Let it go lawsuit - Page 2

[adamgreer]

Posted: 11/25/17 at 12:22am

RippedMan said: "I guess I have been hiding under a rock by how is Demi Lovato involved? When did she sing the song? Like enough for her to get mention in this? I always thought it was Menzel's song."

Lovato sang the pop version that was supposed to be the radio ready version (similar to Vanessa Williams recording Colors of the Wind all those years ago). However, most people calling into the stations wanted to hear Menzel’s version, and the Lovato version did not get the airplay they thought it would (while the film version got a whole lot more airplay than I think they anticipated).

[Soaring29]

Posted: 11/25/17 at 3:59am

Hmm, at first I thought there wasn't enough of a similarity between them, but I'm now hearing them differently. The guy may have a case, although why it is happening now is a good question. 

[gypsy101]

Posted: 11/25/17 at 4:14am

i really don’t think it’s similar enough to warrant this.

demi sang the pop end credits version but it still reached the top 40 so it counts as a hit, but the original was in the top five and sold about ten million copies.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 11/25/17 at 2:41pm

I seriously don't hear it.

I don't think they would opt for a settlement because it would open them up to too many potential garbage lawsuits.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 11/26/17 at 2:55am

Just to answer the statute of limitations question, it is three years from the date of the infringing act. But the statute of limitations doesn't actual start until the discovery of the infringing act (it's not infringement until someone discovers it's infringing). Also, the initial creation/release date of the song would not be considered the only violation subject to the statute. Any subsequent release, such as a new release of the song on compilation cds, recordings by other artists, dvd releases and re-releases of the film, it's appearance in a musical, etc., would be considered new violations. According to a 2014 Supreme Court decision, these new infringing acts "reset" the statute of limitations.

It's also not clear that he isn't suing the song's actual authors. The TMZ article states the plaintiff is "now suing everyone even remotely connected with the smash hit" and further down inn the article that "he's suing Disney, Idina Menzel who recorded it for the movie, Demi Lovato who recorded the single and others." They didn't post the actual lawsuit, but I imagine that the composer and lyricist are included.

[bk]

Posted: 11/26/17 at 6:16pm

Three notes do not a lawsuit make - well, anything can make a lawsuit, but this one will be laughed out of court.

 

[David10086]

Posted: 11/26/17 at 7:29pm

adamgreer said: "I’m no attorney or expert on this matter, so perhaps someone could answer these questions for me:

Why isn’t he suing the composers? They’re the ones who would have allegedly “stolen” his song. Is it because they’re not well known the way Disney, Idina Menzel, and Demi Lovato are?

Why did he wait so long to come forward? This isn’t a sexual assault case, he couldn’t have been suffering from any trauma that would otherwise preclude him from coming forward."

He's suing DISNEY because bottom line is: They have the deepest pockets. You always sue the party with the deepest pockets for a bigger award (the songwriters probably don't have as much as Disney). The second and third parties with the 'deepest pockets' are the two celebs who sang the song; therefore he sues them as well. 

As for 'taking so long' to file the suit, it's not a small 'civil suit'. It takes time to prepare it properly - pick the right litigation team and for them to gather all their evidence. It's not something that can be done in a week, a month, or even a year if he wants it done correctly and professionally. 

[zainmax]

Posted: 5/30/18 at 12:14am

Robert and Kristen Lopez have been dismissed from the case for now.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marchershberg/2018/05/29/frozen-songwriters-let-go-from-copyright-infringement-lawsuit-for-now/#411d5f926a73

[ggersten]

Posted: 5/30/18 at 12:41am

Meanwhile, my daughter and I watched Lemonade Mouth again recently, and when the first notes of Determinate were played, I immediately launched into "The snow blows cold on the mountain tonite" because the intro notes are....similar.

 

[Dave28282]

Posted: 5/30/18 at 4:42am

I don't even think Let it go counts as a song. It's like a toddler rhyme of a 3 note step.

The chorus is nothing more than saying the words, and then saying them again but a bit higher.

The Volar song does that too. So does every toddler poem.

If you use such few chords you can't exactly claim musical exclusivity.

I wonder when Kanye West will file a lawsuit against Lin Manuel Miranda because all his songs are on 1 note too.

"when he was ten his father split full of it debt ridden two years later see alex and his mother bed ridden I am not throwing away my shot I am not throwing away my shot, hey yo, I’m just like my country I’m young, scrappy and hungry and I’m not throwing away my shot, get colder I shoulder
every burden, every disadvantage I have learned to manage, I don’t have a gun to brandish I walk these streets famished"

 

Updated On: 5/30/18 at 04:42 AM

[newintown]

Posted: 5/30/18 at 9:33am

You don't need to listen to decide if there are similarities, just do a side by side comparison of the sheet music for both songs, and the similarities (already pointed out by those who know their theory) are obvious.

As has also been pointed out, the musical structure for both songs is basic and common (which is at least partly why at least one is so strangely popular).

I doubt that the Lopezes plagiarized "Volar;" they just wrote a very simple song that's been written many times before. I, too, however, find it strange that the Lopezes aren't mentioned in the linked article. Disney, Menzel, and Lovato had nothing to do with the writing of the song (except that Disney paid the Lopezes to write it).

Updated On: 5/30/18 at 09:33 AM

[darquegk]

Posted: 5/30/18 at 12:09pm

I don't own the sheet music, but if the "pop version" is different enough in lyrics and musical structure, Lovato may get at least a nominal co-writer credit, as is common in sample-based pop music.