"Stairway To Heaven" Plagarism court case

What the hell took them so long? (Case over)

onhwy61, I disagree ("the feel can now be infringed")?  I think the jury ignored the letter of the law in the M. Gaye case and I predict the ruling will be reversed on appeal for that reason.

Otherwise, expect inmate Phil Spector to sue Brian Wilson ("Don't Worry Baby")  and the estate of Bo Diddley to sue half of creation. 

It's alright to perform other people's music as long as you pay royalties and give credit. Therefore as long as whoever owns the rights to a song is asked or paid it's okay. When Weird Al does a parody he has to get permission from the person or company that owns the rights to the song. As in "Like a Surgeon" he had to get permission from Madonna.

Dread Zeppelin 

rwwear " ... When Weird Al does a parody he has to get permission from the person or company that owns the rights to the song. As in "Like a Surgeon" he had to get permission from Madonna."

Sorry, but you're mistaken. While you may be correct that Weird Al works closely with the artists he parodies, he’s under no legal obligation to do so. In the U.S., parody and satire are protected under the Fair Use provision of copyright law. The definitive case on this was 2 Live Crew’s treatment of "Oh Pretty Woman." See Acuff-Rose Music v. Campbell, which was decided by the Supreme Court.