Getting inspiration from existing work is part of the creative process and NOT something a copyright lawyer should need to go after

One of my favorite authors is Neil Gaiman. Currently I'm reading his collection of short stories Smoke and Mirrors . The introduction alone is a very interesting read where Gaiman lets one peek into his creative process and when and how he got inspirations for his stories. In a refreshing honest way he cites freely which works of other authors inspired him or where he "borrowed" stories he then wrote in his own style - or even which writing style he copied for a particular piece. It is the fascinating testimony to the fact, that inspiration is more often than not based on the work done by others. Contrast that with a headline in todays' Straits Times (our local newspaper): Fun Pack Song 'may have flouted copyright laws': " ORGANISERS of this year's National Day Parade (NDP) may have flouted copyright laws after they modified the lyrics of a Lady Gaga hit to create a song about its goodie bag, said lawyers on Wednesday.
The Fun Pack Song rips off Lady Gaga's Bad Romance by using the tune but substituting lyrics that celebrate the items inside the pack such as Newater, biscuits and sweets." So what? The organisers poke fun on a Singaporean habit of giving out goodie bags with "iconic" value (e.g. a bottle of NewWater) and they used a well known tune. One could count it as comedy since they do give out these bags. But nope music (as well as software) has mutated to a minefield of copyright assertions and greedy licence organisations. I'm sure if someone would bother to run all the melodies through an analyser the late Bach, Beethoven and Mozart could claim 90% of the music market. This madness has to end!