Reuters: Paul Simon sues Japanese clockmaker for using song
U.S. singer and songwriter Paul Simon sued a Japanese clockmaker for $5 million for copyright infringement on Friday for claiming the company used one of his songs as a composition on their clocks. Simon's lawyers accused clock company Rhythm Watch Co Ltd, and its U.S. subsidiary Rhythm USA of using Simon's song "Bridge Over Troubled Water" on 40,000 of its clocks in the last three years without his permission. The lawsuit called the song "one of the best known songs throughout the world in popular music" and cited Rhythm's "Grand Nostalgia Clock" as one that plays Simon's song without permission as well as other popular songs including "My Way." Rhythm was established in Tokyo in 1950 and has its U.S. headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia...A license fee for using the song would have cost more than $1 million and the lawsuit estimated Rhythm had profited more than $5 million from the sale of clocks that use the song.
Useless trivia: the Japanese title of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" is "明日に架ける橋". Here's a version for you all to enjoy:
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