A right of first publication is conjecture to protect a creator ’s intellectual property and ensure that the right of first publication holder ’s work is n’t nefariously malversate . However , as anyone who has warm memories of Napster circa 2000 knows , they do n’t always work so well . Not all right of first publication battles are Metallica - originate , though .
If you conceive the wholesale pilfering of songs began when Vanilla Ice swiped the bass argumentation from David Bowie and Queen ’s song “ Under Pressure ” for “ Ice , Ice Baby , ” think again . Far more revered artists have given in to the enticement to purloin more than a chord or two . Take , for representative , The Beach Boys ’s classic anthem “ Surfin ’ USA . ”
The 1963 strike single listed Beach Boy Brian Wilson as the exclusive composer of the data track , but the tune was a complete replication of Chuck Berry ’s “ Sweet Little Sixteen . ”
For his part , Wilson traverse any intentional wrongful conduct . " I just took ' Sweet Little Sixteen ' and rewrite it into something of our own,“Wilson assure theLos Angeles Timesof the incident in 2015 .
When Berry accused Wilson of bogarting his melody , The Beach Boys ’ manager , Wilson ’s father Murray , gave Berry the copyright to the tune for annul a lawsuit . He did n’t tell the fellow member of the band , however , who supposedly only see that they were n’t make royalty from this song — and that Berry now receivedcredit for writing it — about 25 years later .
Berry , for his part , reportedly enjoyed “ Surfin ’ USA . ” And Wilson , according to theLos Angeles Times , never held a grudge . “ He still regularly includes Berry song in his resilient shows , ” wrote Randy Lewis , “ and has even slip ‘ Sweet Little Sixteen ’ lyrics into his live rendition of ‘ Surfin ' U.S.A. ’ ”
Berrypassed awayyesterday , March 18 , 2017 , at the age of 90 .
