is by far the most metaphysical,' Fakler said. What we learned underscores the gap between how casual music fans think about music, and how it's treated as a matter of law. In those cases, and in most disputes alleging copyright infringement of a musical composition, a few perennial questions arise: When can a person be said to own something like a chord progression or melody? And in a world where everyone is inspired by someone else, where is the line between plagiarism and influence? To help us answer these questions in plain english, we spoke to Paul Fakler, a veteran copyright lawyer with a specialty in music law, of the law firm Arent Fox.

It's a tradition that continues today - with recent disputes between Tom Petty and Sam Smith (settled amicably out of court) and the Marvin Gaye family and Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams, T.I., et al (currently at trial) - putting the modern music industry on high alert. For nearly two centuries, courts in the United States have heard cases from songwriters seeking to defend their compositions from thieves, cheats, and liars of all stripes. But musicians have long relied on the law to protect their creations.

Intro : Dm F Uh huh C extra cheese Dm F Uh huh C save a peice for me Verse: F pizza, party at your house Dm i went, just to check it out Bb C nineteen extra larges, what a shame knowone came F just us eating all alown Dm you said take the pizza home Bb C no sence letting all this go to to waste so then i faced PRECHORUS Bb pizza all day, and every day Dm cheese round the clock, its getting me blocked Bb and i sure dont care, for irregularities C (let it ring) tell me CHORUS: Dm Bb F Why'd you have to and make me so constipated C couse right now id do Dm Bb F anything at all to get my bowles evacuated C in the bathroom Dm Bb and i sit, and i wait, and i strain F C and i sweat, and i clench and i feel the pain oh, Gm Bb (let it ring) should i take laxitive or have my colon irrigated No no no Verse 2: F i was, feeling pretty down Dm till my, girlfriend came around Bb C were just, so alike in every way, ive gotta say F in fact, i just thought i might Dm pop the, question there that night Bb C i was, kissing her so tenderly, but woe is me PRECHORUS Bb who would have guest, her family crest Dm i suddenly spied, tattoed on her thigh Bb and sun of a gun, its just like the one on me C (let it ring) tell me CHORUS: Dm Bb F how was i supposed to know that we were both related C belive me if i Dm Bb F new she was my cousin we never would have dated C what to do now Dm Bb should i go ahead and propose F C and get hitched, and have kids with eleven toes Gm Bb (let it ring) and move to allabamma where that kind of thing is tollerated No no no F No no (no no) Dm No no (no no) Bb No No (no no) C No.Music is art, and art is for people - not lawyers.

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