no song suggestions

Jebediah · Post by **Jebediah** » Wed Jul 10, 2002 8:22 pm

From all my years as a Weird Al fan, I know that Al and the band would never take song suggestions. However - and I know this isn't all that likely - but what if Al was already in the middle of writing a parody, and someone wrote him suggesting the same parody. Again, this isn't all that likely, but I mean one of the more obvious ones. Would he actually be allowed to finish writing the song?

Jebediah

Post by **bermuda** » Wed Jul 10, 2002 11:41 pm

That's why Al never sees parody ideas, so there's no question about his parodies being his.

Johnnytimewarp · Post by **Johnnytimewarp** » Thu Jul 11, 2002 4:19 am

From what I remember reading in Ask Al, I believe all of Al's mail gets read and screened before he even gets it, so all parody ideas are automatically tossed in the garbage...

Cat_Barf · Post by **Cat_Barf** » Fri Jul 12, 2002 3:04 am

Have you ever experienceed fans giving sugestions or hearing about them through the grape vine done by Al? Perhaps on the internet?

Post by **bermuda** » Fri Jul 12, 2002 3:29 am

If you mean, do fans suggest a lot, yes, they try to and I get dozens of emails with ideas which I promptly delete and reply that Al cannot be reached through his site, and doesn't accept song ideas anyway.

I don't get the rest of your question...

Cat_Barf · Post by **Cat_Barf** » Fri Jul 12, 2002 5:37 pm

I know it sounds confusing, but all I'm trying to ask is if you have somehow crossed the path of a suggestion and then Al has done it without him knowing it.

Or I could ask if you, yourself, have had ideas pop in you head, without splurting them to the rest of the world, and then they are actually published.

Post by **bermuda** » Fri Jul 12, 2002 11:10 pm

I know it sounds confusing, but all I'm trying to ask is if you have somehow crossed the path of a suggestion and then Al has done it without him knowing it.

No.

Or I could ask if you, yourself, have had ideas pop in you head, without splurting them to the rest of the world, and then they are actually published.

No.

cooledman · Post by **cooledman** » Tue Jul 16, 2002 4:14 am

lets say i wrote a parody, and i never sumbitted to Al, then a few monthes later i hear Al's voice singing something similiar to mine, WOULD I HAVE A LAWSUIT ON MY HANDS?

minnick27 · Post by **minnick27** » Tue Jul 16, 2002 5:03 am

i believe the only way you could sue him is if you had the song copyrighted before al did.

Mike

Post by **bermuda** » Tue Jul 16, 2002 6:16 am

You would also have to prove in court that Al had knowledge of your song in order to have plagiarized it. Otherwise, the court would just accept that 2 people independently came up with something similar, and that the person who copyrighted it first 'wins'.