The court also cited other lyrics in the song thatunderscore its message of an idyllic world. The court found “The Forest,”by contrast, portrays a darker view of the world, using images of cartooncharacters engaged in acts of violence, sex and crime.
“The Forest” begins by parodying the original’sopening lines, using an off-key and sarcastic rendition by an a cappella singer,and changes some of the lyrics to make slang references to marijuana:
I see buds that are green, red roses too
I see blunts for me and you
And I say to myself, what a wonderful world.
This opening verse is the song’s only use of”Wonderful World” and there is no sampling of “WonderfulWorld,” a common practice in the music industry today.
Sony conceded that Abilene had made a prima facie case ofcopyright infringement. The only issue was whether the rap song’s use of thelyrics and music of “Wonderful World” constituted fair use under� 107.
FOUR-FACTOR TEST
The section provides that in determining whether a use ofwork is a fair use, the following factors must be considered:
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whethersuch use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used inrelation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for orvalue of the copyrighted work.
