Fun Pack Song 'May Have Flouted Copyright Laws'
Source: Linkie
Organizers of this
year's National Day Parade (NDP) may have flouted copyright laws
after they modified the lyrics of a Lady Gaga hit to create a song
about its goodie bag, said lawyers yesterday.
The Fun Pack Song rips off Lady Gaga's Bad Romance by using the
tune but substituting lyrics that celebrate the items inside the
pack such as Newater, biscuits and sweets.
Lam Chung Nian, an intellectual property lawyer, pointed out that
the song has a few lines that duplicate the lyrics of Bad
Romance.
If the lyrics of the NDP version were completely different, issues
of infringement would have been less clear, said Mr Lam, a partner
at a local law firm.
'In this case, they reproduced a couple of lines that remind people
of and draw attention to the original lyrics,' he added.
For instance, the lyrics 'you know that I want you, and you know
that I need you' appear in both Bad Romance and the Fun Pack
Song.
The song was first performed at last Saturday's rehearsal of the
parade at the floating platform in Marina Bay.
There were plans to repeat it during rehearsals and on National Day
on Aug 9.
On Tuesday, the organizers had acknowledged that while they had
permission to publicly perform Bad Romance, this did not include
the go-ahead to modify the lyrics.
Yesterday, they confirmed that they have shelved plans to perform
the song until they get the go-ahead from music publishing firm
Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which owns the rights to the score and
lyrics, as well as Lady Gaga's record label, Interscope, which is
represented by Universal Music here.
Colonel Ong Tze-Ch'in, chairman of the NDP show segment, reiterated
at a media briefing that his team is working to 'secure the rights
to modify the lyrics'.
Declining to give details of the negotiations with the other
parties, he said: 'They have not gotten back to us yet.'
Lam said that in hammering out a deal, one of the key issues would
likely be the popularity of Bad Romance.
'Typically, the more iconic and popular a song, then more licence
fees may have to be paid out,' he added.
Bad Romance, from Lady Gaga's second album, was a worldwide
hit.
Mr Lam declined to specify an amount, though The Straits Times
understands that it can go up to tens of thousands of
dollars.
Meanwhile, the YouTube video of the Fun Pack Song has garnered more
than 87,000 views, with more than 200 likes and 5,000
dislikes.
The ditty's lyricist, Haresh Sharma, who scripted the NDP musical
and three other songs, said he stands by his work.
'It's a tongue-in-cheek parody... I believe it's still fun and
still works,' he said.
He added: 'It's a song meant only to introduce items in the fun
pack, nothing more, nothing less.'
Lady Gaga is in town to perform in an exclusive showcase for
SingTel customers today. Her representatives could not be reached
for comment yesterday.
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For those who are in the dark about the 'Fun Pack Song'.... here
you go:
Linkie
I couldn't watch it past thirty seconds.
