The John Fogerty
V.
John Fogerty Case
This is the story of an incredibly bizarre copyright dispute. A record label once took legal action against John Fogerty, a renowned musician and former member of Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for allegedly copying his own song.
As the story goes, after leaving CCR and pursuing a solo career, Fogerty found success in the 1980s.
However, things took a strange turn when he released “The Old Man Down the Road,” and his former record label, Fantasy Records, sued him, claiming it sounded too much like CCR’s “Run Through the Jungle.” Yes, you read that right – Fogerty was being sued for sounding like himself.
Thankfully, the judge saw through the absurdity of the situation and ruled in Fogerty’s favor, correctly stating that you cannot plagiarize your own work. The case should have ended there, with the record label understanding the wrongdoing at their part.
But Fogerty had other plans. He decided to take it a step further and file a countersuit against Fantasy Labels to recoup his legal expenses.
The case made its way to the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court of the United States, where the verdict favored Fogerty once again. The judge emphasized that such legal battles went against the very purpose of copyright laws – to protect creativity and foster new ideas.
In the end, John Fogerty emerged victorious, setting a precedent for a truly unique and
perplexing chapter in copyright law history.
Contd…
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