Eddie Vedder is being sued.

Magic

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According to the Wall Street Journal, Eddie Vedder is being sued by Gordon Peterson the songwriter of the song "Hard Sun", which Eddie Vedder recorded on the soundtrack to a movie Directed by Sean Penn, "Into the Wild". Also named in the lawsuit is Universal Music, the company that has released the soundtrack.

You can read more about the lawsuit here.

you decide is it close enought to be infringement? :

Peterson Original



Vedder Version

 

annie

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I think what you mean is "is it different enough to be infringement". The movie version is a cover so of course they are identical, save for a few words in the lyrics. And that is what the suit is about.

Copyright infringement (or copyright violation) is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works covered by copyright law. Vedder allegedly had a license to record the cover for the film. Wiki gives full credit to Peterson for composing the song and so does Amazon so I assume that Peterson got his credits on the soundtrack.

"Vedder's cover of the song "Hard Sun" (originally written by Gordon Peterson who performed under the name of Indio on the 1989 album, Big Harvest) features backing vocals by Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney."

The question is whether changing a few words in the lyrics is a violation of copyright. I doubt it.
 

0000

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I don't think that is grounds for copyright infringement, if he had the license to record and put out the song, and he gave credit to the original writer he obtained the license from, then I'm pretty sure he can really do what he wants with it as long as he does not claim it as his own

I'd never heard the song before, but I like it, so thanks Magic :tongue:
 

Magic

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According to the lawsuit, Peterson did not give permission for the use of the song, which is why lyrics have been changed. Universal Music gave the permission to use the song, which is why they are named in the lawsuit. Peterson is claiming the lyric changes have eroded the original song.

It will be interesting to see how long this drags out in court and how much "dough" it will take to settle the case.


I dunno about the lawsuit and what the courts will decide, but the movie is fantastic!
 
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LG

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I hope it gets settled faster than the old keyboard player vs. Procul Harem....that one just finished a few months ago after about 30 years of legal hijinks.:bonk:
 

Tiny Tim

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Peterson is credited on the record so even if he didn't directly give permission to Vedder, he must have given Universal permission to distribute the rights. There's no lawsuit here. Interesting that he waited a couple of years until the royalty checks stopped rolling in.
 

Magic

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Peterson is credited on the record so even if he didn't directly give permission to Vedder, he must have given Universal permission to distribute the rights. There's no lawsuit here. Interesting that he waited a couple of years until the royalty checks stopped rolling in.

That is what this is all about, no doubt. The money. Peterson did wait two years to file, almost to the last date the law would allow a suit.

I wonder though, if Peterson really has a leg to stand on, maybe Universal did give out permission without his knowledge *just giving him the benefit of doubt*
 

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