I followed through to a linked article from this one ( <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;medium.com&#x2F;@david_hewson&#x2F;never-quote-a-rock-lyric-in-a-book-unless-you-re-rich-e39d53f85e7c#.whzkywtdl" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;medium.com&#x2F;@david_hewson&#x2F;never-quote-a-rock-lyric-in...</a> ), which left me confused.<p>IANAL, but I consider myself reasonably well-versed in common forms of copyright issues.  I don&#x27;t understand how quoting a single line of lyrics requires permission.<p>Is it just the (unfortunately) normal &quot;They&#x27;ll sue you and it&#x27;s not worth the expensive of a defense&quot; condition?  Or was there a case that decided this?  While I&#x27;m aware that a cultural reference isn&#x27;t covered under fair use defense, I&#x27;d argue a cultural reference isn&#x27;t a derivative product either.<p>Anyone have some data here?