Hey, haven't we heard that somewhere before? Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for songs that might be a little too similar to be written off as a coincidence.
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00:00Baby, like a damn sociopath, what do I ever meant to bring?
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for songs that might be a little
00:10too similar to be written off as a coincidence.
00:12What the hell am I doing here?
00:17Number 50, Australian Crawl Unpublished Critics vs Guns N' Roses' Sweet Child O' Mine.
00:30Some songs are instantly identifiable, and not just because of an instantly iconic opening riff.
00:35When Sweet Child O' Mine was released in 1988, the band was met with acclaim from fans and
00:40critics alike, but decades later, it gained attention for having a resemblance to a smaller
00:52group's piece. The comparison with Unpublished Critics by Australian Crawl spread around the
00:56internet, with people noting similar chords and melodies. Guns N' Roses bass player Duff
01:09McKagan commented on the overlap, but insisted that he had not heard the Aussie song before.
01:14The answer apparently satisfied the lead singer of Australian Crawl,
01:17who later quipped that the issue wasn't worth a legal battle.
01:21Number 49, Article's Sound System Live Your Life vs Dua Lipa's Levitating.
01:36Getting smacked with two copyright claims for the same song has to hurt. Levitating helped bring
01:41Dua Lipa's pop career to new heights, but that didn't come without some controversy. While one
01:46was dismissed after just a few months, the other went on for over a year. Reggae group Article's
01:51Sound System pointed out the alleged parallels found in the chorus of their song Live Your Life
01:56and Levitating. Things seemed to get murkier when they asserted that the pop star's team
02:05had been aware of their song beforehand. However, the suit was eventually dropped.
02:10Number 48, Glenn Miller In The Mood vs The Beatles' All You Need Is Love.
02:20Navigating copyright laws can get tricky, especially when it comes to older works.
02:25The Beatles learned this firsthand after they released the anthemic All You Need Is Love.
02:29Their musical quotation of the jazz standard In The Mood would lead to a dispute between studios
02:42and publishers. George Martin's orchestral arrangement for All You Need Is Love included
02:54portions of a variety of songs, and the final version includes a few of the Beatles' previous
02:58hits thanks to some in-studio improvisation. However, Martin apparently didn't check whether
03:07In The Mood was under copyright, which eventually led to the studio paying royalties to Glenn
03:11Miller's publisher. Number 47, Pat Boone's Speedy Gonzales vs Elton John's Crocodile Rock.
03:28Who knew a song about a cartoon mouse could cause this much drama? Popularized by Pat Boone in 1962,
03:36Speedy Gonzales quickly climbed the charts, easily hitting the top 10 and remaining a force for over
03:4210 weeks. It was such a well-loved piece that when Elton John released a track with a familiar sound,
03:53comparisons were soon drawn between the two. The team behind Speedy ended up going after John and
04:05Bernie Taupin about two years after Crocodile Rock was released, arguing that they had lifted some of
04:10the chords for their own recording. The two parties reportedly opted to settle out rather
04:15than continue the process. Number 46, 3LW Playas Gon' Play vs Taylor Swift, Shake It Off.
04:32This was proof that not all decisions made in a court of law are final. Taylor Swift led off her
04:38triumphant debut into pure pop with the lead single, Shake It Off. She incorporated a variety
04:43of popular phrases, and while they ended up making for a catchy tune, their originality
04:47was questioned. The writers behind 3LW's Playas Gon' Play sued her in 2017, alleging that she
05:00plagiarized their lyrics. The suit was tossed out, but then the decision was reversed. The legal
05:10back-and-forth went on for several more years before being dropped in 2022 with no verdict.
05:16It was an anticlimactic end to such a long fight, leaving the final decision to the listeners.
05:28Number 45, Sammy Chakri and Ross O'Donoghue, O.Y. vs Ed Sheeran, Shape of You. While some
05:34accusations of stolen art are cut-and-dry, others might be more of a reach. Ed Sheeran
05:44is no stranger to them, and has had his work questioned several times. In 2018, he was taken
05:50to trial by Sammy Chakri and Ross O'Donoghue, who felt that his hit Shape of You borrowed
05:54elements from their own track, O.Y. Legal action ensued. In 2022, the judge ended up
06:07siding with Sheeran, saying that the slight likeness wasn't enough to prove he had deliberately
06:11or subconsciously copied them. Although he won the case, it reportedly prevented Sheeran from
06:16receiving millions in royalties. As a result, the British performer was quoted calling out
06:21the proliferation of quote, baseless claims. Number 44, Tony Basil-Mickey vs Avril Lavigne,
06:31Girlfriend. When a beat is this recognizable, it's impossible to try and pass it off as your own.
06:42Tony Basil's Mickey made waves in the 1980s, with the beat helping it maintain a presence
06:47within pop culture decades after it was released. When Avril Lavigne dropped Girlfriend
06:51over 25 years later, many noticed that the hook chant was pretty similar to the 80s bop.
07:02Several critics argued that she had ripped off the original, all while sounding more
07:06immature than her older counterpart. Others posited that it could be considered a tribute
07:11to Basil. While the Canadian entertainer managed to skate by without being served,
07:15you may never be able to listen to Girlfriend the same way again.
07:23Number 43, Jake Holmes-Dazed and Confused vs Led Zeppelin-Dazed and Confused.
07:29Creativity can strike anywhere, including while seeing other musicians perform.
07:39Jake Holmes recorded Dazed and Confused in 1967, but it didn't remain his for very long.
07:44The Yardbirds reworked the number for their own discography. Guitarist Jimmy Page then decided
07:49to take it once again and re-record it with his new group, Led Zeppelin. It ended up becoming
08:00one of their own signature songs, apparently much to the chagrin of the original writer.
08:05Holmes reportedly attempted to resolve the issue in the 1980s, but never received a reply. He ended
08:10up filing a lawsuit around 30 years later. It was later settled, with his name added to the piece,
08:15citing him as the official inspiration.
08:23Number 42, Bob Dylan-Idiot Wind vs Hootie and the Blowfish-Only Wanna Be With You.
08:29When do references cross the line into plagiarism?
08:36This is a question that Hootie and the Blowfish were left to reckon with after
08:39they caught some heat for quoting Bob Dylan in their smash hit.
08:46In Only Wanna Be With You, several references are made to the prolific songwriter,
08:51including a number of lines from his track Idiot Wind.
09:00Band frontman Darius Rucker reportedly said that Dylan's camp had knowledge of the lyrics,
09:05but that didn't protect them from being slapped with a lawsuit.
09:08According to sources, Dylan got $350,000 to settle the case.
09:21Number 41, Paramore-Misery Business vs Olivia Rodrigo-Good 4 U.
09:26While Olivia Rodrigo's debut studio album was undoubtedly successful,
09:30it also wasn't without its fair share of controversy.
09:35Sour was widely praised,
09:40but multiple tracks were called out for bearing resemblance to other works.
09:44One example is when she was required to give recognition to several artists
09:48after interpolating Taylor Swift's Cruel Summer on Deja Vu.
09:56Her woes didn't end there.
10:05Many noticed that the chorus of her pop-punk-inspired single Good 4 U
10:08sounded quite close to Paramore's Misery Business,
10:11which had come out over a decade earlier.
10:19This reportedly led to them receiving acknowledgement
10:22and up to over a million dollars in royalties.
10:29Number 40, David Bowie-Boys Keep Swinging vs Blur-Middle of the Road.
10:34In an homage to David Bowie,
10:36the Brit-pop band Blur took a few cues from the legend's work on the Lodger album.
10:40Their single, Middle of the Road,
10:41bears a close resemblance to Bowie's song Boys Keep Swinging.
10:50Most of the music revolves around the same chord progression.
10:57The basic musical idea originated from Bowie
10:59and producer Brian Eno's experiments in the late 1970s,
11:03which also included the similar-sounding Fantastic Voyage.
11:06Damon Albarn and his bandmates boldly saluted the music icons
11:10and eventually had to give them credit.
11:12Following some legal efforts,
11:14the songwriting team for this track received an adjustment.
11:23Lizzo has seen tremendous success with hits like Truth Hurts.
11:27The empowering anthem allows the artist to showcase her independence in iconic lines.
11:33But it resulted in an accusation that the singer lifted a key line from Twitter,
11:41along with separate assertions regarding proper songwriting credit.
11:45Justin and Jeremiah Raisin claimed that their demo, Healthy, was the basis for this track.
11:49The brothers said that they worked with the artist on the idea,
11:52which allegedly shares lyrical and musical similarities with her eventual single.
12:04Lawyers denied this connection,
12:06but credit was later given to Mina Lioness for inventing the 100% that bitch mantra in a tweet.
12:12Lizzo also sued the Raisins for apparently harassing her about their authorship claims.
12:27Collaborating for the soundtrack of Black Panther,
12:29The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar recorded the song Pray For Me.
12:35The track prompted the band Yaysayer to sue for copyright infringement.
12:39Claiming that the work borrows from their single Sunrise,
12:42the rock group says that there's a comparable vocal part in both efforts.
12:52The act even argued that the accused artists replicated aspects of the original recording
12:57for their own benefit.
12:59Pushing back against the allegations,
13:01The Weeknd and Lamar asserted their innocence.
13:04Two years after the newer composition's release,
13:07Yaysayer ended the lawsuit and left the songwriters with full credit.
13:21For her track Sorry,
13:23Nicki Minaj wanted to use a sample of Tracy Chapman's classic 1988 song Baby Can I Hold You.
13:30Minaj went ahead with the production despite Chapman denying her request.
13:46When Minaj's 2018 effort was leaked,
13:48the original singer-songwriter sued in an attempt to stop the new composition from being released.
13:54A judge ultimately decided that Minaj's work could be considered fair use.
13:58The entire lawsuit came to a close in 2021,
14:02with the rapper paying $450,000 to Chapman.
14:05After all of that hassle,
14:07Sorry mostly remains famous for this copyright dispute.
14:18Jazz rock legend Steely Dan are known for their epic compositions and complex structures,
14:24but that doesn't mean they aren't also inspired by their contemporaries.
14:28Keith Jarrett's Long As You Know You're Living Yours is all over their track Gaucho,
14:35and singer Donald Fagan later mentioned being inspired by it.
14:46Jarrett naturally filed suit after hearing similar musical elements in the 1980 release.
14:52Along with a familiar tempo,
14:53they each implement a signature saxophone line.
14:56Both songs are undoubtedly cut from the same cloth in a way that even casual listeners could decipher.
15:01Following a legal battle, the plaintiff was awarded a co-writing credit.
15:15If you happen to be a fan of Madonna's Justify My Love,
15:18you may or may not be aware of the public enemy song Security of the First World.
15:23I wanna kiss you in Paris.
15:25The introductory section of the pop singer's hit sounds almost identical to the rap group's instrumental.
15:34The Hip-Hop Collective argued that the 1990 single sampled their beat,
15:38but the songwriter Lenny Kravitz never admitted to consciously taking it.
15:42Producer Hank Shockley said that his drum pattern was taken from him without permission
15:47and considered a lawsuit.
15:49A counter-argument said that it was just inspired by an earlier James Brown work,
15:53but Shockley asserted that it was original.
15:55The battle ultimately never became more than a few back-and-forth remarks in the press.
16:11The early 2010s saw the return of Miley Cyrus as a pop star,
16:15releasing the hugely successful single We Can't Stop.
16:18Some of the lyrics involve a line that singer Floregan recognized.
16:24With a few basic differences, both tracks share the same central idea.
16:29The Jamaican singer felt that it was too close to his own song We Run Things
16:33and followed up with a massive lawsuit.
16:37He initially hoped to receive damages in the neighborhood of $300 million.
16:42After Cyrus agreed to settle,
16:44the artist also known as Michael May won an unknown amount of money.
16:59Lil Nas X is one of the boldest and most provocative artists of his era.
17:03He's also been embroiled in multiple cases of copyright infringement,
17:07with this one being lesser known than the attention surrounding his hit Old Town Road.
17:14The single Carry On borrows more than just a title from Bobby Caldwell's song of the same name.
17:25Once the publishers of The Older Singer found out about it,
17:28they promptly served the rapper with a multi-million dollar lawsuit.
17:32The younger performer allegedly didn't ask permission
17:35before releasing the track on his mixtape Nasarati.
17:38As of mid-2023, the pending suit still hadn't been resolved.
17:45Radiohead was sued for plagiarizing part of their breakthrough hit Creep.
18:02But that didn't stop their publishers from going after Lana Del Rey
18:05for chord structure similarities between Creep and Get Free.
18:08The publishers stated that they were merely asking for the writers of Creep to be added as co-authors.
18:17The singer said she made an offer to them for a percentage of the royalties,
18:20but the Rock Act allegedly attempted to take away all of it for themselves.
18:24The suit was later settled according to the Get Free performer.
18:27While some of these events are still unclear,
18:30there hasn't been any subsequent change to the credits for Del Rey's track.
18:38Pat Benatar's Shadows of the Night vs. Rascal Flatts' No Rains
18:43After songwriter D.L. Byron heard the Rascal Flatts' track No Rains,
18:46he was convinced that the group had taken a cue from one of his biggest works.
18:56The author of Pat Benatar's Shadows of the Night
18:58felt that the songs were too similar to be a coincidence.
19:01We're running with the shadows of the night
19:05Byron then sued the country group,
19:08feeling that the trio reinterpreted the chorus for their own tune.
19:11Representatives for one of the bandmates released a statement
19:13that denied any alleged plagiarism of the 1984 hit.
19:17Listeners will likely find themselves siding with the Benatar collaborator
19:21after hearing the introduction of the more recent release.
19:23All these years later, it seems that there hasn't yet been a proper end to the lawsuit.
19:28You're in the open to me tonight
19:32No. 30 Brian Pringle – Take a Dive vs. Black Eyed Peas' I Got a Feeling
19:37Unknown songwriter Brian Pringle alleged that a version of his track
19:40Take a Dive was used for the Black Eyed Peas' smash I Got a Feeling.
19:51According to the musician, he sent a copy to Interscope Records
19:55and somehow the songwriters got a hold of it.
19:58It's never been proven whether or not it ever got into the hands
20:01of producer David Guetta or any of the band members.
20:03Regardless of the questionable accusations,
20:06the plaintiff tried to make a case that revolved around the repetitive guitar riff.
20:17Pringle's work features a similar sound that he hoped would be surefire evidence in court.
20:22Unfortunately for his case, there wasn't sufficient evidence to move forward
20:27and the claim was dismissed.
20:38When you're dealing with the blues,
20:40it's not uncommon to find patterns between songs.
20:43This was the case with ZZ Top's classic single Lagrange.
20:51The publisher for John Lee Hooker's track Boogie Chillin'
20:54asserted that the two were especially close,
20:56filing a lawsuit against the band as a result.
21:03It's undeniable that the blues legend inspired countless artists.
21:06In the case of ZZ Top,
21:08a case could be argued that they subconsciously used Hooker's riff.
21:11The reality of the situation was that the music was considered public domain for its origins.
21:17Unable to convince the proper authorities,
21:19the suit was officially dropped in 1995.
21:26Following the release of their album Nevermind,
21:29Nirvana shot to fame and even received scrutiny for their songs.
21:39Such was the case for their single Come As You Are.
21:41British group Killing Joke thought the grunge band ripped off their guitar riff,
21:45leading to the threat of legal action.
21:47The band's record label, Killing Joke,
21:49claimed that the band's record label, Killing Joke,
21:52There was definitely a potential case to be argued with the help of musicologists.
21:57After the death of Kurt Cobain,
21:59the possible suit did not go forward,
22:01with the plaintiffs looking to move on with their lives.
22:04All that remains is the knowledge that Cobain himself knew the two pieces were perhaps too similar.
22:10Singer Michael Bolton was known to revisit soul classics and invent a few of his own.
22:25For his track, Love is a Wonderful Thing,
22:27Cobain's song Love is a Wonderful Thing was the first song to be featured on the album.
22:31The song was written by Michael Bolton himself,
22:34and it was the first song to be featured on the album.
22:37For his track, Love is a Wonderful Thing,
22:40the performer claimed to have no knowledge of the song of the same name by the Isley Brothers.
22:45The R&B group sued on the basis of plagiarism for more than just the title.
22:54What followed was an almost decade-long event that included failed appeals on the part of Bolton.
22:59Ultimately, the courts ruled in favor of the brothers,
23:02and awarded them millions in royalties.
23:05It was considered one of the most significant payouts in music copyright history.
23:21When Rod Stewart went disco in the late 1970s,
23:24he apparently did so with the help of Georgie Ben Jor's music.
23:27The latter's song Taj Mahal provided the basis for the unforgettable Do You Think I'm Sexy.
23:35Ben Jor sued the British rocker,
23:41noting that the melody in the chorus is eerily close to the one in his own track.
23:52Rather than letting it become a drawn-out case,
23:54the former Faces frontman did the honorable thing.
23:57Stewart admitted that he had heard the other tune before,
23:59and subconsciously swiped it for his own number.
24:02The profits for the pop tune were donated to UNICEF,
24:05giving this lawsuit one of the happier endings in music history.
24:22One of Canada's greatest songwriters,
24:24Gordon Lightfoot's legacy stretches much further than some people might think.
24:28His DNA may or may not have inspired the producer Michael Masser
24:32on his composition The Greatest Love of All,
24:34famously covered by Whitney Houston.
24:36The track features a vocal melody that's fairly close to the one in If You Could Read My Mind.
24:48Lightfoot sued Masser for allegedly borrowing several bars of his 1990s hit,
24:53Lightfoot sued Masser for allegedly borrowing several bars of his 1970s song.
24:58The folk hero eventually gave up on the lawsuit,
25:01later realizing that Houston was being unfairly lumped into a dispute that wasn't her fault.
25:15While the group seem like a world away,
25:18Def Leppard and One Direction have one alleged connection.
25:21The former single Pour Some Sugar On Me could be a possible inspiration
25:25for the pop act's Midnight Memories.
25:33Many audiences found the choruses to have more than a passing resemblance,
25:37with the hard rock band considering a lawsuit.
25:43The writers of the 1987 classic decided to stop short of any official legal proceedings.
25:48Guitarist Vivian Campbell felt that the songs were both indebted to the blues,
25:52adding that there wasn't much reason to pursue such a common concept.
25:55The younger quintet's embrace of rock sounds ended up being a success in its own right.
26:12If you want to sample a song by Sting, you should probably ask him first.
26:18P. Diddy, then known as Puff Daddy, didn't get permission and paid the price for it.
26:27There's no question that the Bad Boy producer took the main guitar part from the police wholesale.
26:36Used in a touching tribute to Biggie Smalls,
26:39the iconic arpeggio was the perfect inclusion to the hit rap single.
26:43The frontman for the 1980s band sued and won all of the track's royalties.
26:48You'd imagine that this would have created a lot of animosity between Sting and Diddy,
26:51but they eventually became unlikely friends.
27:02Considering the scope of Marvin Gaye's contributions to music,
27:05it's not hard to imagine that many artists are constantly inspired by his output.
27:10Those in charge of his rights have been known to scrutinize high-profile singles
27:19that have any similarities with Gaye's catalog.
27:21In the case of Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud,
27:24some felt that it was too close to the classic hit Let's Get It On.
27:31Potential lawsuits were drawn up, dismissed and reworked over the years.
27:35The trial finally went forward in 2023,
27:38at which point Sheeran was cleared of any potential infringement.
27:42With both songs using a comparable chord structure,
27:45the final ruling bodes well for pop stars that have faced accusations
27:48of consciously or unconsciously stealing from others.
28:04Arguably the most lauded rock composition ever,
28:08Stairway to Heaven is the epic of all epic songs in its respective genre.
28:19Led Zeppelin and fellow rockers Spirit were in close enough proximity
28:22that they would have been exposed to each other's music.
28:25The latter band had an instrumental called Taurus,
28:28which has a guitar part that's not unlike the beginning of Zeppelin's track.
28:38They sued for copyright infringement in 2014,
28:42entering into a multi-year war over the rightful authorship of Stairway.
28:46Robert Plant and Jimmy Page seemingly didn't have a memory of the plaintiff's music,
28:50and ultimately, the powers that be sided with the more famous musicians.
29:08Although The Doors guitarist Robby Krieger denied that his band copied
29:14the chord-driven main riff of the 1964 Kinks track,
29:18the Kinks music publishers found that these two singles were just a bit too similar.
29:25Turns out, UK courts agreed.
29:28So a deal was eventually struck,
29:30entitling the Kinks to a large share of Hello, I Love You's British royalties.
29:38The Doors' song credits remain unchanged, but in 2014,
29:44Kinks' lead singer and main songwriter Ray Davies suggested to Rolling Stone
29:48that an out-of-court settlement had been reached.
29:59Traditionally, when songs popped up that sounded a bit Tom Petty,
30:03the late Heartbreakers frontman let it slide,
30:05but this time things played out differently.
30:08Although the band leader expressed no hard feelings,
30:17and deemed the similarities between the chorus to his I Won't Back Down
30:20and Smith's Stay With Me to be, quote, a musical accident,
30:24his publishing company entered the fray all the same.
30:26Perhaps it was because, unlike American Girl and Mary Jane's Last Dance,
30:40the TP track in question had a co-writer,
30:43fellow traveling Wilbury and ELO songwriter Jeff Lynne.
30:47In the end, Petty and Lynne ended up getting their due credit,
30:50along with 12.5% of the Stay With Me royalties.
30:57versus Coldplay, Viva La Vida.
30:59Take notes on this one, you're gonna need them.
31:05First up, Brooklyn-based indie alternative band Creaky Board
31:08suggested that Coldplay had ripped off their ironically titled The Songs I Didn't Write.
31:13However, the British rockers had recorded a demo of Viva
31:17prior to that song's first performance.
31:20Then, Joe Satriani stepped up, lawsuit in hand,
31:23claiming that Chris Martin and crew borrowed from his If I Could Fly.
31:35Things got even more complicated when Yusuf Islam,
31:37formerly Cat Stevens, joined in on the fun,
31:39pointing out that all of these songs sounded like his Foreigner Suite.
31:44Oasis has never tried to hide their reverence for the past
31:47when it comes to their own musical style,
31:49but this is one case where Noel Gallagher may have borrowed a bit too much.
31:56The band's first album, The Songs I Didn't Write,
31:58was released in 1999,
32:00and it was released in the same year as the band's first album,
32:02The Songs I Didn't Write.
32:04The band's first album, The Songs I Didn't Write,
32:06was released in the same year as the band's first album,
32:08The Songs I Didn't Write.
32:10This is one case where Noel Gallagher may have borrowed a bit too much.
32:16The song, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing in Perfect Harmony,
32:19began its life as a Coca-Cola jingle,
32:21before being fleshed out and recorded by the New Seekers,
32:31and ultimately having its melody and some lyrics
32:34woven into the fabric of Oasis's shaker maker.
32:41Most sources claim that Gallagher was forced to change the offending,
32:44I'd Like to Teach the World line,
32:46alter a few notes,
32:47and cough up $500,000.
32:49Upon losing the aforementioned lawsuit,
32:52Gallagher quipped,
33:00By cranking the tempo and volume of the blues,
33:03Led Zepp helped pioneer hard rock and heavy metal.
33:10But sometimes they stuck just a bit too close to their roots.
33:18While it took them a long time to get caught,
33:20the rock icons were finally sued in 1985,
33:24for a whole lot of loves,
33:25whole lot of similarities to the Willie Dixon-penned
33:27Muddy Waters classic, You Need Love.
33:35Though things were eventually settled out of court,
33:37it obviously wasn't the only time the British rockers
33:40were accused of borrowing material.
33:51When the Rubinoos stepped up claiming Avril Lavigne had plagiarized them,
33:54Avril said,
33:55Rubin who?
33:56But aside from claiming she'd never heard of the band or their song,
33:59she and her team chose a risky defense.
34:08They said Girlfriend was actually closer to the Rolling Stones' Get Off of My Cloud,
34:12or Mickey.
34:14But wait a minute,
34:14what about the Ramones' song I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend?
34:17Had the Rubinoos themselves plagiarized?
34:20Ultimately,
34:20a musicologist decided the Rubinoos' track and Avril's song
34:23were completely different based on science,
34:26and the case was settled out of court when Avril's manager
34:29decided it was cheaper than paying lawyers.
34:38And now,
34:39how not to file a lawsuit.
34:44In 2001,
34:45Colin Mary,
34:46songwriter for an obscure English band called The Other Garden,
34:56sued Green Day,
34:57claiming that Warning was a copy of his song,
35:00Never Got the Chance.
35:01Warning, live without warning.
35:05The band's lawyer threatened to sue the punk rockers for as much as $100,000,
35:09despite the fact that Mary admitted both his and Green Day's songs
35:13had the same distinct riff as Picture Book by the Kinks.
35:16Picture Book.
35:20Picture Book.
35:22Needless to say,
35:23the lawsuit was eventually dropped.
35:31A backhanded anthem of all things Ozzy
35:33and a monster hit in the early 1980s
35:36became a source of legal trouble in the 2000s.
35:43Originally,
35:43the band's flautist, Greg Hamm,
35:45borrowed a two-bar motif from Kookaburra,
35:48an Australian children's song.
35:50Years went by without incident,
35:52until the connection between the two tunes
35:54was mentioned on the game show Spicks and Specks in 2007.
35:57That's when the right holders to Kookaburra,
35:59Lyric and Music,
36:00came knocking,
36:03demanding 60% of Down Under's royalties dating back to 1981.
36:08In July 2010,
36:09they instead were granted 5%,
36:12backdated to 2002.
36:14Sadly,
36:14Hamm passed away in 2012 at the age of 58,
36:18and bandmate Colin Haye cites stress from the court case
36:21as a contributing factor.
36:30Who you gonna call?
36:38A lawyer if you're Huey Lewis.
36:44Lewis was actually asked to write a theme for Ghostbusters,
36:47but passed on it to write music for Back to the Future.
36:56So when Ray Parker Jr.'s theme
36:58for the supernatural comedy came out
36:59sounding suspiciously like Huey's I Want a New Drug,
37:03Lewis cited plagiarism.
37:12It was settled out of court almost a decade later,
37:14and when the news frontman spilled the beans
37:17on the confidential settlement on TV,
37:19Ray Parker Jr. turned the tables
37:21and sued Lewis right back in 2001.
37:28Number 11.
37:29Sleigh Bells,
37:30Infinity Guitars vs. Demi Lovato,
37:32Stars
37:37Typically,
37:38only lyrics and melody are considered copyrightable.
37:41For New York band Sleigh Bells,
37:43Demi Lovato's Stars sounded,
37:45quote,
37:45virtually identical to their Infinity Guitars,
37:48with a little bit of Riot Rhythm mixed in.
37:51But it was chiefly the hand claps
37:53and bass drum counter rhythm that were cited.
37:59It was on this basis that the duo laid a case against Lovato,
38:04UMG Recordings,
38:05and producers and co-writers Carl Falk and Rami Yacoub.
38:09The problem was,
38:10Falk and Yacoub claimed no samples were used in the song,
38:13and that Demi only wrote one line.
38:15The matter was settled in April 2017,
38:18and Lovato's team maintained
38:19there was no deliberate infringement.
38:27Number 10.
38:28Creedence Clearwater Revival Run Through The Jungle
38:30vs. John Fogarty,
38:31The Old Man Down The Road
38:33In a very odd move,
38:35John Fogarty was sued for sounding like himself.
38:44Fogarty was once the lead vocalist,
38:46lead guitarist,
38:47and primary songwriter of Creedence Clearwater Revival.
38:50But after the band broke up,
38:52he relinquished his rights to CCR songs
38:54to get out of contractual commitments.
38:56So when Fogarty released the solo track
38:58The Old Man Down The Road,
39:00Fantasy Records,
39:01owner of CCR's song catalog
39:02and his label during his Creedence days,
39:04claimed it ripped off Run Through The Jungle.
39:13The swamp rocker beat the case
39:14by bringing a guitar to the stand
39:16and demonstrating that the two songs were,
39:18in fact,
39:19quite different,
39:20and that you can't actually plagiarize yourself.
39:23Well played, Fogarty.
39:26My songs, right?
39:33In the annals of song plagiarism,
39:35there have been cases of subconscious plagiarism,
39:37outright plagiarism,
39:39uncleared samples,
39:40and downright sneakiness.
39:42This is a case of self-amusement gone awry.
39:45While stationed in West Germany in 1953,
39:48Johnny Cash wrote new lyrics
39:50to the melody of Crescent City Blues,
39:52inspired by the film
39:53Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison.
39:56Flash forward a few years,
40:01and Cash is now a recording artist
40:03short on material,
40:04so he offered up his Folsom Prison blues
40:06to producer Sam Phillips,
40:07who told Cash not to worry about the legalities.
40:16Fifteen years later,
40:17the Men in Black would pay out $75,000 in retribution.
40:22The Rolling Stones' The Last Time
40:24versus The Verve,
40:25Bittersweet Symphony.
40:27This 90s Britpop anthem
40:28was at the center of a lengthy
40:30and contentious plagiarism case.
40:36The Verve did obtain the rights
40:37to sample part of the Andrew Oldham orchestral version
40:40of the classic Stones song.
40:41The issue was how much the band used,
40:43and according to former Stones manager
40:45and rights holder of the song, Alan Klein,
40:48it was way too much.
40:56So, 100% of the royalties went to Klein,
41:00and songwriting credit went to Mick Jagger
41:02and Keith Richards.
41:10That's when Oldham himself demanded recompense
41:12for the specific version of the song they had used.
41:15Though it took many years,
41:16this story does have a relatively happy ending,
41:19with the Stones backing off by 2019
41:22and granting all future royalties
41:24to Verve lead singer Richard Ashcroft.
41:43The story starts simply enough.
41:45John Lennon used an old Chuck Berry song
41:47as a starting point for a new song,
41:49but this similarity triggered legal issues
41:51with Berry's publisher,
41:53the controversial Morris Levy.
42:01As repayment,
42:02Lennon agreed to record three songs owned by Levy
42:04and attempted to do so
42:06during his rock and roll album sessions,
42:08until producer Phil Spector stole the tapes
42:11and went into hiding.
42:12When the tapes were recovered,
42:14Lennon tried reassuring Levy
42:15that he was upholding his end of the deal
42:17by sharing a rough mix of his progress,
42:19which Levy released himself
42:21and chased with a $42 million breach of contract lawsuit.
42:25Lennon, EMI and Capitol Records countersued,
42:28with Levy being awarded a nominal $6,795
42:32while having to pay out somewhere in the ballpark of $150,000.
42:42Soon after releasing his solo hit,
42:44the first number one single by a former Beatle,
42:47George Harrison found himself
42:48at the center of a copyright infringement lawsuit
42:51filed by Bright Tunes.
42:58Harrison was accused of plagiarizing
43:00the Ronnie Macpen song,
43:01He's So Fine.
43:02The courts ruled that he had subconsciously
43:05copied the Chiffon Smash
43:06and would owe nearly $1.6 million in damages.
43:17But the story doesn't end there.
43:18After Harrison fired his manager,
43:20the previously mentioned Alan Klein,
43:22during the trial,
43:23Klein seized the opportunity to buy the copyright
43:25to He's So Fine.
43:29The courts ultimately decided
43:30that Harrison would only have to pay
43:32Klein's Abco Industries $587,000
43:36and he ended up with the song's rights.
43:42This case is so open and shut,
43:44it's almost dull.
43:50While writing Creep,
43:55Ed O'Brien pointed out to Tom York
43:57that the song's bridge had the same chords
43:59as the air that I breathe.
44:01So York decided to grab the song's melody too.
44:11That song's authors,
44:12Albert Hammond and Mike Hazelwood,
44:14then sued.
44:15But were impressed by the band's honesty
44:18and settled for credits
44:19and a cut of the Creep royalties.
44:20It's a sharp contrast to 2018,
44:23when Lana Del Rey would allege
44:24that Radiohead's team noticed
44:26passing similarities to Creep
44:27in her song Get Free
44:29and demanded 100% of her royalties.
44:49In one of many controversies
44:57that plagued this summer hit,
44:58Robin Thicke actually sued
45:00Marvin Gaye's family
45:01for alleging the singer
45:02had plagiarized the late soul artist.
45:10While Thicke admitted
45:11he was inspired by Gotta Give It Up,
45:13he and co-writer Pharrell Williams
45:15contended that despite their similar vibe,
45:17they were essentially not the same,
45:19citing different chords,
45:20keys and more.
45:27Bridgeport Music also became involved
45:29due to claims that Blurred Lines
45:31sampled Funkadelic's Sexy Ways.
45:38Despite lots of support
45:39from music industry heavyweights
45:41who did not believe
45:42you could copyright a feeling,
45:43in 2018,
45:45a judge ordered Thicke and Williams
45:46to pay nearly $5 million
45:48to Marvin Gaye's estate.
46:03Here's an instance
46:04where the artist openly and knowingly
46:06used the tune to an existing song
46:07for his new composition.
46:12Brian Wilson wanted to write a song
46:13about surfing
46:14and felt Chuck Berry's Sweet Little 16
46:16was the perfect setting
46:17for his surf-themed lyrics.
46:19However, he neglected to credit Berry
46:21upon its recording and release.
46:29Although Surfin' USA
46:31was meant to be viewed as a tribute,
46:33Berry's publishing company was unimpressed
46:35and forced Wilson's manager
46:36to surrender copyright
46:38to the rock and roll pioneer's publisher,
46:39Arc Music.
46:40We guess it takes a village
46:42to write a hit song, too.
46:43Before the monster hit
46:45that is Uptown Funk was even released,
46:47Ronson & Company offered some credit
46:48to Trinidad James.
46:51After it was released,
46:53The Gap Band came knocking,
46:54claiming similarities
46:55to their Oops! Upside Your Head,
46:57followed by the sequence
46:58of the band's hit,
46:59Uptown Funk.
47:02The band's music was a huge hit
47:04in the late 80s and early 90s,
47:06and the band's music
47:07was a huge hit in the early 2000s.
47:09followed by the sequence,
47:10collage,
47:11and finally,
47:12Zap in September of 2017.
47:18Additionally,
47:19Serbian artist Victoria has alleged
47:22that the song lifts elements
47:23from one of her songs.
47:24By 2018,
47:2617% of the track's royalties
47:28were transferred to The Gap Band,
47:30while the credits have ballooned
47:31from Ronson, Bruno Mars,
47:32Jeff Basker, and Philip Lawrence
47:34to include six additional songwriters
47:36from their respective groups.
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48:04It takes about seven notes
48:05to recognize Ice Ice Baby
48:07for what it is.
48:09While the signature bass line
48:13amounts to a sample,
48:14Vanilla Ice never sought permission
48:16to use it,
48:17and instead said his tinkering
48:19with the riff and adding one note
48:20made it original.
48:26But in the face of legal action,
48:28the rapper caved
48:30and granted David Bowie,
48:31as well as all four members of Queen,
48:33due credit and royalties.
48:39In 2013,
48:43Ice claimed to have bought
48:44Under Pressure outright.
48:46However, the song's publishing info
48:47shows that it's co-owned
48:48by companies representing
48:50Queen, Bowie, and EMI Music,
48:52making Ice's claim a bit dubious.
49:00Have any of your favorite songs
49:02ever been ripped off?
49:03Let us know in the comments below.
49:09Did you enjoy this video?
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