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Guy Claims Copyright On "Da Da Da DA Da DA, Charge!"
An anonymous reader writes "The latest in bizarre copyright battles, involves a guy named Bobby Kent who is suing ASCAP and plans to sue every single professional sports team in the US (with the exception of the LA Lakers who already wrote him a check for $3,000), because he claims he came up with the famous 'da da da DA da DA... CHARGE!' jingle. Of course, the actual origins of the jingle are disputed, with evidence pointing back many years before Kent wrote his version, including suggestions of a USC drum major coming up with it, as well as evidence from an old German army music playbook."
Another one of those cases where there's potential for a big upside vs. a potential for a small downside. It would be different if there was a 20 year minimum imprisonment for knowingly (including reasonably be expected to know) filing a false copyright claim, wouldn't it? But if you get one judge to sign off on this scheme, it'll probably be cheaper for every other user to just fork over the $3,000 than it is to take the case to court.
Only shit like that will make copyright reform possible. It is only when the little guy can win against the big one that the big guys will be willing to change the rules...