It has been four months since Johnny Depp won a defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard. In 2018, Depp filed a defamation case of $50 when Amber Heard wrote an article in ‘The Washington Post’ recounting domestic violence and sexual abuse. Though she did not mention any name, it was obvious that it was her ex-husband whom she divorced in 2016.
As a countersuit, the ‘Aquaman’ filed a suit for $100 million against Depp. However, the verdict was not in her favor. Now, the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ is ascending the steps of the court, but not for Amber Heard this time! The musical duo Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck is suing a man for alleging copyright infringement about a song from their latest album ’18’, which they recorded after Depp’s court decision. What is the case?
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Johnny Depp And Jeff Beck Are Suing A Man For False Allegations Of Stealing Lyrics
The ’21 Jump Street’ actor is having no relief from legal battles! During the defamation case against his ex-wife, he accompanied his long-time friend and music collaborator Jeff Beck on his tour. He was spotted outside the Fairfax County Court for the first time having a great time at Sheffield City Hall. In July 2022, both collaborated and released a 13-track album titled ’18’ which included two originals from Depp himself. One of the songs on the album, ‘Sad Motherf***in’ Parade’ is reportedly alleged to be copied from a “Hobo Ben” poem from the defendant Bruce Jackson.
In August 2022, Bruce Jackson alleged that he owns the copyright on the “Hobo Ben” poem, an oral tradition that has a “number of authors rather than one.” He accused both the actor and the guitarist to have copied “nearly every single word” from the above-mentioned song in the album. Jackson further alleged that “essentially every word and line, inflection, tonality, and rhythm in the ‘Sad Motherf***in’
Parade’ vocal track is taken from ‘Hobo Ben.’ “ He also accused them of copyright infringement over stealing the lyrics from his “Get Your A** in the Water and Swim Like Me” book, which was later converted into vinyl and CDs.
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The Origin Of The “Hobo Pen” For Which The Actor And The Musician Got Accused Of Copyrights Issue
In music, there are many pieces of sounds, lyrics, and structures that do not have any legal owner. It is the same for the “Hobo Ben” poem. In Bruce’s book, he declared that “By saying the toasts are poems from oral tradition, I mean they may have had a number of authors rather than just one.”
He continued, “To put it another way, various audiences have had an opportunity to modify the points or parts they didn’t much like. The process of modification may have occurred over a considerable number of years, by different hands at different times.”
The origin of the poem goes back to 1960. Jackson met a federally incarcerated person identified as “Slim Wilson”, who recited the poem for Bruce to record. The author and musician have mentioned in the book that Wilson learned the toast from his father. The copy of the case filed highlighted that Bruce is not the original creator of the song.
The copy of the case said, “What is also clear is that Defendant owns no copyrights in the “Hobo Ben” toast and, if any copyrights do exist in it, they were never assigned or otherwise transferred to Defendant.” Wayne F. Denninson filed the case at the Western District Court of New York.
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