5/31/2023 0 Comments Lyrics la grange zz topDefendant asserts that the guitar riff in La Grange is substantially similar to that used in earlier musical compositions, such as John Lee Hooker’s Boogie Chillen and Norman Greenbaum’s Spirit in the Sky. Defendant has conceded that it copied La Grange, but challenges the originality and copyrightability of La Grange. Plaintiffs assert, without contradiction, that defendant Chrysler Corporation copied and used parts of plaintiffs’ song, La Grange, as the soundtrack to its promotional video for the new Plymouth Prowler and as background music when the Prowler was introduced at a press event in January 1996. To prevail on their claim of copyright infringement, plaintiffs must establish (1) ownership of the copyright to the infringed work and (2) copying by defendant. If, on the record taken as a whole, a rational trier of fact could not find in favor of the party opposing the motion, summary judgment should be granted. Summary judgment is warranted only if, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to plaintiffs, there is no genuine issue of material fact. This matter comes before the Court on plaintiffs’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment of Liability for Copyright Infringement. ( Words ? ZZ Top’s nonsense grunts and incoherent palavar… none of which is audible in the Chrysler commercial?) But Lasnik’s opinion suggests too, that he was influenced by his displeasure with the testimony of Chrysler’s witness Robert Walser which, Lasnik suggests, was tainted by inconsistency and arguably deceitful analysis. Siding with the plaintiff ZZ Top in this case against Chrysler, Judge Lasnik based his decision on the fact that the similarities between the two works extend beyond the guitar riff that ZZ Top, in turn, had copied from earlier works, and include guitar solos and words. Congress eventually enacted legislation to correct what many perceived as an unfair interpretation of the 1909 Copyright Statute in that dispute that found ZZ Top could not be liable for copyright infringement given that plaintiffs had placed - albeit unwittingly - “Boogie Chillun” into the public domain when they first released a recording of it. Howard Dean was probably thinking of ZZ Top fans when he made his much-regretted quip about appealing to “guys with Confederate flags on their pickup trucks.” (Howard who? Howard Dean lost to John Kerry the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination.) It is surprising that the parties in this case clashed rather than collaborated given that the consumers of the products of both likely share demographics.įour years before ZZ Top brought this action against Chrysler, La Cienega Music sued ZZ Top for its blatant appropriation of John Lee Hooker’s “Boogie Chillun” in ZZ Top’s “La Grange” (see La Cienega Music Co.
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