Every artist borrows, but where does borrowing end and stealing begin? For decades, courts have wrestled with that question, turning love for music, literature, and art into legal battlegrounds. From the 1970s to the 1990s (when originality was guarded like a crown jewel), some of the world’s most creative people found themselves accused of echoing someone else’s tune or vision. Sometimes they copied subconsciously, sometimes not at all, but the lawsuits left behind millions of dollars in damages and a new vocabulary for creativity itself.
#1: Bright Tunes v. Harrisongs (1976) — George Harrison and “My Sweet Lord”
George Harrison didn’t mean to copy anyone. At least, that’s what the court believed. Yet the melody of “My Sweet Lord,” his soulful hymn of peace, followed The Chiffons’ 1963 hit “He’s So Fine” almost note for note. The judge called it “subconscious plagiarism,” a term that changed music law forever. Harrison’s sincerity wasn’t in question, but his royalties were.
He paid nearly $1.6 million and later wrote “This Song” to laugh about the ordeal. It’s ironic: a Beatle, one of pop’s most original writers, became the symbol of how easily influence can slip across a blurred line.