Reply #46: There have been clear cases of ripoff one of which I will use as a negative to prove the positive...

[originalpckelly]

Timbaland used a piece of music, a chiptune called Acidjazzed Evening, in the creation of Do It. It was proved that he had downloaded the song and the piece used is an exact duplicate of the song with an delay effect added. It is a clear example of copyright infringement, in which evidence supported the known and intentional infringement of Tempest's song Acidjazzed Evening.

It is an innocent duplication, of a very bland and indistinct melody. The arrangement of the two songs is different, the melody in one is played by a guitar, and in the other it's a vocal. And the melody of Satriani's work is not exactly the same as Coldplay's, it suggests that it's not an exact duplication.

The chord progression is also indistinct, and the instruments playing it are different.

Put yourself in the other position, what if you wrote something that someone else did on accident? Are you absolutely certain the melody you wrote in your composition is not duplicated unknown to yourself in other works? What if someone sued you for it, for all the profits you made off of it? But you didn't steal it, you really honestly accidentally wrote the same thing.

There cannot be a liability landmine or it will kill creativity.

I write music, but even though I merely attempt to be professional, I've had no success yet. I'm afraid one day I'll write something on accident that someone else wrote. I mean if the only definition of copyright is a melody that's almost similar and the same chord progression, then it's going to happen.

There are many dimensions to a piece of music, and those various dimensions should be considered in copyright.