interesting fact. all computer programs and any media stored on a digital medium can be found somewhere in pi if you convert the data to decimal. pi contains every possible string of numbers, this is a property of its irrational nature. take that dmca all ur crap is infringing on pi's copyright :P
"I don't think you can copyright a melody...based on a number." Unfortunately, you can. That's why it's called copyrighting a melody. If you couldn't, then I could just get by saying "I claim copyright on my song '556517'!! Just because it also corresponds to the note order of the melody Happy Birthday is a coincidence!" Lars isn't pushing copyright on the actual number of Pi....but rather the melody. Two different things.
Seriously, this @#$%-head who got your video taken down--Who is it so I can get a few hundred people to voice their opinions over this on his/her channel? You are completely in the right, here...I mean it's PI, for God's sake...God is the only one who should be able to copyright that.
This is NOT copyrightable. You assigned a chromatic scale to a mathematical constant, an infinate irational number. With your permission, my friends and I would like to re-post the 'song' enmass back on YouTube... Oh wait, we don't need your permission, or anyone elses!
We will repost Pi, then create similar sounds using other mathematical constants. If YouTube pulls any of OUR posts, we will start a campain against YouTube's litigious bullshit.
I agree with guyben13. Give me some means to help out!! People that abuse our courts in hopes of monetary gain DISGUST me. Copyright was designed to spur innovation and creativity, but it's doing the exact opposite of that. It's a difficult system that's in need of major renovation.
Also, Michael, I would highly recommend contacting the Electronic Frontier Foundation to see if they can help. The EFF helps the innocent in these sorts of cases.
I agree with guyben13. Give me some means to help out!! People that abuse our courts in hopes of monetary gain DISGUST me. Copyright was designed to spur innovation and creativity, but it's doing the exact opposite of that. It's a difficult system that's in need of major renovation.
Also, Michael, I would highly recommend contacting the Electronic Frontier Foundation to see if they can help. The EFF helps the innocent in these sorts of cases.
Copyrighting the sequence of numbers that make up Pi is ludicrous, it is a basic rule of nature and must be public domain. Anyway, it's up on the NS page, should be safe there.
Thumbs up if you're here because of Vihart! Man, what a silly claim. . . . . outright plagiarism I could understand suing over, but using a number to make a song?
I heard the original song on a post made by someone else, will repost my comment over there since you're the author:
WOW. This really shows.. god is alive! He made the world real mathematical like, and music is one way to show this amazing feat of his! :D I'm glad you found this secret and performed it for us :D I feel real humbled and inspired to listen to that :)
Copyrighting a number? Come on... when are we going to lock these patent (and copyright) trolls in a box where they can fight over each other's right to oxygen.
I love you Tau video and music. It is beautiful, free and inspirational. Glad to see that you have filed a counter claim.
There is a good reason why the music industry will never recover its glory days -- it fights progress at every step... only to be constantly pushed aside as the free market creates freely.
lol... I had that ideea years before but i considered a joke and never give interest ;)
a melody line consist basically into a succession of intervals, wich can lead into different notes depending on what harmony key is used
let's tune the pi in say Fm. or G... it will be ok then ?
my opinion it is that you can copyright only the mathematical algorithm who is modifying the pi numbers, not the exact notes of a musical piece based on the math applied to the pi numbers
Creating a melody out of a mathematical constant is beautiful in numerous ways. Both Lars and your versions are wonderful, and very different.
Lars claims that he is not copyrighting pi, only a melody. However, he derived that melody from a math constant that's in the public domain. Applying that same logic to engineering, there should be somebody out there with copyright to the circle, sphere, cone, cylinder, and every possible derivation of pi, no matter its construction, appearance, or use.
1. melody is assigned to numbers in a particular scale (that being C MAJOR), why 1 particular scale as no one version of a major scale is dominant over the other.
2: why a major scale or not minor, petatonic or chromatic.
3: how do you assign rhythm to the melody? number gives u no direction, somone has to inturpret a rhythm
4. who assigned chords? they do repeat (they shudent) somene inturprets them. also no 7 chord (B dim) as it sounds bad
Looks like you hit YouTube gold with "What Tau Sounds Like" Good luck on getting everything resolved with this issue. This is just a suggestion have your videos autoplay, that way you get even more views. :)
Pi belongs to the public domain, it cannot be copy righted. Any work based off of Pi is considered a derivative work, and therefore also public domain, and not copyrightable. Your method of producing musical derivations from numbers however, IS a copyrightable process.
Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Haydn. Bartok's wholesale use of Hungarian folk melodies. Charles Ives' use of quotations of Stephen Foster and many US folk melodies. Ralph Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. Stravinsky's Birthday Offering.
And what this is isn't a "melody" at issue, but a sequence of notes. That's like copyrighting a 12-tone row--not a melody. You can't copyright a tone row...
Let it go. It wasn't all that entertaining anyway. I could have a computer endlessly spit out numbers while I played the corresponding major note to accompany each and call it music but it's still sounds boring as hell. Btw, wimp (dot) com still has the Pi video on it.
After reading his lawsuit, it's pretty clear he has no case. He didn't (and, likely, wouldn't be able to) copyright the process by which he came up with the Pi melody and the melody itself is based on Pi... he didn't come up with that progression of notes. His copyright is for a piece of music using a melody he can't own. His dilution claim is simply absurd because that only applies to trademarks and he doesn't have one. Apart from the Pi melody, the two pieces are significantly different.
I went on Erickson's channel to see what it was all about. Yes, his symphony is really a good melody and all, but this guy is a frigging moron. Reading his self-satisfied answers to users asking him about the lawsuit was a real pain due to the copious amount of ego in it. This guy is a moron.
I'm sorry to hear that your video is being tied up in this way - I did hear it in the New Scientist posting, and it is a very good piece of music. But your interpretation of Tau is AMAZING, and I'm glad I got to enjoy them both. Fantastic! I do hope everything gets resolved in such a way that others can continue to enjoy your compositions....
@Sparks12334 I'm afraid it'll be a while for the legal process to run it's course. You can still see it though, it's up on several other pages. Try the New Scientist reposting.
I'm pretty sure you'll win the dispute. All the other guy is doing throwing money at you, and hoping you'll end up broke, and won't be more famous than him. Either way, please post something somewhere so we can donate to you.
unbelievable news! What is the matter with that guy Erickson? Good luck with your defence and I'm hoping all will work out. Today is Tau Day, and I only just learned about it from BBC online. This led me to the Tau manifesto and then somehow I found your video.
First, you've got The Learned Hand on your side. Second, he didn't come up with the note progression, so he cannot claim a copyright on that note progression. Third - in reading his lawsuit, he has no claim for dilution because he has no trademark... as far as I know, market dilution doesn't apply to copyrights. There are also other differences between the songs that make them unique.
was it the exact same melody? like the exact same note progression? because if it wasn't, you're being a bit of a dick. You can't copyright inspiration. But if it was, then Micheal Blake should be more careful, and I get it
COPYRIGHT UPDATE: Lars Erickson, composer of the "Pi Symphony" is suing me because he believes he owns the melody you get when you convert the digits of Pi to music. What he thinks he's going to gain from suing a broke musician is beyond me, but his misguided notions of justice will be put in their place sooner or later. My legal team is presently working on my defense of this ludicrous claim, but the fact that this little song I made is now a federal case is just so stupid.
@michaeljohnblake Dude that guy is a joke. Congrats on your piece and all your other works. They're many times more impressive than anything he's done.
@michaeljohnblake Pi belongs to the public domain, it cannot be copy righted. Any work based off of Pi is considered a derivative work, and therefore also public domain, and not copyrightable. Your method of producing musical derivations from numbers however, IS a copyrightable process.
@michaeljohnblake Amazing work. When I first heard "What Pi Sounds Like" I listened to it over and over and over. Best of luck with the law suit. New Scientist has reposted your video. Search "What Pi Sounds Like NewScientistVideo". You are a very talented artist. Keep up the good work.
@michaeljohnblake Yeah, it's completely stupid, but thank you for fighting it instead of just deciding it's more trouble than it's worth (which probably a lot of people would, understandably, decide to do). It's so ridiculous and wrong, and not something that should go unchecked.
so ive got an idea.. im only a ninth grade chorus student, but why not write the song in minor scale instead of major? lars erikson couldnt copyright that could he? thumbs up if you think this is a good idea so michael will see it (:
lars erickson's song SUCKED...he was just marshing notes together with a fancy orchestra. i think your version is a lot better since it actually has a very unique and beautiful "shape" to the sound. good luck <3
Michael, your video is wonderful, and the music is wonderful. This is part of a common astounding mathematical heritage. If someone claims they own pi, I hope that pi eats them and they never get to have any pie!
Youtube will not last life long If all the videos are gone From a little stupid rule All of this happening just ain't cool I thought it was a place for fun Entertainment for everyone Now these companies are barging in Tearing up the site like it belongs to them Threatening Youtube for having their songs Can't we all just get along? Removed every video left and right Almost everything on their site If theres just one thing I hate Its all those mother beeping copyrights!
No! I wanted to listen to your Pi sound again but it was claimed by the very same person, again.
Nobody can said he/she owned the beautiful Pi because it's belong to PI itself.....Seriously... EVERYONE can play the PI pattern with their own creativity. :/
Back in 1998 I converted 1000 numbers from PI into roman numerals for my surreal book. Seems I better start to patent or claim copyright for it...hahhah. This Lars character is for sure a real idiot.
Hey dude, it totally blows your video was pulled! I used in a lesson with my 7th graders (I teach math at a performing arts school), and it totally resonated with them. We have even made out own pi song! Keep up the awesome work and good luck!
i strongly disagree with the fact lars feels he has the right to copyright pi for his capitalistic intentions. im sure one if not several musicians have thought of pi as a melody before he did, it was just lars who decided to claim it as his. i think he should be flattered if not modestly competitive when another musician interprets pi into music. but hey, he got there first, pi is HIS creation, right? thanks for inviting unnecessary battles into music lars erickson. its art man, not monopoly.
lars erickson is a capitalistic sleaze. to claim a mathematical constant that existed in rudimentary forms over thousands of years ago in a musical interpretation is his creation is a fallacy. though he may have copyrighted it, i feel that any following persons who use pi as a melody, though in their own composition, have every right to do so. also im posting what i posted on his page....
hmm some copyright laws are very strange. Remember some problems when companies have copyright on some peoples DNA information becuse of research. And they cant go to other companies to get help with their illness or anything becuse the first company have the rights to their DNA informaiton
@rubymiene That will be hilarious. I hope Lars gets fined for this frivolous waste of taxpayer money (on top of the money he'll lose anyway when they obviously rule in Michael's favor)
"Copyright protects the particular way authors have expressed themselves. It does not extend to any ideas, systems, or factual information conveyed in a work." From the U.S. Copyright laws.
thats an illegal copyright claim, Pi (or 2*Pi) does not exist physically, we can only view a linear approximation of it, if one will claim a specific linear approximation, another can use a different approximation.
Not necessarily. It's entirely possible that the nature of the number is such that some given sequence simply doesn't appear in it despite the figure being calculated to infinity.
@kyllum1 Yup, same with every possible permutation of anything you can imagine. Every book, every password, all top secret gov. information. It's all bull.
@kyllum1 Not necessarily. It's believed to be true but unproven. For instance 10/9=1.111111... goes on forever, but it clearly contains only one melody. Even irrational (non-repeating) numbers such as 1.01001000100001000001... can go on forever and still not contain most digit-sequences.
Also, his pi song doesn't use accidentals. Perhaps (if we're only looking at songs on the piano) it should be re-interpreted in base 88 (or base-12 with the octaves left to artistic interpretation)
@dreamcontrol8000 Non-repeating numbers that go on forever and don't contain certain digit-sequences have to have some type of pattern or loop eventually even if that pattern or loop is huge. Pi does not have any patterns or loops.
@kyllum1 Interesting question! I suspect the answer is probably not. Just because it's unendingly infinite doesn't mean that it contains infinite content - a recurring decimal goes on forever but without much content. Some people can ramble on forever without ever producing any Shakespeare. And even infinite content doesn't mean _all_ content (e.g. "everything but Mozart's Requiem" would be infinite but not complete). Anyone know the answer to this?
@danielwinterstein Yes, 1.11111 infinity not have infinite content because it goes on forever, but Pi is a number that NEVER has any patterns whatsoever. No patterns + Infinite = every combination you can think of and not think of. ;) Maybe the pattern of Pi is not having a pattern? :P
If there were copyright claim on a chord sequence, there would be THOUSANDS of legal battles happening right now. Guess how many jazz pieces are based on I, IV and V?
Time for me to hurry up and write all the songs I can based on number combinations! Too bad Pachelbel already grabbed I, V, vi, iii, IV, I, IV, V - I would have made a lot of money off of that!
The copyright claim is absolutely ridiculous. It's a goddamn number and I don't think you can exactly claim a mathematical number unless you came up with it. And i'm sure others have made music about pi as well. This is just stupid
.
Someone was a bit jealous their video didn't get as many views as Michael. Hopefully the video will be back up! :)
@n4bzilla Agreed. No one can claim pi as "theirs". He has no claim to the number, just like the bible, indians, or anyone like Archimedes who tried to calculate this number in the past.
Your pi video is beautiful. I don't know who is filing a claim against you and I don't want to know, because it can only be someone who is very silly and very desperate. But, in the meantime......how about a Fibonacci?
@KindaGamey in the words of Abe, "I have already intimated my opinion that in the world's history, certain inventions and discoveries occurred, of peculiar value, on account of their great efficiency in facilitating all other inventions and discoveries. Of these were the arts of writing and of printing -- the discovery of America, and the introduction of Patent-laws." copyrights dont damage human creative potential, taking ideas without showing respect to where you got it does
@ganimber3 well that's heap big ironic considering that america wasn't "discovered," we stole it. Guess the Indians hadn't invented copyrights yet. As for creative potential, if I take your idea and alter it, I make something new; just as we do with language. We are conduits for creativity, not the source. Were it not for the entirety of human history none of our creative efforts would be, therefore they are dependent on past creativity. The only damage it does is to overly protective egos.
@KindaGamey my dude, my hobby is making music/beats and when i started doing it, i only sampled old records, so i get you. of course creativity is a personal interpretation of something that exist for all of us, all im saying is while doing this, i always make sure i pay my respect to those before me, and those who have influenced me. Its like if someone tells me something cool, im not gonna turn around and tell someone else look what i found out. im gonna say, look what this person told me.
@ganimber3 my dude, I got no disagreement with anything you said there. but our system actually makes it harder to pay respects to an original artist if you aren't paying for the material because if one is borrowing a sample and they put a credit to the artist in the description, they set themselves up to get nicked by lawyers or have the piece revoked. So what's the alternative? not make your creative vision? use lesser samples and compromise the quality of your work? nope, you just do it.
Personally I can understand Erickson's claim. He literally wrote a symphony which has been performed in concert halls, where tickets were sold etc. It is definitely a sticky situation. To be honest I liked both of your interpretations. His was more orchestral and yours obviously has a modern touch. Too bad it had to come to this.
@TheDJLiquify The idea of making a song out of the number pi (and some other constants) has been done many many times, Erickson's musical interpretation of pi is completely different from Michael's, the claim is full of crap, Erickson is just being an ass trying to claim copyrights on the idea of using a constant as a musical design. Youtube did the right thing by putting Michael's video back up.
interesting fact. all computer programs and any media stored on a digital medium can be found somewhere in pi if you convert the data to decimal. pi contains every possible string of numbers, this is a property of its irrational nature. take that dmca all ur crap is infringing on pi's copyright :P
bradly726 2 days ago
I CLAIM COPYRIGHT TO NUMBER ONE FOR I HAVE MADE A SONG ABOUT IT, IT"S JUST THE MIDDLE C KEY ONCE, BUT A SONG NONETHELESS!!!
Anthonyk312 1 month ago
That sucks! I saw/heard it. IT WAS INSPIRED MAN! I loved it. Good luck to you, bud.
MrBlujei 1 month ago
funny thing is. if king if england said big BS about copyright.
no American national anthem, for the american national anthem's tune if ripped from a British drinking tune
NetraToraken 1 month ago
"I don't think you can copyright a melody...based on a number." Unfortunately, you can. That's why it's called copyrighting a melody. If you couldn't, then I could just get by saying "I claim copyright on my song '556517'!! Just because it also corresponds to the note order of the melody Happy Birthday is a coincidence!" Lars isn't pushing copyright on the actual number of Pi....but rather the melody. Two different things.
bennychico 2 months ago
Seriously, this @#$%-head who got your video taken down--Who is it so I can get a few hundred people to voice their opinions over this on his/her channel? You are completely in the right, here...I mean it's PI, for God's sake...God is the only one who should be able to copyright that.
kender1412 2 months ago
All musical creations are based on numbers.
donsax1 2 months ago
This is NOT copyrightable. You assigned a chromatic scale to a mathematical constant, an infinate irational number. With your permission, my friends and I would like to re-post the 'song' enmass back on YouTube... Oh wait, we don't need your permission, or anyone elses!
We will repost Pi, then create similar sounds using other mathematical constants. If YouTube pulls any of OUR posts, we will start a campain against YouTube's litigious bullshit.
JKolman1234 3 months ago
Someone should copyright the unit circle so I wouldn't have to do trig equations anymore :D
flowiepanda 3 months ago 4
Mirror dat vid <9000 times :D
MrFueler 4 months ago in playlist Videos from michaeljohnblake
You can't copyright numbers. Erickson is being so rude.
MinamuTV 5 months ago 8
I agree with guyben13. Give me some means to help out!! People that abuse our courts in hopes of monetary gain DISGUST me. Copyright was designed to spur innovation and creativity, but it's doing the exact opposite of that. It's a difficult system that's in need of major renovation.
Also, Michael, I would highly recommend contacting the Electronic Frontier Foundation to see if they can help. The EFF helps the innocent in these sorts of cases.
eff . org
Best of luck to you, man!! :)
Radeon5970 5 months ago 2
I agree with guyben13. Give me some means to help out!! People that abuse our courts in hopes of monetary gain DISGUST me. Copyright was designed to spur innovation and creativity, but it's doing the exact opposite of that. It's a difficult system that's in need of major renovation.
Also, Michael, I would highly recommend contacting the Electronic Frontier Foundation to see if they can help. The EFF helps the innocent in these sorts of cases.
eff.org
Best of luck to you, man!! :)
Radeon5970 5 months ago
I hope that Lars guy drops dead. Truly a pathetic loser and everything wrong with the copyright laws today.
Zintos446 5 months ago
It is this sort of thing that makes me weep for humanity.
The1truesushiboy 5 months ago
Disgusting. All the best in your attempt to bang some sense into that moron.
2205923358 6 months ago
Really??? suing you??? that guy is nothing but an idiot maybe that's the only piece of music he is written in his whole life hahahahahaha
MARLONCASTROM 6 months ago
lars is shit.
TENJHOTENGE1 6 months ago
Comment removed
TENJHOTENGE1 6 months ago
Copyrighting the sequence of numbers that make up Pi is ludicrous, it is a basic rule of nature and must be public domain. Anyway, it's up on the NS page, should be safe there.
pathduck 6 months ago
EVERYONE should be entitled to a piece of the Pi. There's plenty to go around. Thanks for alerting me to this Vihart. I love that woman!
donniedarkodevotte 6 months ago
your Pi-song is a masterpiece!!
FDarkGuitar 6 months ago
Thumbs up if you're here because of Vihart! Man, what a silly claim. . . . . outright plagiarism I could understand suing over, but using a number to make a song?
EmmaOnATangent 6 months ago
I don't want to live on this planet anymore.
NoidRoidN 6 months ago 2
I heard the original song on a post made by someone else, will repost my comment over there since you're the author:
WOW. This really shows.. god is alive! He made the world real mathematical like, and music is one way to show this amazing feat of his! :D I'm glad you found this secret and performed it for us :D I feel real humbled and inspired to listen to that :)
faeleia 6 months ago
Copyrighting a number? Come on... when are we going to lock these patent (and copyright) trolls in a box where they can fight over each other's right to oxygen.
I love you Tau video and music. It is beautiful, free and inspirational. Glad to see that you have filed a counter claim.
There is a good reason why the music industry will never recover its glory days -- it fights progress at every step... only to be constantly pushed aside as the free market creates freely.
OlinHyde 6 months ago
Binar 11.00100100001111110110…
Decimal 3.14159265358979323846264338327950288…
Hexadecimal 3.243F6A8885A308D31319
fanebabanu19 6 months ago
lol... I had that ideea years before but i considered a joke and never give interest ;)
a melody line consist basically into a succession of intervals, wich can lead into different notes depending on what harmony key is used
let's tune the pi in say Fm. or G... it will be ok then ?
my opinion it is that you can copyright only the mathematical algorithm who is modifying the pi numbers, not the exact notes of a musical piece based on the math applied to the pi numbers
fanebabanu19 6 months ago
I take comfort in the fact that eventually the whole notion of "intellectual property" will be exposed as the scam it is.
MusicRepository 6 months ago
Creating a melody out of a mathematical constant is beautiful in numerous ways. Both Lars and your versions are wonderful, and very different.
Lars claims that he is not copyrighting pi, only a melody. However, he derived that melody from a math constant that's in the public domain. Applying that same logic to engineering, there should be somebody out there with copyright to the circle, sphere, cone, cylinder, and every possible derivation of pi, no matter its construction, appearance, or use.
GuitarNoob101 6 months ago
Niether are pi at all in my opinion,because
1. melody is assigned to numbers in a particular scale (that being C MAJOR), why 1 particular scale as no one version of a major scale is dominant over the other.
2: why a major scale or not minor, petatonic or chromatic.
3: how do you assign rhythm to the melody? number gives u no direction, somone has to inturpret a rhythm
4. who assigned chords? they do repeat (they shudent) somene inturprets them. also no 7 chord (B dim) as it sounds bad
stealth260785 7 months ago
@stealth260785
absolutely right !
anyone with a basic understanding of music can figure that ;)
PS: and how you can define a melody ?
A theme (melody line, succession of intervals) or a polyphonic thing ?
fanebabanu19 6 months ago
What is it about guys named Lars in the music biz? Are they all doucebags?
JonnyCashmore 7 months ago 8
what a dick. i hope everythings fine now!
jhubeJELLO 7 months ago
at least he isn't suing for the tau song as well!
schoolmornings 7 months ago
good luck. the other fool is getting undeserved publicity from this. maybe his motivation...
youpagan 7 months ago
@youpagan Not at all impossible.
reformCopyright 6 months ago
This is so stupid, they don't even sound alike, plus you can't copyright numbers.
zunukoo 7 months ago
Looks like you hit YouTube gold with "What Tau Sounds Like" Good luck on getting everything resolved with this issue. This is just a suggestion have your videos autoplay, that way you get even more views. :)
zunukoo 7 months ago
Dare him to play out entire composition to prove his claim.
I am sure the court case will be short.
lebac 8 months ago
Pi belongs to the public domain, it cannot be copy righted. Any work based off of Pi is considered a derivative work, and therefore also public domain, and not copyrightable. Your method of producing musical derivations from numbers however, IS a copyrightable process.
neutronjockey 8 months ago 2
Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Haydn. Bartok's wholesale use of Hungarian folk melodies. Charles Ives' use of quotations of Stephen Foster and many US folk melodies. Ralph Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. Stravinsky's Birthday Offering.
And what this is isn't a "melody" at issue, but a sequence of notes. That's like copyrighting a 12-tone row--not a melody. You can't copyright a tone row...
earscapes 8 months ago
Comment removed
sorry8140 8 months ago
I was told once that even bad publicity is good publicity.
fpblues 8 months ago
May the ghost of William Jones haunt Lars Erickson! (Google his name) What is it with fuckers named "Lars" and copyright claims?
CyberDurden 8 months ago
Fuck Pi. I am going to convert i into music.
Atheist2006 8 months ago
@Atheist2006 errr..convert i?
therealcalhounninja 8 months ago
@therealcalhounninja
Yes. The Imaginary number, of course.
Atheist2006 8 months ago
@Atheist2006 perhaps i missed the sarcasm in your original post? if so i apologize
therealcalhounninja 8 months ago
wait, wasn't the video on Tau?
anontrolo 8 months ago
Let it go. It wasn't all that entertaining anyway. I could have a computer endlessly spit out numbers while I played the corresponding major note to accompany each and call it music but it's still sounds boring as hell. Btw, wimp (dot) com still has the Pi video on it.
stusvend 8 months ago
Hmmmm .... Pythagoras got himself a lawyer, eh? I hope that this won't discourage you from making a "What Phi sounds like" video.
herveus 8 months ago 2
Good luck, man. I totally agree, this is ridiculous.
Syndicate888 8 months ago
I love the composition of your TAU. I hope you can do more composition to the other CONSTANT value.
joeyco67 8 months ago
After reading his lawsuit, it's pretty clear he has no case. He didn't (and, likely, wouldn't be able to) copyright the process by which he came up with the Pi melody and the melody itself is based on Pi... he didn't come up with that progression of notes. His copyright is for a piece of music using a melody he can't own. His dilution claim is simply absurd because that only applies to trademarks and he doesn't have one. Apart from the Pi melody, the two pieces are significantly different.
entspeak 8 months ago
I went on Erickson's channel to see what it was all about. Yes, his symphony is really a good melody and all, but this guy is a frigging moron. Reading his self-satisfied answers to users asking him about the lawsuit was a real pain due to the copious amount of ego in it. This guy is a moron.
DjDoobz 8 months ago
man, make a tau song before some douche copy right it. Pi is wrong anyway.
cchderrick 8 months ago
@cchderrick See this video: v=3174T-3-59Q
SuperAsymptote 8 months ago
I'm sorry to hear that your video is being tied up in this way - I did hear it in the New Scientist posting, and it is a very good piece of music. But your interpretation of Tau is AMAZING, and I'm glad I got to enjoy them both. Fantastic! I do hope everything gets resolved in such a way that others can continue to enjoy your compositions....
gonezap 8 months ago
is it all figured out yet?? I want to see this!!
Sparks12334 8 months ago
@Sparks12334 I'm afraid it'll be a while for the legal process to run it's course. You can still see it though, it's up on several other pages. Try the New Scientist reposting.
michaeljohnblake 8 months ago 3
I'm pretty sure you'll win the dispute. All the other guy is doing throwing money at you, and hoping you'll end up broke, and won't be more famous than him. Either way, please post something somewhere so we can donate to you.
Jrel 8 months ago
Comment removed
Jrel 8 months ago
That's bull.
It's like saying "you can't paint a picture of the Lincoln Monument because I painted one first!"
Good luck with your case.
SyntheticLightning 8 months ago 3
New Scientist did a version.. I bet Lars doesn't try and sue them. Hope you fail and spend a hell of a lot of money failing Lars! Good luck Michael
JonRushton1 8 months ago
Lars sounds... unpleasant. Well he may as well sue Tom Dukich and everyone else who dared to play pi as music too. Geez.
Fivefingerdiskount 8 months ago
unbelievable news! What is the matter with that guy Erickson? Good luck with your defence and I'm hoping all will work out. Today is Tau Day, and I only just learned about it from BBC online. This led me to the Tau manifesto and then somehow I found your video.
yamimamimay 8 months ago
Lars Erickson, hit the record button b/c my foot up ur ass is gonna make you sing soprano. You may copyright THAT.
shizzbop 8 months ago
First, you've got The Learned Hand on your side. Second, he didn't come up with the note progression, so he cannot claim a copyright on that note progression. Third - in reading his lawsuit, he has no claim for dilution because he has no trademark... as far as I know, market dilution doesn't apply to copyrights. There are also other differences between the songs that make them unique.
phellum42 8 months ago
Better hurry up and write a song based on logarithmic e before someone else does.
xAquinasx 8 months ago 8
luck fars
sargemattwei 8 months ago 3
was it the exact same melody? like the exact same note progression? because if it wasn't, you're being a bit of a dick. You can't copyright inspiration. But if it was, then Micheal Blake should be more careful, and I get it
veggiemuncher86 8 months ago
don't much matter who did it first, MJB has thus far done it best, also, i've applied for a patent on tap water.
mityquin10 8 months ago 7
that piece is absolutely magnificent. best of luck dealing with this nonsense.
seriousheartburn 8 months ago 4
I'll be rooting for you! Keep Pi free!
redcorpse 8 months ago
Where can I donate to the legal defense? I find this whole thing truly outrageous.
Seriously - do you have a paypal or something for donations?
guyben13 9 months ago 45
@guyben13 @michaeljohnblake I'd like to help, too.
robertofrega 6 months ago
I need to see the video again!
Fooksalt 9 months ago
@Fooksalt i found it on college humor
lykebank 9 months ago
@lykebank zomg! thanks
Fooksalt 9 months ago
I can't believe that this is going before the courts... Good luck! Hopefully we're not that stupid.
NineStepsToGumbo 9 months ago
COPYRIGHT UPDATE: Lars Erickson, composer of the "Pi Symphony" is suing me because he believes he owns the melody you get when you convert the digits of Pi to music. What he thinks he's going to gain from suing a broke musician is beyond me, but his misguided notions of justice will be put in their place sooner or later. My legal team is presently working on my defense of this ludicrous claim, but the fact that this little song I made is now a federal case is just so stupid.
michaeljohnblake 9 months ago 206
@michaeljohnblake
Row row, fight the powah!
(nice vid by the way)
WSWarthog 9 months ago
@michaeljohnblake Dude that guy is a joke. Congrats on your piece and all your other works. They're many times more impressive than anything he's done.
xluryan 8 months ago 3
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davygrvy 8 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@michaeljohnblake Pi belongs to the public domain, it cannot be copy righted. Any work based off of Pi is considered a derivative work, and therefore also public domain, and not copyrightable. Your method of producing musical derivations from numbers however, IS a copyrightable process.
neutronjockey 8 months ago
@michaeljohnblake Amazing work. When I first heard "What Pi Sounds Like" I listened to it over and over and over. Best of luck with the law suit. New Scientist has reposted your video. Search "What Pi Sounds Like NewScientistVideo". You are a very talented artist. Keep up the good work.
timelam 7 months ago
@michaeljohnblake Yeah, it's completely stupid, but thank you for fighting it instead of just deciding it's more trouble than it's worth (which probably a lot of people would, understandably, decide to do). It's so ridiculous and wrong, and not something that should go unchecked.
Clearly, you've got a lot of support here.
katiekawaii 6 months ago
Yours has a nice bouncy rhythm will he has a song with, really no bounce :/
BlaeWakes 9 months ago
any update on how the dispute is going or if youtube's still gonna keep there stand on it?
thunder996 9 months ago
so ive got an idea.. im only a ninth grade chorus student, but why not write the song in minor scale instead of major? lars erikson couldnt copyright that could he? thumbs up if you think this is a good idea so michael will see it (:
sharkyboyforjesus 9 months ago
lars erickson's song SUCKED...he was just marshing notes together with a fancy orchestra. i think your version is a lot better since it actually has a very unique and beautiful "shape" to the sound. good luck <3
HApophis 9 months ago 2
Michael, your video is wonderful, and the music is wonderful. This is part of a common astounding mathematical heritage. If someone claims they own pi, I hope that pi eats them and they never get to have any pie!
lexinaut 9 months ago
woooo for Vi Hart!
Oozingzombie57 10 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Youtube will not last life long If all the videos are gone From a little stupid rule All of this happening just ain't cool I thought it was a place for fun Entertainment for everyone Now these companies are barging in Tearing up the site like it belongs to them Threatening Youtube for having their songs Can't we all just get along? Removed every video left and right Almost everything on their site If theres just one thing I hate Its all those mother beeping copyrights!
oguzhan093 10 months ago
4 people are just plain idiots.
kiwi1mango1 10 months ago
quick question. Why the FUCK is Rebbeca Black on the suggestion list after this video?
B1indfire 10 months ago 2
@B1indfire Because it's pi day, pi day?
smellincoffee 10 months ago 2
lars erickson is a douchebag! its just cause your pi is better than his
MrKing6000 10 months ago 3
lars erickson is a douchebag!
MrKing6000 10 months ago
I have a suggestion: Raise ℮ to the power of i times Pi and add 1.
The result is silence !
Timeoutsailor 10 months ago
I have a suggestion: Raise ℮ to the power of i times Pi and add 1.
The result is silence !
Timeoutsailor 10 months ago
No! I wanted to listen to your Pi sound again but it was claimed by the very same person, again.
Nobody can said he/she owned the beautiful Pi because it's belong to PI itself.....Seriously... EVERYONE can play the PI pattern with their own creativity. :/
xshirayuki 10 months ago
right on!!
kicks32playa 10 months ago
Wow look at all those people in the related videos tab who want to get sued too. Go get 'em Mikey.
mrfyisms 10 months ago
Back in 1998 I converted 1000 numbers from PI into roman numerals for my surreal book. Seems I better start to patent or claim copyright for it...hahhah. This Lars character is for sure a real idiot.
StoneOakvalley 10 months ago
Is the song still on iTunes?
minamu8 10 months ago
Hey dude, it totally blows your video was pulled! I used in a lesson with my 7th graders (I teach math at a performing arts school), and it totally resonated with them. We have even made out own pi song! Keep up the awesome work and good luck!
amacmann 10 months ago
i strongly disagree with the fact lars feels he has the right to copyright pi for his capitalistic intentions. im sure one if not several musicians have thought of pi as a melody before he did, it was just lars who decided to claim it as his. i think he should be flattered if not modestly competitive when another musician interprets pi into music. but hey, he got there first, pi is HIS creation, right? thanks for inviting unnecessary battles into music lars erickson. its art man, not monopoly.
mfrican1127 10 months ago
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mfrican1127 10 months ago
lars erickson is a capitalistic sleaze. to claim a mathematical constant that existed in rudimentary forms over thousands of years ago in a musical interpretation is his creation is a fallacy. though he may have copyrighted it, i feel that any following persons who use pi as a melody, though in their own composition, have every right to do so. also im posting what i posted on his page....
mfrican1127 10 months ago 4
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mfrican1127 10 months ago
No problem, just do 'what e sounds like'...
brainblaster52 10 months ago
I like how it's gone again... Wait, no I don't. :/
TheCaliger 10 months ago
Was taken down again :(
bruteshot473 10 months ago
hmm some copyright laws are very strange. Remember some problems when companies have copyright on some peoples DNA information becuse of research. And they cant go to other companies to get help with their illness or anything becuse the first company have the rights to their DNA informaiton
skink84 10 months ago
FYI, looks like a complaint got filed yesterday. YouTube won't let me post a link, but search scribd for Erickson v Blake
rubymiene 11 months ago
@rubymiene That will be hilarious. I hope Lars gets fined for this frivolous waste of taxpayer money (on top of the money he'll lose anyway when they obviously rule in Michael's favor)
I'm gonna go tip off Techdirt to this development
TheBilly 10 months ago
D8; Okay, that is probably the dumbest copyright claim I've ever heard of.
Anyway... your niece is so adorable~! x3
0xxSparkzofHopexx0 11 months ago 3
How to gain sympathy, youtube w/ toddlers
johnnymoe4321 11 months ago 5
Thank you for getting the video back! now I can share it with my brother! :D
Stilichos 11 months ago
The video is back!
forallpurposesonly 11 months ago
which dumbass claimed the f***ing copyright??
subh1 11 months ago
"Copyright protects the particular way authors have expressed themselves. It does not extend to any ideas, systems, or factual information conveyed in a work." From the U.S. Copyright laws.
MATTierial 11 months ago 54
I hope this nonsense gets sorted soon. I haven't heard this pi song, but I very much want to.
Fistfullofnapalm 11 months ago
thats an illegal copyright claim, Pi (or 2*Pi) does not exist physically, we can only view a linear approximation of it, if one will claim a specific linear approximation, another can use a different approximation.
lsharir 11 months ago
If Pi goes on forever then isn't every piano song ever written somewhere inside the number pi?
kyllum1 11 months ago 167
@kyllum1
You just blew my mind... :O
Leadman1989 10 months ago
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raydredX 9 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@kyllum1 No, most songs would need more than 10 digits.
raydredX 9 months ago
@kyllum1
Not necessarily. It's entirely possible that the nature of the number is such that some given sequence simply doesn't appear in it despite the figure being calculated to infinity.
WSWarthog 9 months ago 3
@kyllum1 Yup, same with every possible permutation of anything you can imagine. Every book, every password, all top secret gov. information. It's all bull.
Vorbis5 8 months ago
@kyllum1 Not necessarily. It's believed to be true but unproven. For instance 10/9=1.111111... goes on forever, but it clearly contains only one melody. Even irrational (non-repeating) numbers such as 1.01001000100001000001... can go on forever and still not contain most digit-sequences.
Also, his pi song doesn't use accidentals. Perhaps (if we're only looking at songs on the piano) it should be re-interpreted in base 88 (or base-12 with the octaves left to artistic interpretation)
dreamcontrol8000 8 months ago
@dreamcontrol8000 Non-repeating numbers that go on forever and don't contain certain digit-sequences have to have some type of pattern or loop eventually even if that pattern or loop is huge. Pi does not have any patterns or loops.
kyllum1 8 months ago
@kyllum1 Interesting question! I suspect the answer is probably not. Just because it's unendingly infinite doesn't mean that it contains infinite content - a recurring decimal goes on forever but without much content. Some people can ramble on forever without ever producing any Shakespeare. And even infinite content doesn't mean _all_ content (e.g. "everything but Mozart's Requiem" would be infinite but not complete). Anyone know the answer to this?
danielwinterstein 8 months ago
@danielwinterstein Yes, 1.11111 infinity not have infinite content because it goes on forever, but Pi is a number that NEVER has any patterns whatsoever. No patterns + Infinite = every combination you can think of and not think of. ;) Maybe the pattern of Pi is not having a pattern? :P
kyllum1 8 months ago
out of curiosity, how would the natural number e sound?
jbartl87 11 months ago
Okay everyone, for future reference, the number 4 belongs to me and if I ever see you use it, I will sue you for copyright infringement.
This is bs. >=[
everestgirl13 11 months ago 5
If there were copyright claim on a chord sequence, there would be THOUSANDS of legal battles happening right now. Guess how many jazz pieces are based on I, IV and V?
Dreadmonkey1 11 months ago
Time for me to hurry up and write all the songs I can based on number combinations! Too bad Pachelbel already grabbed I, V, vi, iii, IV, I, IV, V - I would have made a lot of money off of that!
Nexxion 11 months ago
Good luck with your battle for pi!! I support you 100%
madbetamax 11 months ago
I liked the video (found it based on a comment from some else just below) and plan to buy the song on itunes!
KristoforWilson 11 months ago
COPYRIGHT AIR AND CHARGE PEOPLE TO BREATHE!
WEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
BaronpFB 11 months ago
Wow copyright on Pi? What kind bs is this man i hope it works out for you
YuorDmub 11 months ago
Who was the punk?
KodierungHerz 11 months ago
The copyright claim is absolutely ridiculous. It's a goddamn number and I don't think you can exactly claim a mathematical number unless you came up with it. And i'm sure others have made music about pi as well. This is just stupid
.
Someone was a bit jealous their video didn't get as many views as Michael. Hopefully the video will be back up! :)
n4bzilla 11 months ago 2
@n4bzilla Agreed. No one can claim pi as "theirs". He has no claim to the number, just like the bible, indians, or anyone like Archimedes who tried to calculate this number in the past.
TheTwinWhoLovesMusic 11 months ago
There's another copy of your video on youtube."O som do Pi"
twigsta 11 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
find it on wimp.com
dylanmaxwell 11 months ago
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dylanmaxwell 11 months ago
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dylanmaxwell 11 months ago
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dylanmaxwell 11 months ago
Tell me where the guy lives. I'll shoot him in the elbow for you.
pavo6503 11 months ago
Your pi video is beautiful. I don't know who is filing a claim against you and I don't want to know, because it can only be someone who is very silly and very desperate. But, in the meantime......how about a Fibonacci?
thapoopscoopa 11 months ago
fuck copyrights
Raxarax 11 months ago
Good luck! Copyright are obsolete.
coortex1 11 months ago
Your vid is still up on wimp.com: wimp.com/pisounds/ - thanks. :)
pilcharddotorg 11 months ago 4
how ridiculous can this be ?!?!?!
MetaView7 11 months ago
Who filed the claim?
anzwertree 11 months ago
You're still on Wimp dot com
anzwertree 11 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
I managed to watch your video on another site. It is amazing!!
RobertGT6 11 months ago
im still confused how the song was exactly copy right infringement?? Did anyone make this before? I definitely haven't seen it anywhere else
SomniumDS 11 months ago
Copyrights damage human creative potential, chuck em out! And competition based economies while you're at it.
KindaGamey 11 months ago
@KindaGamey in the words of Abe, "I have already intimated my opinion that in the world's history, certain inventions and discoveries occurred, of peculiar value, on account of their great efficiency in facilitating all other inventions and discoveries. Of these were the arts of writing and of printing -- the discovery of America, and the introduction of Patent-laws." copyrights dont damage human creative potential, taking ideas without showing respect to where you got it does
ganimber3 11 months ago
@ganimber3 well that's heap big ironic considering that america wasn't "discovered," we stole it. Guess the Indians hadn't invented copyrights yet. As for creative potential, if I take your idea and alter it, I make something new; just as we do with language. We are conduits for creativity, not the source. Were it not for the entirety of human history none of our creative efforts would be, therefore they are dependent on past creativity. The only damage it does is to overly protective egos.
KindaGamey 11 months ago
@KindaGamey my dude, my hobby is making music/beats and when i started doing it, i only sampled old records, so i get you. of course creativity is a personal interpretation of something that exist for all of us, all im saying is while doing this, i always make sure i pay my respect to those before me, and those who have influenced me. Its like if someone tells me something cool, im not gonna turn around and tell someone else look what i found out. im gonna say, look what this person told me.
ganimber3 11 months ago
@ganimber3 my dude, I got no disagreement with anything you said there. but our system actually makes it harder to pay respects to an original artist if you aren't paying for the material because if one is borrowing a sample and they put a credit to the artist in the description, they set themselves up to get nicked by lawyers or have the piece revoked. So what's the alternative? not make your creative vision? use lesser samples and compromise the quality of your work? nope, you just do it.
KindaGamey 10 months ago
wimp.com / pisounds - Oops. Did I just linked to the "forbidden" song? Aw, too bad ;-)
BlueWolfProduction 11 months ago
Personally I can understand Erickson's claim. He literally wrote a symphony which has been performed in concert halls, where tickets were sold etc. It is definitely a sticky situation. To be honest I liked both of your interpretations. His was more orchestral and yours obviously has a modern touch. Too bad it had to come to this.
TheDJLiquify 11 months ago
@TheDJLiquify The idea of making a song out of the number pi (and some other constants) has been done many many times, Erickson's musical interpretation of pi is completely different from Michael's, the claim is full of crap, Erickson is just being an ass trying to claim copyrights on the idea of using a constant as a musical design. Youtube did the right thing by putting Michael's video back up.
SleepyMongoose 11 months ago 3