Whether or not by coincidence, osmosis, widespread ancestry or, you realize, theft, there are many hit songs that sound surprisingly just like pre-existing materials… or do they? Enter the lawsuit. Whereas some artists and songwriters shrug off similarities, others take it to court docket, demanding what they understand is their due relating to alleged copyright infringement.
After all, music historical past – particularly relating to pre-recorded music – is rife with songs that had been impressed by (or wholesale stolen from) earlier materials. Early rock n’ roll songs continuously lifted riffs, lyrics and chords from traditional blues and nation songs, which themselves had been usually based mostly on people tunes, African-American spirituals and work songs, nursery rhymes and even melodies from classical compositions. When you might time journey and observe the authorship of songs so simple as “I’ve Been Engaged on the Railroad” or “Yankee Doodle,” the checklist of co-writers for every would in all probability run north of two dozen by trendy requirements of crediting songwriters for his or her contributions.
As recorded music turned huge enterprise over the twentieth century (and new know-how made it simpler to trace track authorship and a author’s publicity to earlier materials), copyright lawsuits turned an everyday prevalence within the music trade. However the litigation actually took off within the 2010s, after a landmark lawsuit between the property of Marvin Gaye and Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams over “Blurred Traces” made issues a bit extra muddled (or blurred, if you’ll).
Within the aftermath of the “Blurred Traces” case, many songwriters opted to credit score scribes whose copyrighted materials bore even a passing resemblance to theirs, assuming it was simpler to offer credit score than take care of a protracted, costly lawsuit. However extra just lately, many artists have began to battle again, fearing that settling with accusers was resulting in extra unjustified lawsuits. Led Zeppelin, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all received high-profile victories in recent times, defeating copyright circumstances by arguing that fundamental musical constructing blocks should be free for everybody to make use of.
It’s price mentioning that technically, plagiarism (taking another person’s efforts and presenting it as your individual authentic work) shouldn’t be unlawful in the USA. If a dispute over a track reaches the courts, it’s over copyright infringement, not plagiarism, so the arguments over these songs are about whether or not somebody ran afoul of copyright regulation. (Though most individuals tsk-tsk plagiarists, too.)
The songs on this checklist share two issues in widespread: They topped the Billboard Scorching 100, and a few individuals imagine they lifted components from a beforehand current track. Inclusion on this checklist doesn’t suggest wrongdoing. A number of of those disagreements settled out of court docket; one was settled with none lawsuit being filed; and one artist handily received their case towards the accuser.
Learn on to see how the remainder of the songs fared.
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“Come Collectively”
Some would possibly argue that the person most answerable for forming rock n’ roll might sue any variety of ’50s and ’60s hitmakers for lifting his sound. Whereas Berry may not have been litigious, the individuals who owned the publishing rights to a few of his materials had been. Large Seven Music Corp. (owned by Morris Levy) introduced a lawsuit towards John Lennon for alleged similarities between Berry’s “You Can’t Catch Me” and the Beatles’ “Come Collectively,” a one-week No. 1 in 1969. Berry’s track featured the road, “Right here come a flat-top, he was movin’ up with me,” whereas the Lennon composition consists of the lyric, “Right here come ol’ flat-top, he come groovin’ up slowly.” The case was settled out of court docket, with Lennon agreeing to report three rock n’ roll songs owned by Levy. Lennon solely formally launched two: “Ya Ya” and “You Can’t Catch Me.”
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“My Candy Lord”
When George Harrison notched his first solo No. 1 on the Billboard Scorching 100 in December 1970 with “My Candy Lord,” issues had been wanting up for the freed Beatle. Six years later, a authorized battle dampened that victory when a court docket determined he “subconsciously” copied the Chiffons track “He’s So Fantastic,” written by Ronald Mack. Harrison claimed the court docket battle left him too “paranoid” to put in writing new songs for a while.
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“How Deep Is Your Love”
Almost six years after the Bee Gees’ “How Deep Is Your Love” topped the Scorching 100 in late 1977, a songwriter named Ronald Selle alleged that their hit stole from his 1975 demo “Let It Finish.” Whereas a jury initially present in favor of Selle, the choose permitted the Bee Gees a judgment however the decision and dominated of their favor. An attraction to a better court docket additionally present in favor of the Bee Gees.
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“Do Ya Assume I am Horny?”
Brazilian musician Jorge Ben Jor alleged that Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Assume I’m Horny?” — a four-week No. 1 in 1979 — plagiarized parts of his track “Taj Mahal.” The 2 settled out of court docket, and in his 2012 autobiography, Stewart admitted to “unconscious plagiarism.”
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“Ghostbusters”
In 1984, Ray Parker Jr. requested “who you gonna name?” on his Scorching 100 No. 1 “Ghostbusters,” the theme to the movie of the identical identify, which topped the chart for 3 weeks that 12 months. Huey Lewis heard the track and answered, “A lawyer.” Lewis sued Parker for plagiarism for copying his track “I Desire a New Drug”; the 2 finally settled out of court docket.
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“Ice Ice Child”
Vanilla Ice rode a cool bass line to No. 1 on the Scorching 100 in 1990, giving hip-hop its first-ever No. 1 hit on that chart. Sadly for him, loads of listeners identified the track’s similarity to the 1981 track “Below Strain” by David Bowie and Queen. Whereas Vanilla Ice denied the similarity at first, he later relented and determined to pay each events royalties with the intention to keep away from a court docket battle.
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“Viva la Vida”
Coldplay scored their first No. 1 on the Billboard Scorching 100 in 2008 with “Viva la Vida,” attracting the eye of guitarist Joe Satriani, who claimed it copied components of his 2004 instrumental observe “If I Might Fly.” The band referred to as it a coincidence however settled out of court docket with him in 2009.
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“Blurred Traces”
“Blurred Traces” was the track of the summer time in 2013, topping the Scorching 100 for 12 consecutive weeks. The property of Marvin Gaye took discover, accusing Robin Thicke and Pharrell of ripping off Gaye’s 1977 track “Received to Give It Up” for his or her smash hit. In March 2015, a jury got here down on the aspect of the Gaye property, awarding them $7.4 million. The quantity was later diminished to just about $5 million in 2018.
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“Darkish Horse”
Katy Perry’s “Darkish Horse,” that includes Juicy J, topped the Scorching 100 for 4 weeks in 2014. Not lengthy after, the pop star was hit with a lawsuit alleging her track infringed on the 2008 observe “Joyful Noise” by Christian artist Flame. A protracted however consequential authorized battle ensued over a quick sequence of notes. In 2019, a jury present in favor of the plaintiffs and awarded them $2.78 million, however in 2020, a choose overturned the decision, ruling the musical sequence in query was too easy to copyright. In 2022, a federal appeals court docket additionally dominated in favor of Perry and her co-defendants, reasoning that the notes in query had been fundamental constructing blocks of music.
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“Form of You”
Ed Sheeran’s “Form of You,” which topped the Scorching 100 for 12 weeks in 2017, was hit with a copyright lawsuit which alleged the one was “strikingly comparable” to a portion of the track “Oh Why” from grime artist Sami Chokri. In June 2022, a choose dominated in Sheeran’s favor, and awarded Sheeran and his co-writers $1.1 million in authorized prices.
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“7 Rings”
Grande’s “7 Rings” incorporates a outstanding pattern of The Sound of Music traditional “My Favourite Issues,” and it tipped to that, itemizing Rodgers & Hammerstein as co-writers when it debuted in 2019. However one 12 months (and eight weeks atop the Scorching 100) later, singer-producer Josh Stone filed a lawsuit alleging the Grande hit ripped off his 2017 single “You Want I Received It.” In early 2021, the disagreement was settled out of court docket.
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“Fact Hurts”
Lizzo’s “Fact Hurts” got here out in 2017 however didn’t turn out to be successful till 2019 when it topped the Scorching 100 for seven weeks. That very same 12 months, three individuals accused Lizzo of failing to correctly credit score them for his or her contributions to the track and filed go well with. In 2021, a choose dismissed a number of of the claims towards Lizzo, and in 2022, all events reached an settlement to dismiss the matter.
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“Good 4 U”
Three months after Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U” topped the Scorching 100, Hayley Williams and Josh Farro, who co-wrote Paramore’s 2007 hit “Distress Enterprise,” had been formally added as songwriters to the tune. Previous to the official replace on the track’s credit, commentators famous similarities between Rodrigo’s second chart-topper and Paramore’s pop-punk traditional. Reps for Rodrigo and Paramore had reportedly been in contact previous to the track’s launch.
