[Christopher B. J. Smith:]
If I wrote new chords to White Christmas, then
improvised over it on record, there would be NO aspect of the tune
that was Berlin's, yet he would STILL collect the royalties if I
called it White Christmas.
...
Many have tried to copyright titles and chord progressions
The same standard does not apply to
melodies and lyrics, where infringement exists even in the case of
accidental similarities.
That sounds a bit dangerous; it sounds as if the standards for similarity
are much stricter for lyrics or melodies than for things like rhythms or
sequences of
