[DMCA-Activists] Metallica Sues Over Chord Sequence E - F

[Seth Johnson]

So, when will the honest truth get through to these numbskulls?

Seth

> http://www.411mania.com/music/news/article.php?news_id=3586


Metallica Sues Band Over Usage Of E, F Chords 

Posted By Mindy Turner (address@hidden) on 07.16.03

Just when you thought things couldn't get more bizarre. 

According to MTV.com, Metallica are suing independant Canadian rockers
Unfaith over what they call "unsanctioned usage of two chords [Metallica]
have been using since 1982 : E and F."

"People are going to get on our case again for this, but try to see it from
our point of view just once," stated drummer Lars Ulrich. He adds that
they're not saying they own the two chords, individually - "that would be
ridiculous" - just that in that specific order, people have grown to
associate E, F with their music, and their continued usage in the same song
causes "confusion, deception and mistake in the minds of the public."

You can read the whole surreal article here
(http://www.scoopthis.com/411/met_uf/stc_met_uf_mtv.htm).

Metallica.com has issued an official statement on the subject here
(http://www.scoopthis.com/411/met_uf/stc_met_uf.htm).

Credit: MTV.com, Metallica.com

----

> http://www.scoopthis.com/411/met_uf/stc_met_uf_mtv.htm

MONTREAL — Metallica are taking legal action against independant Canadian
rock band Unfaith over what they feel is unsanctioned usage of two chords
the band has been using since 1982 : E and F.

"People are going to get on our case again for this, but try to see it from
our point of view just once," stated Metallica's Lars Ulrich. "We're not
saying we own those two chords, individually - that would be ridiculous.
We're just saying that in that specific order, people have grown to
associate E, F with our music."

Metallica filed a trademark infringement suit against the indie group at the
US district court for central California on Monday. According to the
drummer, the continued use of the two chords causes "confusion, deception
and mistake in the minds of the public".

Metallica's lawyer, Jill Pietrini, told us that the band decided to take
legal action only after first sending a letter of complaint to the Canadian
band's singer/songwriter, Erik Ashley.

"We sent a demand letter and haven't reached a resolution, so we had to
sue," she said. "They continue to shamelessly feature the two chords on
their website song samples and we just can't have that."

Ashley, in the meantime, is still shocked by the entire story, and hasn't
yet decided how the band will respond.

"I thought it was a prank at first," he told us. "Now I'm not sure what to
think." 

Ulrich states that he's not trying to prevent Unfaith from using the two
chords, only that he feels Metallica should be credited for them whenever
used, and is calling for 50% of all revenue generated from any song using
them. 

"It's nothing personal against them," he added. "We intend to enforce our
rights with any band intending to use Metallica-branded chords in the
future." 

This marks the first time anything of this kind has ever been tried in
court, and it will be interesting to see how things develop.

Metallica's website has issued an official statement on the suit here.

Unfaith's official website hasn't officially responded at print time.

—Joe D'Angelo


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> http://www.scoopthis.com/411/met_uf/stc_met_uf.htm

METALLICA DEFENDS RIGHTS AGAINST CANADIAN BAND OVER E, F CHORDS | 7/16/2003
<< GO BACK 

We have elected to pursue legal action against Unfaith, a Canadian band
using chords (E & F) traditionally associated with Metallica. We intend to
agressively defend our rights in this matter to the fullest extent of the
law. It's nothing personal against the band in question, as we intend to do
the same to anyone else using the same chords in that order.

We're not saying we own the E chord, or even the F - that would be
ridiculous. We're just saying that together, people have grown to associate
them with our music, and their continued use in the same song causes
confusion, deception and mistake in the minds of the public.

We are fighting this fight for our fans, who don't deserve to be subjected
to this confusion... just as we appreciate their support through this. 

-- 

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