In light of the recent Ed Sheeran copyright infringement trial, it’s worth seeing this again

Last Thursday, a Manhattan jury acquitted Ed Sheeran on charges that he stole “significant elements” of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” for his megahit, “Thinking Out Loud.” Much of the plaintiff’s case seem to rely on the contention that the two songs share similar chord progression.

There are several things you cannot copyright or claim exclusive intellectual property rights over: (1) Song titles. (2) A beat (think Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” and Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl”). (3) Chord progressions (and by extension, guitar riffs which, for the most part, are really a form of chord progression).

Chord progressions are foundational to music composition. They are fundamental building blocks of modern music. For someone to claim that they own such a combination of notes is insane.

To prove this point, it’s instructive to post this Axis of Awesome video. The next time you play the “hey-this-song-sound-that-that-song-so-it-must-be-a-rip-off” game, remember this video. (Via HTFT)