Different outcomes to the legal controversy over this song may be considered "fair" depending on the cultural worldview one considers. Which of the following outcomes best
aligns with "cultural relativism" (meaning that each cultural worldview is considered in its own terms rather than judged by the standards of a different culture)?
The Linda family should get all of the royalties from Disney's films and all other uses of the song because Solomon Linda created the song, even if Disney attempted to do its
due diligence to secure the copyrights from musicians who covered the song in the United States.
The Linda family is entitled to some compensation, and they received it. Disney has met its legal obligations by paying their agreed settlement according to the law and its
negotiations with the Linda family.
No one is entitled to any compensation because all music should be free in all circumstances.
While Disney has met (or perhaps exceeded) its legal obligations, the ethics of dealing with the legacies of colonization and exploitation may supersede a strict interpretation
of the law. There are currently no adequate legal mechanisms for righting such long-term systemic injustices that continue to affect people directly today.
O While Solomon Linda forfeited his rights to royalties because he did not place sufficient commercial value on music-making when he first recorded it, his family could still be
entitled to compensation because local and global music industries based on Western capitalist models arguably took advantage of Linda's musical creativity and exploited his
culture's view of music as a sharable activity with little value.