I feel like it would be possible to write software to tell artists if a song is in danger of copyright infringement of other registered songs. Either by analyzing the raw audio like Shazam does or by feeding the software the transcribed notes on sheet music or something similar.
But I guess here the issue was more about whether or not the infringement was intentional.
It's hard to imagine creative people gathered around a computer waiting for it to judge their newest creation as sufficiently original or not. I imagine the scene would make a great intro for a dystopian sci-fi novel.
But I guess here the issue was more about whether or not the infringement was intentional.