Everyone wants a piece of pi (Image: Kimmo Taskinen/Rex Features)
The mathematical constant pi continues to infinity, but an extraordinary lawsuit that centred on this most beloved string of digits has come to an end. Appropriately, the decision was made on Pi Day.
On 14 March, which commemorates the constant that begins 3.14, US district court judge Michael H. Simon dismissed a claim of copyright infringement brought by one mathematical musician against another, who had also created music based on the digits of pi.
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鈥淧i is a non-copyrightable fact, and the transcription of pi to music is a non-copyrightable idea,鈥� Simon wrote in his legal opinion dismissing the case. 鈥淭he resulting pattern of notes is an expression that merges with the non-copyrightable idea of putting pi to music.鈥�
The bizarre tale began about a year ago, when Michael Blake of Portland, Oregon, released a song and YouTube video featuring an original musical composition, 鈥淲hat pi sounds like鈥�, translating the constant鈥檚 first few dozen digits into musical notes. On Pi Day 2011, the number of page views skyrocketed as the video went viral, 快猫短视频 was among those who covered his creation. Blake found himself a nerd celebrity, fielding emails and phone calls from multiple media outlets.
Pi symphony
鈥淚t was a great morning,鈥� Blake recalls. 鈥淚t was the first time where something I鈥檇 done creatively received attention like that.鈥�
The celebratory ride quickly derailed, though. That afternoon, jazz musician from Omaha, Nebraska, cried foul. Erickson thought Blake鈥檚 work sounded suspiciously similar to his own 1992 piece 鈥淧i Symphony,鈥� also based on the digits of pi, which is registered with the US copyright office. He contacted YouTube, and Blake鈥檚 video vanished.
鈥淚t was like being stabbed,鈥� says Blake. 鈥淭his great thing I鈥檇 created, and then watched explode, was gone. I felt robbed.鈥�
Erickson and Blake, who have never met nor even talked on the phone, had both assigned each of the digits 0 to 9 to a musical note and then treated the digits of pi as a musical score. Erickson, who calls the two melodies 鈥渋dentical鈥�, filed a lawsuit claiming copyright infringement.
Judge Simon, however, disagreed. According to his ruling, the two pieces differed enough in areas like tempo, musical phrasing, and harmonies to be considered distinct. Plus, US law doesn鈥檛 protect every aspect of the piece, like underlying facts and ideas.
Copyrighted digits?
What鈥檚 more, Simon, who intentionally released his decision on Pi Day, noted that Erickson鈥檚 copyright registration only protects musical flourishes 鈥� and his are markedly different from Blake鈥檚.
Erickson isn鈥檛 happy though. 鈥淚f people look at my explanation of the Pi Symphony video and then look at Mr Blake鈥檚 video, they can draw their own conclusions,鈥� Erickson says. 鈥淚鈥檓 not sure that the judge got it right.鈥�
Blake says he wasn鈥檛 surprised by the ruling, but he still felt relief. For the last year, he鈥檚 been consulting multiple lawyers 鈥� working pro bono 鈥� in an effort to defend himself. 鈥淚t was great news to get on Pi Day,鈥� he says.
Stephen Joncus from the law firm of Klarquist Sparkman, LLP, also based in Portland, Oregon, doesn鈥檛 think there are any broader implications of the case in terms of copyright. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 pretty standard for cases like this to be dismissed,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 get a copyright for an idea, and the idea here was making music based on the sequences of digits in the number pi.鈥�
Golden music
Both musicians continue to create mathematics-inspired musical pieces. Erickson鈥檚 latest creation explores powers of two, while Blake penned a piece last year that turns the digits of tau 鈥� a constant that at twice pi (6.28318) could replace pi 鈥� into music. He released that video on tau day, 28 June.
Blake plans to release his latest composition, a melodious phi (0.618鈥�) or , so-called because architects and artists find these proportions pleasing, on, you鈥檝e guessed it, 18 June.
