Glass Candy and Air France copied parts of the melody and lyrics to John Paul Young’s 1977 song ‘Love Is In The Air’, a Sydney Federal Court ruled yesterday (April 24).
Glass Candy’s 1996 electro-pop song ‘Warm In The Winter’ was the subject of the lawsuit launched in 2018, as well as Air France, who used the duo’s song in the 2015–2018 France Is In The Air campaign, and their pre-flight safety video.
Glass Candy consists of John Padgett, aka Johnny Jewel (now of Chromatics), and Lori Monahan, aka Ida No.
‘Love Is In The Air’ was written by famous songwriting duo Vanda & Young — also known as Harry Vanda and the late George Young. Vanda, George Young’s estate Boomerang Investments and two Australian copyright bodies launched the lawsuit in 2018.
AAP reports that Justice Nye Perram described the partial copy as “flagrant”, and held that Boomerang was entitled to damages for downloads of ‘Warm In The Winter’.
Defendants had argued earlier in the case that the phrase “love is in the air” was commonly used in everyday speech. In Justice Perram’s final judgement, the melody and lyric “France is in the air” was considered “substantially identical”.
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Justice Perram did dismiss claims Vanda & Young’s moral rights had been infringed, and the liability of Glass Candy’s publisher, Kobalt Music Publishing.
A date will be set for further hearings to assess damages.