Doo Lang Doo Lang my Lord
23 June 2009
In 1976, Bright Tunes Music Corp sued ex-Beatle George Harrison, alleging that his song My Sweet Lord (1970) infringed the copyright of The Chiffons’ 1963 hit He’s So Fine. Although the two songs were very different in feel, Harrison’s being a hymn of praise to the Hindu god Krishna and The Chiffon’s to a hunky US schoolboy, the resemblance was difficult to deny. Harrison claimed that he had not knowingly appropriated the melody in question, but although the court accepted this, it was deemed irrelevant. ‘[My Sweet Lord] is, under the law, infringement of copyright and is no less so even though subconsciously accomplished’, was the landmark ruling.





