FIRST OFF . . .

Ex-Creedence Clearwater Revival leader John Fogerty was cleared Monday by a federal jury in San Francisco of self-plagiarism--the accusation that he stole the idea of one of his own Creedence hits for use in a recent solo hit. The six-member U.S. District Court panel deliberated less than three hours before ruling unanimously against the copyright infringement claim by Fantasy Records, which owns the rights to most of the Creedence songs. The suit claimed that “Old Man Down the Road,” lead single from Fogerty’s comeback “Centerfield” solo album in 1985, copied the melody of “Run Through the Jungle,” which Fogerty wrote for Creedence in 1970. Fogerty’s defense included two days on the witness stand with guitar in hand, playing many of his compositions to demonstrate his songwriting style. The suit is one of several legal disputes between Fogerty and Saul Zaentz, principal owner of Fantasy Records. Zaentz has sued Fogerty for libel over two other songs on the “Centerfield” album, one called “Mr. Greed” and the other originally titled “Zanz Kant Danz.”