The question of whether you can be sued for plagiarism your own work is a matter of much controversy and bewilderment. It would seem that if a work is created by the author, then the author has the full right to use the work at his or her discretion. However, in cases where the rights to publish or use are transferred to third parties or companies, the situation becomes more complicated. Copyright law takes into account the nuances of the transfer of rights, and also determines who is considered the owner of a work at a certain point in time. As a result, even an author may face charges of plagiarism or infringement of rights related to the use of his or her own work. But there is a story that has become a landmark in the music industry.
The story of John Fogerty
In the late 60s and early 70s of the last century, Ukrainian rock music fans were wondering what the name of this new, unlike any other American rock band meant, whose CDs cost about half of an engineer’s monthly salary. Different translations were offered, but in fact, the combination of these three words Creedence Clearwater Revival did not make any clear sense. But the voice of its leader and vocalist John Fogerty was very clear – clear vocals without tricks.
No wonder in 1969 CCR, who released three great albums, were recognized as the best rock band in the world. But at the same time, all the band members remained for John just ordinary guys whom he kept in an iron fist. The band’s albums, which were almost always written by John (only later did Fogerty include songs written by the rest of the band, and even then he made them compose them in an orderly fashion), were recorded quickly and accurately – John had the music material ready to record in advance.
All the more offensive to Fogerty was the story of his losing the copyright to his songs, which were returned after 50 years of lawsuits by the BBC. These lawsuits ended in nothing, because CCR is also known for having signed the most unfavorable contract in the history of rock music with their manager at the beginning of their career. However, as it turned out, The Beatles also had a terrible contract, but Brian Epstein was just an amateur who could only be accused of unprofessionalism. But Saul Zentz was a gritty guy who made a lot of money on CCR. So 77-year-old John got his copyrights back not as a result of a court ruling, but because he bought a controlling stake in the band’s catalog from Concord Records, which has owned the rights since 2004. Until 2004, Fogerty did not even receive royalties for other musicians performing CCR songs.
All of this was all the more unfortunate because CCR were probably the only rock stars who did not get starstruck. They were the first of the potential headliners to agree to perform at the legendary 1969 Woodstock rock festival, and for a fee of only $10 thousand (Jimi Hendrix, for example, charged twice as much for one concert). Due to the extremely poor organization of the festival, CCR went on stage after midnight, when the audience was already asleep.
John Fogerty later recalled it as follows: “My first thought was, ‘Wow, I’m going to have to follow a band that managed to put half a million people to sleep.’ (The Grateful Dead – S.S.) Well, I play, I scream, and three songs later I look out into space beyond the Jupiters and everyone is asleep. No matter how hard we tried, half a million were out. It was like a scene in Dante’s Inferno: half a million sleeping bodies clutching at each other in the dirt. And then came a moment that will remain in my memory for the rest of my life. About a quarter of a mile away, on the other side of the field, a guy is striking a lighter, and I hear him in the night: “Don’t worry, John! We’re with you!” I played the rest of the show for that guy.”
This quote alone reveals the character of the CCR leader, who, even at the height of his fame, could take success with humor. However, at the same time, he demanded iron discipline from the band members, which may have led to the fact that CCR broke up.
First, John’s brother Tom left the band, with whom they did not speak for the rest of their lives (Tom died in 1990), and then Stu Cook and Doug Clifford quarreled with him. And they quarreled so much that in 1993, at a concert in honor of CCR’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Fogerty didn’t even invite them on stage, but played with Bruce Springsteen. But they also took revenge – in 1995, they organized a rock band, also called CCR (they changed only the last word in Creedence Clearwater Revival to Revisited) and toured the world, performing old hits.
After the band’s breakup in 1972, John Fogerty began a solo career. He also broke off his cooperation with Fantasy Records, which retained the copyright to Fogerty’s songs written in the band.
In 1985, Fantasy Inc. filed a lawsuit against Fogerty for copyright infringement. The reason for this was Fogerty’s solo song “The old man down the road”. Fantasy claimed that the melody “The old man…” was a copy of the song “Run Through the Jungle” written by Fogerty and released by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1970, the rights to publish which belonged to Fantasy.
Fogerty had to prove in court that the two songs were different works that simply belonged to the same style of music. To do this, Fogerty, as the author and composer of both songs, appeared in court not only as a defendant but also as a music expert. He personally played both songs on the guitar in front of the judge and jury and explained 
their technical features and differences. He argued that the similarity of the songs was due to his signature style as the author of both songs and the fact that both works belong to the same musical style – the so-called “swamp rock”. The court agreed with Fogerty’s arguments and dismissed Fantasy’s claim.
This case has become a landmark precedent for the music industry. The satisfaction of such a claim could have led to numerous unfair lawsuits in the future and prevented songwriters from using their own styles in music.
You yourself can give examples of similar songs among Ukrainian artists and bands, such as,
“Okean Elzy, Max Barskih. Because the style of their works is very predictable and it may seem that the works are similar to each other, both in sound and performance.
