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Mentors John and JoAnn Braheny
Q: How do copyrights work in relation to melody, or what is the latest legal opinion in that area? I'm a little familiar with the George Harrison "My Sweet Lord" case but with so many songs out there I'm sure some melodies are the same without a writer consciously knowing it, like a standard 1-4-5 Chuck Berry type melody, so how does that work? What if I use a song's melody and rewrite the all new lyrics and make it a whole new song, but with the same melody? What if I change it or the melody a little, and make it a 6 line chorus instead of a 4, or if I change or add a solo or a different break?
A. Copyright infringement is a Federal offense. It usually ends up in court where a jury decides that there is "substantial similarity" of the melodies in question. They will bring musicologists to testify that it is the same melody. None of the changes you mention in your question will make a difference to the jury who can hear a "substantial similarity." Another requirement for deciding an infringement is whether the infringing party had "access" to the infringed music. In Harrison's case, it was obvious that he had an opportunity to have heard the earlier Chiffon's hit "He's So Fine" and though he didn't deliberately copy the song, he was nonetheless guilty. Chord progressions and titles are not copyrightable.