Chicken parody case goes to court

In 2005, the funny flash song “I don’t want to say I’m a chicken” (我不想说我是鸡) appeared online. It’s the lament of a chicken who’s perfectly happy to be a source of eggs and meat, but who is now facing extermination because of the threat of avian flu:

The tune is lifted in its entirety from the song “I don’t want to speak” (我不想说), written by Li Haiying (see below). Li sued wireless content provider KongZhong, which produced and distributed the song as downloadable stream and a ringtone.

The song, as with prior Flash hits like “Us Northeasterners are living Lei Feng’s” (东北人都是活雷锋), made it to KTV joints, though KongZhong denies having a hand in that. As a result, Li feels that he is owed an apology, 2 million yuan in compensation, court costs, and 50,000 for pain and suffering. From the Mirror:

[KongZhong said] that when its “K Ring Studio” used the melody of “I don’t want to speak” when producing “I don’t want to say I’m a chicken,” it did not obtain permission, but this action was not malicious; it was done for public interest aims, not out of a malicious profit motive. Afterward they discovered that it was inappropriate and immediately halted downloads of the music cartoon. In the courtroom, the counselor said that the company was willing to to accept responsibility for infringement within the bounds of the law….at the same time, he felt that Li Haiying’s request for 2 million yuan exceeds the bounds of the law and is therefore unacceptable.

According to Chinese law, fair use covers critical reactions to the original work, while the chicken song only riffs briefly on the content of the original. Whether or not it’s a PSA, it certainly is funny – the China Court website reports that many of the several dozen observers in the gallery were amused when the song was played in court. Neither report mentioned when the case is expected to conclude.

Here’s the original song, as sung by Yang Yuying.