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Let’s be clear:  I think the answer is no, for a number of reasons. The web is alive with claims about Britney Spears “ripping off” song lyrics for her latest release, “Hold it Against Me”. The writers of “If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me” by the Bellamy Brothers told told The Daily Star: ‘Howard and I have no personal beef with Britney. She’s a talented gal. But professionally we feel completely ripped off”.

The issue, of course, is the title. However, the Bellamy Brothers can’t even claim ownership of the line, as it was first used as a one-liner by the Marx Brothers. The song itself bears no resemblance to the Bellamy tune. So I’d say, pass: Britney is entitled to use the title. If not, how many lawsuits would there be for “Because I Love you” or ” The Power of Love”? In fact, the Marx Brothers estate could have challenged the Bellamy Brothers years ago.

For as long as I’ve been running A-Lyric.com, I’ve been telling people about the huge demand for lyrics. Song lyrics are regularly in the top 10 search terms, and lyric sites are amongst the most visited on the web. Sony is one of the first majors to come to the obvious conclusion that adding song lyrics will make their sites more interesting. They are in the process of adding lyrics to the sites of artists such as Michael Jackson, Kelly Clarkson and John Legend. The lyrics are supplied by Gracenote, which I have just discovered is a Sony subsidiary.