A U.S. appeals court has rejected a lawsuit charging 1960s psychedelic rocker Country Joe McDonald with copyright

recycling time?Fri Jul 29, 9:31 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court has rejected a lawsuit
charging 1960s psychedelic rocker Country Joe McDonald with copyright
infringement for his 1965 protest song "Fixin' to Die Rag," which became
a rallying cry for opposition to the Vietnam War.

In a decision made public on Friday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals rejected an appeal from Babette Ory, who said McDonald's song
infringed on jazz standard "Muskrat Ramble," credited to her father, Kid
Ory.

Ory sued in September 2001, claiming that "Fixin' to Die Rag" was
similar to and infringed on "Muskrat Ramble." Kid Ory, who recorded with
jazz great Louis Armstrong, died in 1973.

The appellate judges upheld a lower-court decision saying there was too
long a delay in bringing the copyright lawsuit and awarded McDonald his
attorney fees. Ory obtained copyright to "Muskrat Ramble" in 2001.

McDonald wrote "Fixing To Die Rag" in 1965 to protest the nation's
escalating military involvement in Vietnam and the song's refrain: "And
it's one, two, three, what are we fighting for?" quickly turned into a
rallying cry against the war and figured prominently at the Woodstock
music festival in 1969.

Reuters/VNU