Music Trivia -> Song Lawsuits -> Latest Entries
Songs that have resulted in lawsuits, either for lyrics or for borrowing too much of the music.
The 20 most recent entries are listed below. There are 43 entries in this section.
"Girlfriend," Avril Lavigne
The Rubinoos sued Lavigne for incorporating certain lyrics of their song "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" in her song "Girlfriend." The case was eventually settled.
dxman
"Come As You Are," Nirvana
In 1993, Killing Joke sued Nirvana for incorporating the riff for the song "Eighties" for the song "Come As You Are." The lawsuit was dropped after Kurt Cobain's death.
dxman
"8 Way Santa (Album)," Tad
Ask Seattle grunge conisseurs at the turn of the '90s who they thought would break through to the mainstream and Tad would come up a hell lot more than Nirvana, Soundgarden or Alice In Chains. This was all geared up to be as groundbreaking as Nevermind or Jar of Flies, but it was banned due to the photo on the cover, of a couple in a photograph bought at a garage sale. As expected, lawsuits went a-flyin' and Tad were never heard from again...
Jakko Wakko
"Viva La Vida," Coldplay
In 2008, Joe Satriani filed a lawsuit against Coldplay, alleging that "Viva La Vida" borrowed the verse melody from Satriani's song "If I Could Fly." The case was dismissed recently, with the judge deeming the similarities coincidental.
dxman
"Nobody," Wonder Girls
The song has been a subject of several lawsuits involving JYP Entertainment, a talent agency for the girl group, and Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the publishers behind the Wonder Girls single, taking legal action against other Asian musical groups who had adopted or covered "Nobody" without prior permission. The Korean talent agency states that groups in China, Cambodia and Thailand have been blatantly copying the group, down to the songs, dances and costumes.
LPG-Unit
"Chop Seuy!," System Of A Down
At the beggining of the song,a echo-y Serj will say "We're rolling"Suicide",which was actully the working title of the song at the time(But you will only here it on the vinal LP version)
Glenn rousseau
"Amish Paradise," Weird Al Yankovic
I do not know all the details about this lawsuit but I do know that Coolio sued Weird Al for making a parody of his song, "Gangster's Paradise".
UDon'tNeedToKnow1024
"I Love You," Barney
In 1994, Lyons Group (now known as Lyons Partnership, a subsidiary of HiT Entertainment), who were Barney's owners, was sued by the publisher of a children's book that was written by Lee Bernstein. She wrote the lyrics of I Love You, though a little different to the version Barney uses, in 1983 (before the Barney series was even created). The people who sued Lyons weren't aware that Bernstein and Barney's creators made an agreement in 1992 over the song.
Drew
"It's Tricky," Run-DMC
In 2007, The Knack sued Run-DMC (and all the online distributors carrying the song) for illegally sampling their 1978 hit "My Sharona" in 1986's "It's Tricky," which the Knack claims to have only heard in 2005. The suit has not been settled yet.
dxman
"Un Ballo in Maschera," Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi had originally planned to write this opera as one about King Gustav III of Sweden's 1792 assassination based on a libretto by Eugène Scribe. However, Neapolitan censors would not allow any murder of a monarch, real or fake on stage, so, after scrambling through other censors with his librettist Antonio Somma, he got approval of his opera in Rome, and he eventually changed the setting to Boston in the 17th century and the "victim" to a fictional governor of Boston.
Aalan of Seville
"Barbie Girl," Aqua
Mattel, the company behind Barbie, sued the pop group for their allegedly unauthorised use of the doll line in "Barbie Girl", claiming that the band depicted Barbie as a "blonde bimbo", or a sex object. It was then dismissed on the grounds that the song was protected as a parody under nominative use doctrines and First Amendment rights.
LPG-Unit
"A Whiter Shade Of Pale," Procol Harum
The band's former organist Matthew Fisher filed suit in 2005 claiming that he co-wrote the song. In December of the following year, he won the suit but only received 40% of the composer's share of the copywright instead of the 50% he was seeking. A later ruling denied Fisher royalties saying he had taken too long to file his suit. (Note: I can see why he'd want to receive credit for this song. It's just beautiful.)
Brian Kelly
"Surfin' U.S.A.," The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys' hit song "Surfin' U.S.A." is set to the melody of Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen," but Chuck Berry had never given the Beach Boys permission to use his song. Years after the song's initial release, Chuck Berry successfully sued the Beach Boys, causing all subsequent releases of "Surfin' U.S.A." on compilation albums to credit Berry alongside Brian Wilson, who wrote the new lyrics.
Raphael
"La Villa.Strangiato," Rush
Alex Lifeson unconsciously stole from Raymond Scott's song, "Powerhouse", likely because it burned into his memory from watching cartoons as a child. You can hear a sample of it here: http://www.raymondscott.com/powerhs.mp3 From the FAQ on the raymondscott.com website: Q: Did the rock band RUSH get sued and have to pay royalties for their unauthorized use of Raymond Scott's ''Powerhouse'' in their 1978 recording ''La Villa.Strangiato''? A: By the time Raymond Scott's publisher notified the band's management of the infringement, the statute of limitations had expired on the challenge. But Rush's management, out of deference to Mr. and Mrs. Scott (Raymond was still alive at that point), offered a one-time "penance" payment, feeling it was the ethical thing to do. All involved were happy with the resolution, and Rush has no further financial obligations. Under the settlement, they were not required to accord RS partial songwriting credit on the.piece.
P Smith
"Vanz Kant Dantz (or Zantz Kant Dantz)," John Fogerty
During the whole episode with Saul Zaentz, John wrote this song about him that depicts him as a pig who "can't dance, but he'll steal your money, watch him or he'll rob you blind." Zaentz then filed a lawsuit against Fogerty and he was forced to revise the song and change the title to Vantz Kant Dance instead of Zantz Kant Dance.
Jason
"Do It," Nelly Furtado
Timberland, who helped produced the single, was sued by a Finnish Musican after the song sounds familiar to his song, Acidjazzed Evening. Janne Suni sued Timberland for plagiarism since he never gave the all clear to simple his work, with the exception of Glenn Rune Gallefoss's arrangement for the song that was never released commercially. Gallefosse was allowed to do so after speaking with Suni on which Timberland didn't do.
Margaret
"What a fool believes," Mike Hossack
I would say because when the name came to fruition in the Midship radioroom of the Uss Independence due to the relief watch entering and being enfulfed in the odorous cloud of smoke. That sailor issued a warning to those partaking which stated " I see the (expletive) Doobie Brothers are at it again". That the name would be minutes away from being contracted for use between the author and one of those so called "Doobie Brothers" having followed him out and calling his name to ask if he could use the name. Apparently when asked by the author qoute:" You make any money with the name, I get my share? : and the replied answer " You got it man, no problem, you got it man!" was meant to assure him only as long as they were aboard ship. For years after that name holds a great deal of anger and what should have been and could have been taken care of properly between those two men was not. Leaving some to wonder perhaps that perhaps some fools would believe the story they tell. Yours truly, The Sailor
Joe Torok
"The Band's Legal Woes," Triumph
In a Much More Music interview Rik Emmet recalls that all of the members of Triumph had lawyers involved in settling the hash about who owned the rights to what Triumph songs? The interview ended with Rik commenting that he "wished that Triumph hadn't ended on such a bad note of having to get lawyers involved in settling their differences."
Celeste
""Run 2"," New Order
John Denver sued the group, proclaiming the guitar break sounded to similar to his composition "Leaving on a Jet Plane". The case was settled out of court, but as such, the single was pulled out of print and has never appeared on any album. The versions on the compilations "The Best of New Order" and "Singles" that proclaim to be "Run 2" are actually "Run" a song found on their album "Technique" which "Run 2" was a remix of for single release.
Ryan
"Suicide Solution," Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy claimed he had originally wrote this song in memory of AC/DC singer Bon Scott, who died of hypothermia in his car after drinking heavily the night earlier. In 1984, a teenager only known as John M. shot himself in the head while listening to the song. John M.'s parents blamed the song for their son's death They hired attorney Thomas Anderson and sued Ozzy for wrongful death. The judge ruled in Ozzy's favor, citing First Amendment rights.
Rocky
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