A Story Of Copyright Parody And The Limits Of Fair Use

Weird Al Yankovic's "Amish Paradise" Lawsuit

A Story of Copyright, Parody, and the Limits of Fair Use

Parody vs. Copyright: The Case of "Amish Paradise"

In 1996, Weird Al Yankovic released "Amish Paradise," a parody of Coolio's hit song "Gangsta's Paradise." The song quickly became a hit, but it also sparked a legal battle with Coolio, who claimed that Yankovic had infringed on his copyright.

The case raised important questions about the limits of fair use, a legal doctrine that allows for the use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes such as criticism, commentary, and parody. Yankovic argued that his song was a parody and therefore protected by fair use, while Coolio argued that Yankovic had taken too much from his original work and had created a new song that was essentially a derivative of "Gangsta's Paradise."

The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of Yankovic in 1999. The Court found that Yankovic's song was a "parody," which is protected by the First Amendment, and that it did not infringe on Coolio's copyright.