Hans Zimmer Faces Second Lawsuit In Four Years

Originally Posted by IMDB

Gladiator composer Hans Zimmer is being sued by the Holst Foundation over claims the film's Oscar-nominated score is a copy of the late Gustav Holst's famous "Planet Suite." If the foundation win their claim for infringement of copyright they could make millions of dollars, because sales of the film's soundtrack have gone platinum. Despite Zimmer admitting on the album sleeve that he uses "the same language, the same vocabulary, if not the same syntax" as Holst, the music publishers who hold the copyright in Holst's works, J. Curwen & Sons have decided to take legal action. A Curwen spokesman says, "After a considerable period of discussion between the two parties it has become necessary to ask for the assistance of the courts." The defense lawyer says, "Mr. Zimmer's work on Gladiator is world-renowned and is not in any sense a copy of Mars. Just listening to the two works is enough to tell any listener this claim has no merit."

This is the second time Zimmer has faced a major lawsuit. The first one was back in (I believe) 2002 that a former business partner filed a lawsuit against MediaVentures (now Remote Control) naming Zimmer as illegally forcing people out of jobs/corporate power.

This new lawsuit - I cannot fathom why this group is even trying. Why not sue Bill Conti, John Williams and pretty much every composer since Holst who dares use a march in any of their music?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by OmagnusPrime

I know I've thought various soundtracks sounded a fair bit like the Gladiator soundtrack in the past.

Other way around - Gladiator sounds like things that came before it.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Monkey King

For fuck's sake, John Williams ripped off Mars, God of War in the Star Wars score way more than Zimmer ever did. Bunch of lawsuit-happy gold diggers is what they are.

The difference is that Zimmer admits to it in the CD's linear notes. He kinda set himself up for this.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Zephos

Also, as Lehah said, the big difference is that Zimmer admitted to using Mars, and obviously didn't consult anyone regarding copyrights for the music before doing so.

Yeah but then heres an interview from 1990 with Bill Conti - he lifted Mars for Masters Of The Universe and then defends doing it in the expanded Edel release. Why is it he admited to it 16 years ago and he's never been sued?

Thomas Karban: You don't feel bad about being attacked by the music critics?

Bill Conti: Not at all. We live in a different time. I don't plagiarise anyone. Do you understand the word homage? I say that in "The Right Stuff" there was homage paid to Tchaikovsky, but I don't feel that I plagiarised him.

Thomas Karban: There is also a so-called Hommage paid to Holst in "The Right Stuff" as well as in "Masters Of The Universe".

Bill Conti: When anyone talks about Holst they always talk about Mars. Dam-dam-dam-da-da-da-dam. You call that a melody? I call that a rhythm.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Cal

Oh wow; let's sue Copland AS WELL AS Pat Doyle--they've both used a Schubert modulation throughout their career.

What Zimmer did, however, was lift one of the movement's developmental episodes, the rising octatonic sequence in the brass. This is far more distinctive and original than the simple 5/4 ostinato, and Zimmer's use far more questionable. He even mentions Mars in the Gladiator linar notes.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Morrigan

Er... WTF, I just remembered - isn't Mars public domain anyway? How can they claim copyright infringement??

Its not under public domain. I dont know the nuances of the law but the Holst Foundation is there to purposely keep the trademarks in place on the works of the composer.

Originally Posted by wvlfpvp

In the Special Edition releases of the Star Wars soundtracks, there's talk of how Lucas used a classical temporary score, and everything that's mentioned is all up in there, especially the first movie. Wagner in there at all?

HUGE difference there. Lucas used a classical temp track - Holst and Stravinski sounds are all over the place in A New Hope - which was replaced by John Williams's score. However, two moments were really borrowed (A 5/4 march ala Mars can be heard as the Blockade Runner is pulled into the Star Destroyer and the climactic brass hits as the Proton Torpedos go into the exhaust shaft could be either aforementioned composer). However, nothing was lifted as literally as Zimmer did.

The use of lietmotif isn't ripping anything off becuase thats like saying Williams is ripping off Strauss because they both use the modern concept of an orchestra.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by wvlfpvp

I wasn't saying that, I'm just saying that I've heard quite a bit of Ring in New Hope.

Okay, and? Make a definitive point, please

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Morrigan

I'm gonna have to agree with Soluzar: music cannot be trademarked.

Copyrighted, yes, sorry.

In the case of Gladiator, the reference was intentional and admitted, which means that by not having paid the Holst institute, he did leave himself open for the suit.

It's obviously a quantitative issue, rather than boolean. And in practice, most musical plagiarism lawsuits are settled by an expert witness who shows how the allegedly stolen passage in question actually appeared in a 10th century motet and thus falls into the public domain. But outside of a legal context, I think we can in many cases point our finger and identify blatant ripping-off.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?