Green Day hit with lawsuit

[nitrobro]

Green Day have been hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit over the title track of their massive selling 2004 album 'American Idiot'.

Paul McPike from Oregon in the US claimed he wrote the lyrics and melodies to the song in 1992.

McPike filed a two-page complaint in the US District Court. Making up part of the evidence is a copy of 'American Idiot' he has submitted and a claim that the words Green Day vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong sings on the album don't match those printed in the liner notes.

McPike told Oregon's Mail Tribune paper: "It was just disbelief every time I heard it on the radio."

He claims that he has written several letters to the band and their label Warner Bros Records, but never received a reply to his allegations.

McPike is seeking a share of the profits from the album as well as the 2005 DVD/CD package 'Bullet In A Bible'.

 

[ala_carte]

omgosh i though punk rockers stayed true to themselves?

 

[Slash04]

GreEn DaY PuNk W1LL NeVa DIe!!!


And i'd think the guy's mental... Haha!

 

[df]

Did this dude escape from an asylum or something?

 

[newbie100]

strange?

 

[bhp_factor]

maybe this mcpike guy jsut wants to get fame or money by doing all this. but then you never know. haha

 

[DoubleDecker]

I am not surprised... Like i mentioned in another thread, most of us are guarding our tracks very tightly.

As wannabes for the music industries, sometimes we send out demo and probably project bones, just to let some folks have a feel of it and probably ask for suggestions. When the track somehow circulate around, someone bound to pick it up and get it done commercially.

Moreover, if it was indeed true that the track was written in 1992, some probably assumed that since it's so long ago and went unpublished, they could use it without worries.

2 different individuals with probably the same exact melody, or same exact lyrics etc, what are the chances of these? Go figure...

DD

 

[mero]

Eh I think you guys tend to overlook this point

McPike filed a two-page complaint in the US District Court. Making up part of the evidence is a copy of 'American Idiot' he has submitted and a claim that the words Green Day vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong sings on the album don't match those printed in the liner notes.

He submitted a copy of Greenday's album as evidence. THEIR ALBUM. Not any of his material. Theirs. :lol:
Oh and his "proof" is funny. The words sung don't match those in the liner notes.

 

[nysk]

lol i think he's some guy heavily in debt... and couldnt think of something better

 

[ahkiatt]

that's a bit ridiculous... if it was released... like the rhcp song... dani california is it? that was copied from another song.

 

[cold_static544]

im not surprised if greenday did.

never liked them anyway.

except for their older stuff.

they sold out.

 

[DoubleDecker]

Eh I think you guys tend to overlook this point

McPike filed a two-page complaint in the US District Court. Making up part of the evidence is a copy of 'American Idiot' he has submitted and a claim that the words Green Day vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong sings on the album don't match those printed in the liner notes.

He submitted a copy of Greenday's album as evidence. THEIR ALBUM. Not any of his material. Theirs. :lol:
Oh and his "proof" is funny. The words sung don't match those in the liner notes.

I'm afraid it's you who overlook this point ... it says "making up PART of the evidence" ... meaning in legal terms, this is one of the "many evidence" and this is NOT the only one.

Dangz ... READ!!!!! My friend.

DD

 

[AEnimic]

uhhhhhhhhhhh.....urmmmmmmmmmm

well,take ur guitar and play 3 power chords...thats the same as any Green Day song...

ok on a serious note,now its becoming a trend to say people steal their ideas...well,sorry to the fool that claimed it was his...while he was jacking off,Green Day went in and out of recording studio trying to recreate that song!

UNLESS if that fool did go for recording and such,THEN I will respect his claim...if not,he's just a fool desperate for attention..

that Tom Petty and RHCP issue was something respectable coz both are artists...so there's bound to be similarities...

 

[mero]

I'm afraid it's you who overlook this point ... it says "making up PART of the evidence" ... meaning in legal terms, this is one of the "many evidence" and this is NOT the only one.

Dangz ... READ!!!!! My friend.

DD

au contraire my friend, I have read this article a couple days ago on another site, which I'll copy and paste here.

Most folks have occasionally heard a new song and thought, "Gee, I feel like I've heard this somewhere before." But it takes a special kind of person to take things to another level, by coming to the conclusion that they actually wrote the tune sometime in their distant past, says AOL Music.

Paul McPike, a 30-ish grocery store employee from Medford, OR, placed himself firmly in the latter category this week when he filed a lawsuit charging that Green Day's "American Idiot" album is entirely made up of songs that he wrote when he was in high school. McPike says that he used to regale his high school pals with the "original" versions of "Jesus of Suburbia" and other classics back in 1992, and believes that some devious ex-pal surreptitiously recorded one of his performances and traded them to Billie Joe Armstrong and co. for 30 pieces of silver (or at least unlimited access to Green Day's backstage deli trays).

A U.S. District Court Judge seemed to take McPike's pile of evidence -- which consisted entirely of a copy of the album and a claim that the lyrics sung on the album don't match those in the sleeve notes -- with a barrel of salt, but suggested he could file a more detailed copyright infringement complaint in the future. An interesting suggestion -- and one that jogs our memory of the elementary school writing class where we wrote that line about "buying a stairway to Heaven."

From Ultimate-Guitar.com

There you go..... :lol:

 

[DoubleDecker]

There you go..... :lol:

Thank you for that article... so it's an mis-presentation of facts right from the start.

DD

 

[fuzzmusick]

So did he get his share?

 

[zel]

why wait until now though? it's been 2 years?

 

[DoubleDecker]

UNLESS if that fool did go for recording and such,THEN I will respect his claim...if not,he's just a fool desperate for attention..

Under copyright act, one need not go for recording before copyright can be claimed. The term "copyright" and "your rights" to your work is by nature all yours once you compose a piece of music.

Practices like mailing to yourself an unopen CD of your track or registering with COMPASS is just to reaffirm further the ownership of a piece of work. Be it lyrical or musical or both.

Judging by what you just said, does it means it gives me the right to pluck up a tune from someone and market it as my own? Just because the original composer didn't go into any recording schedule? Certainly not.

I apologize if I sound rude but I see that certain things had better be set right if it's wrong.

Most people would not care about copyright... that's how stuffs like Limewire or Morpheus end up popular for illegal downloads. But if it was your own tune being stolen and that culprit is making millions while you are still rotting in your chair, I'd bet you'll sing a different tune from there.

DD

 

[AEnimic]

^ no offence taken..coz i posted that earlier to see a reaction..

and yes,i agree to you thanks..

but i still dun like the fact people go around saying some band took away their songs,dude...i mean a little similarity may just mean inspiration..

unless its a whole reproduction of the song...urmm go check out some RnB tune..u will hear recycled backing tracks from old songs..that for me,is the real copyright infringement...eventhough they MAY have asked for permission..

i hate my songs to be copied too...its just a twisted world...

 

[DoubleDecker]

Yes I do agree with you on this part of it. All of us draw inspiration from somewhere.

I also taken note, in Mero's original article ... that lyrics were also written by him. If the notation varies slightly, the lyrics can't run. If permission is sought and approved, then the term "infringment" does not stand anymore. Infringment simply means, usage without permission or without prior approval.

My folks does mash-up and remix a fair bit on a regular basis, they know it best. Any part taken and used without permission, even if it means just the chorus but the tune sounds differently, it is still considered infringement.

Take a look at all copyright materials... it is clearly stated "No parts or in full..." blah blah blah...