George Harrison vs The Chiffons
My Sweet Lord vs He’s So Fine
The issue here involved George Harrison’s first solo number one hit, “My Sweet Lord” and the song “He’s So Fine,” by the Chiffons. The judge ruled in favor of The Chiffons stating Harrison was guilty of “subconscious plagiarism.”
He was initially ordered to pay $1,599,987, but this amount was reduced to $587,000 when his former manager Allen Klein purchased Bright Tunes Music and negotiated the sale of the song to Harrison. The importance of this ruling is that it introduced the precedent of “subconscious plagiarism” into court rulings.
Chuck Berry vs The Beatles
You Can’t Catch Me vs Come Together
Seems Chuck Berry’s songs catch the ear of many well-know artists. In 1973, The Beatles were sued by Big Seven Music Corp which handled Chuck Berry’s “You Can’t Catch Me”. They claimed that not only was the beat from “Come Together” just Berry’s song slowed down, the lyrics were also stolen. The two different songs and their lyrics are John Lennon’s “Here come ol’ flattop, he come groovin’ up slowly” to Berry’s “Here come a flattop, he was movin’ up with me”.