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230:, Selle testified as to how he wrote his song, made the demo tape and wrote the sheet music, copyrighted it, and then sent it off to fourteen music publishers. He explained that eleven publishers returned his materials unopened, while three publishers never replied. As his evidence that the Bee Gees had infringed on his copyright, Selle offered two exhibits that showed a comparison of the eight opening and eight closing bars of his song,"Let it End," to the opening and closing bars for "
283:, gave testimony on the process the Bee Gees used to come up with "How Deep is Your Love." Barry Gibb explained that he and his brothers could not read or write music, but employed others skilled for this purpose. Thus, they worked out songs using a piano and a process of trial and error as they did in creating "How Deep is Your Love." Their staff then translated the draft to musical notes.
260:. However, under cross-examination, Parsons admitted that he did not know whether or not there is a great deal of similarity between songs in the popular music genre. He could not testify that the similarities between "Let it End," and "How Deep is Your Love," could only have been caused by copying and not by independent creation or coincidence or prior common source.
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342:, 153 F.2d 893 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 329 U.S. 716, 67 S. Ct. 46, 91 L.Ed. 621 (1946). He concluded that ". . .although proof of striking similarity may permit an inference of access, the plaintiff must still meet some minimum threshold of proof which demonstrates that the inference of access is reasonable."
345:
The Court said, "Selle did not establish a basis from which the jury could reasonably infer that the Bee Gees had access to his song and to meet the burden of proving "striking similarity" between the two compositions." Because Selle could not do this, the Court affirmed the district court's ruling
337:
wrote in the opinion that while, "It is often written that striking similarities alone can establish access, the decided cases suggest that this circumstance would be most unusual. The plaintiff must always present sufficient evidence to support a reasonable possibility of access because the jury
310:, arguing that Selle had not met his burden of proof. On April 22, 1983, Judge Leighton granted the motion. In reviewing the record, Judge Leighton wrote in his decision, "the verdict in favor of the plaintiff was against the manifest weight of the evidence and its return by the jury represents a
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The trial lasted four days. On the fifth day, the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff. The jury foreman, Earl Wiler later explained that the Bee Gees had not offered any evidence or testimony to counter the plaintiff's expert witness, Arrand
Parsons. Another juror said that, "If we made a
139:
ruled that while copying must be proved by access and substantial similarity, where evidence of access does not exist, striking similarities may raise an inference of copying by showing that the work could not have been the result of independent creation, coincidence, or common source. Striking
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Selle claimed the melody for "Let it End" came to his mind while getting ready for work one morning. He wrote it down and developed it further while at work, then came home from work later that day, sitting at a piano and completing it by the end of the night. He was issued a copyright for the
219:' defense attorney established their case was based on lack of access and the fact that similarities alone, without proof of access, could not prove copying. The defense would show that any similarities were coincidental and were due to the limited note range in
326:. He claimed that the District Court had misunderstood his theory of proof which was that striking similarities alone were enough to infer access and offered supporting case law. The case was argued April 13, 1984 and the decision rendered July 23, 1984.
156:. To support his wife Joanne and their daughter and two sons, he supplemented his income with a three-piece band that performed engagements around the Chicago area, worked as a church choir director, and occasionally wrote religious and secular music.
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390:"741 F.2d 896: Ronald H. Selle, Plaintiff-appellant, v. Barry Gibb, et al., Defendants-appellants, Andronald H. Selle, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Barry Gibb, et al., Defendants-appellants :: US Court of Appeals Cases :: Justia"
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170:" rather loudly on a cassette player and asked him what the song was, having heard it for the first time. Selle recognized the song as his melody but with different lyrics. After learning it was featured in the movie
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299:, as well as mixed a live album. Selle did not challenge their testimony, nor the evidence the Bee Gees offered. The defense rested after this testimony and did not call their expert witnesses to the stand.
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resident and at that time, a
Chicago clothing salesman for Carson, Pierie and Scott and part-time musician, wrote a song called "Let it End." Selle holds a master's degree in Music Education from the
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Within a year after recording the song (the recording was played at trial), Selle mailed it to fourteen music publishers. None of them responded, with all but three returning his material.
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completed song on
November 17, 1975, by the U.S. Copyright Office. Shortly afterwards, Selle and his fellow musicians recorded the song in a studio setting, with Selle singing the lyrics.
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38:
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49:
Ronald H. Selle v. Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, and
Maurice Gibb, A/K/A The Bee Gees, Brothers Gibb B.V., Phonodisc, Inc.(Polygram Distribution, Inc.,) and Paramount Pictures Corp.
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253:." Selle admitted that there were some similarities, primarily in melody rather than rhythm, between his song and "From Me To You" and the earlier Bee Gee compositions.
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379:"Selle V. Gibb" and the Forensic Analysis of PlagiarismM. Fletcher ReynoldsCollege Music SymposiumVol. 32, (1992), pp. 55-78Published by: College Music Society
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presiding. In opening statements Selle's attorney, Allen
Engerman, established that Selle's case was based on the doctrine of striking similarities. The
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The doctrine of striking similarities is not enough in the absence of proof of access. Evidence of access must extend beyond mere speculation.
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Hector Cook, Melinda Bilyeu, Andrew Mon Hughes, The Bee Gees: Tales of the
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similarity alone is not enough to infer access. The similarity must preclude independent creation in order to infer access.
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corroborated their testimony. They also testified that the brothers and their staff had gone to the
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cannot draw an inference of access based upon speculation and conjecture alone." Cudahy cited
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Selle v. Gibb, 567 F. Supp. 1173, 1179 (N.D. Ill. 1983), aff'd, 741 F.2d 896, (7th Cir. 1984)
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Selle offered an expert witness, Arrand
Parsons. Parsons had a background in
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Official wiki of the United States Court of
Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
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District Court for the Northern District of Illinois cases
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Selle requested a jury trial, which began on
February 20, 1983, in the
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In the fall of 1975, Ronald H. Selle (born August 7, 1946), a
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Selle v. Gibb, 567 F. Supp. 1173, 1179 (N.D. Ill. 1983)
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527:Selle v. gibb, 741 F.2nd 896,900 (7th Cir. 1984).
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223:and were not the result of copying.
271:and the Bee Gees' keyboard player,
356:Copyright law of the United States
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1620:Category:Copyright law by country
331:affirming Judge Leighton's ruling
133:doctrine of striking similarities
115:doctrine of striking similarities
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918:International copyright treaties
727:Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
614:Copyright law of North America
324:Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
185:Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb
1651:1984 in United States case law
346:overturning the jury verdict.
303:mistake, they can afford it."
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568:Recent opinions from FindLaw
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575:— Launched April 18, 2007
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279:, and record producer,
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335:Richard Dickson Cudahy
318:Appeals Court findings
312:miscarriage of justice
211:, the Honorable Judge
197:copyright infringement
154:University of Illinois
717:Saint Kitts and Nevis
275:, as well as manager
232:How Deep Is Your Love
168:How Deep Is Your Love
150:Hazel Crest, Illinois
1324:United Arab Emirates
361:Bee Gees discography
297:Saturday Night Fever
293:Château d'Hérouville
203:District Court trial
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173:Saturday Night Fever
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189:Paramount Pictures
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812:Puerto Rico
722:Saint Lucia
672:El Salvador
482:Id. at 199.
273:Blue Weaver
183:, accusing
1635:Categories
1528:Kyrgyzstan
1523:Kazakhstan
1441:Luxembourg
1336:Uzbekistan
1314:Tajikistan
1230:Kazakhstan
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995:Madagascar
923:by country
807:Montserrat
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652:Costa Rica
428:Id. at 6-8
367:References
289:Robin Gibb
277:Dick Ashby
269:Barry Gibb
265:lead sheet
144:Background
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1429:Lithuania
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1198:Indonesia
1188:Hong Kong
1152:Venezuela
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1656:Bee Gees
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217:Bee Gees
109:Keywords
71:Citation
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247:Beatles
131:on the
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243:melody
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832:Saba
657:Cuba
546:2013
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287:and
195:and
90:and
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329:In
314:."
237:On
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191:of
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