What is the copyright situation if you play your own version of another song with lyrics that you wrote? I am thinking about a parody version, similar to what the artist Weird Al Yankovick used to do. For instance, the song "Beat It" by Michael Jackson was spoofed by Weird Al as "Eat It" with the same tune but different lyrics.

In this situation, what rights does Weird Al have over the:
- the new lyrics he wrote as text?
- a recorded version of the new song that he performed (both singing lyrics and playing music)?
- just the instrumental music he played himself, but using the tune of Michael Jackson's song?
- the music video he recorded with the whole song as the audio and Weird Al acting in the video?

Pretend a normal everyday person started spoofing songs and posting them online? Who owns what and what is legal? Does the new person have the right to post the lyrics (I assume yes), the whole song (I assume yes), just the new instumental they performed (I am not sure) and the music video they made (I assume yes)?

The entire song is copyrighted, not just the lyrics. Remember Vanilla Ice? Have you browsed through the information in LawInfo's Free Legal Resource Center to learn more about your issue yet? See: http://www.lawinfo.com/consumer.html. You can certainly try to speak to a lawyer to determine what legal options may be available. In the meantime, you may be able to learn more on your own. Search the "Free Legal Resources" tab, or browse the Consumer Resources. Good luck.