Disney’s 96-year-old cartoon “Steamboat Willie” entered the public domain on Monday with the turn of the new year, alongside the earliest depiction of the character Tigger and Charlie Chaplin’s film “Circus.” The expiration of the copyright has been widely interpreted to mean Mickey Mouse himself is now public domain – however, this only applies to […]
Tag: Copyright
Ed Sheeran Didn’t Steal Key Parts of Marvin Gaye’s “Lets Get it On,” Jury Finds
This Thursday, a federal jury in New York concluded that Ed Sheeran didn’t steal key components of Marvin Gaye’s classic 1970s tune “Let’s Get It On” when he created his hit song “Thinking Out Loud,” prompting Sheeran to later joke that he won’t have to follow through on his threat to quit music.
Ed Sheeran Takes the Stand in Copyright Trial
Ed Sheeran took the stand and testified against allegations that he took part of the melody of the Marvin Gaye classic “Let’s Get it On” when he created his hit, “Thinking Out Loud”. The civil suit claims Sheeran’s song has “striking similarities” to the 1973 hit and shares “overt common elements” with the song that is protected by copyright.
Childish Gambino’s “This is America” Sued for Copyright
Rapper Childish Gambino, also known by his real name Donald Glover, is being sued for copyright infringement by Florida rapper Kidd Wes over his song “This is America.”“This is America” became Gambino’s biggest hit in 2018, with a music video that has received almost 800 million views on YouTube and won four Grammy awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Now, however, the originality of this song has come into question after Wes filed a lawsuit against Glover claiming that a song he released in 2016, titled “Made in America,” has similarities to the popular song that are too substantial to be purely coincidental.
