“Stairway to Copyright Infringement”- Step Two in Spirit's uphill climb to prove Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven' infringes its copyright

Followers of this blog and classic rock fans everywhere with a keen interest in the nuances of copyright infringement will recall that Led Zeppelin is being sued by the band Spirit for copyright infringement based on Zeppelin's immortal song which Spirit alleges lifted portions from its guitar instrumental, Taurus.  The judge in the infringement suit has just now cleared the way for the 'Stairway to Heaven' copyright case to proceed to trial next week (reported on WTOP.COM).  

This morning, I again listened to both the introduction of Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven and Spirit's Tarsus instrumental (links to both at the bottom of this post).  While there are similarities, there are differences as well.  As one commentary to my original post put it, the Spirit instrumental is a standard chord progression whereas the introduction to Stairway to Heaven is much more than that.

The group, Axis of Awesome, very creatively demonstrated that a series of four chords makes up hundreds of popular songs, tens of which are featured in their song "Four Chords" (link below).  Yet most would agree that each of the songs featured are themselves unique creative works.

Previously reported in my 2014 post entitled, “Stairway to Copyright Infringement”- Step One in Spirit's uphill climb to prove Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven' infringes its copyright", Led Zeppelin was sued by the band Spirit for copyright infringement based on Zeppelin's immortal song which Spirit alleges lifted portions from its guitar instrumental, Taurus.  Spirit has now advanced past step two, convincing the judge that there is sufficient evidence to conduct a trial for copyright infringement.

Turning to substance of the debate, does "Stairway to Heaven" infringe Spirit's Taurus guitar instrumental?  In order to infringe an original work's copyright, the alleged infringing work must be deemed "substantially similar" to the original work and the alleged infringer has to have had "access" to the original work.  In this case, "access" would not appear to be an issue as Led Zeppelin and Spirit toured together in 1968 and 1969. 



Below are links to YouTube clips from Spirit's "Taurus" and  Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven."  See if you think that the opening notes in Stairway to Heaven are substantially similar to the middle guitar instrumental in Spirit's "Taurus" (e.g. starting around 0:43).  Since most are familiar with the iconic guitar progression in "Stairway to Heaven," I present Taurus first.  Please let OP-IP know what you think.

© Stephen J. Weyer 2016

Send email feedback- sweyer@stites.com

Bitter Truth Behind the Cadbury Chocolate Import Ban

United States' lovers of authentic, original British Cadbury chocolate will have to book a flight to the UK to enjoy the cherished confection.  Hershey's, manufacturing licensee of Cadbury's chocolate in the U.S., uses a different recipe than the one Cadbury uses in the UK.  Not surprising to many, the first ingredient to Hershey's made U.S. Cadbury chocolate is sugar, whereas milk is the first ingredient in Briton-made Cadbury.  Chocolate connoisseurs say that Briton-made Cadbury chocolate tastes creamer and is smother than U.S. Cadbury chocolate made by Hershey's.  These British chocolate aficionados argue that U.S. Cadbury chocolate is pure humbug.

Hershey's was concerned that if Briton-made Cadbury chocolate, made with a different recipe, were imported into the U.S., Americans would be confused and mislead by two different chocolate experiences.  As the U.S. trademark licensee of Cadbury, Hershey's believes that two different tasting chocolate would negatively affect its licensed intellectual property.

However, as a lover of chocolate, might there not be a middle ground betwixt unrestricted Briton-made Cadbury flooding into the U.S. and a complete abolition of the milky-sweet delight?  Can't we have our cake and eat it too?  Options include special labeling of U.S. imported Briton-made Cadbury chocolate so that unsuspecting U.S. consumers who like their current U.S. (Hershey's made) Cadbury chocolate will not be confused with Briton-made Cadbury chocolate.

© Stephen J. Weyer 2015

Send email feedback- sweyer@stites.com

Attempts to Register Intellectual Property Rights in the Slogan "JE SUIS CHARLIE" have Missed the Mark

At last count, over 120 trademark applications have been filed in the French trademark office for the phrase "JE SUIS CHARLIE."  Included is an application by Joachim Roncin who is a graphic designer in Paris who claims that he is the true creator of the now ubiquitous phrase and the graphic design (shown to the left) of JE SUIS (white) above CHARLIE (gray) on a square black background.

The French trademark office, the INPI, issued a press release (in French) saying that it has rejected over 50 registrations based on a "lack of distinctiveness" in the phrase.  Translation: (into both English and plain non-legalese language), the phrase, "JE SUIS CHARLIE", does not qualify for trademark protection since the phrase is "too general" and not associated with (or identify) a specific origin (originator, owner) of goods or services.  As reported by a colleague, Amy Cahill of a sister publication of OP-IP, Trademarkology, in her article "Lawyers Make Good Lovers", it is not always so easy to secure trademark protection for slogans and phrases.  Examples of registered trademark phrases/slogans which are associated with a good or service include "You deserve a break today" and "i'm lovin' it" both for McDonald's and "JUST DO IT" for Nike.

Although JE SUIS CHARLIE may miss the mark for trademark protection, Joachim Roncin has other intellectual property protection avenues to pursue.  For example, the JE SUIS CHARLIE logo (shown above) is entitled to copyright protection for the artistic expression of the layout, e.g. the white font JE SUIS over gray CHARLIE on black square background.  In addition, design registration (e.g. European design registration (OHIM) and U.S. design patent protection) may be available to cover the design if applied to a specific article of manufacture or product.

© Stephen J. Weyer 2015

Send email feedback- sweyer@stites.com