Partner James Janowitz, a co-chair of Pryor Cashman's Media + Entertainment group and a senior partner in the Litigation Group, discussed the influx of musical copyright cases seen in recent years. According to The Economist:
Despite the rash of legal cases, music is evolving in ways that may make it harder for complaints to succeed. "These days music is less and less about melody...[which was] traditionally the bedrock of why two songs were judged to be impermissibly similar," says James Janowitz, a lawyer at Pryor Cashman, who in 1976 organised a courtroom piano rendition to show that George Harrison had copied "My Sweet Lord" from another work. Today, he says, melody takes a back seat to elements such as beat and subject matter, which are harder to claim as original.
The complaint against Mr. Glover holds that "This is America" uses the same rhythmic "flow" as "Made in America" and covers the same themes, which include gun violence and racism. The effect on the listener may be that they seem similar. But the "triplet" flow that both employ is not unique. And, as Mr. Janowitz points out, "thematic similarity does nothing in terms of copyright infringement".
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[The Economist] Why American songwriters are suing each other
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