Facing the Music: Justin Bieber and Usher Head to Court in Copyright Suit
A federal circuit court recently ruled that a $10 million copyright lawsuit against Justin Bieber and Usher, his mentor, will head to a jury trial to determine whether the two pop stars copied parts of another song for their 2010 hit single “Somebody to Love.” A district court judge had previously dismissed the lawsuit, brought by Devin Copeland, an R&B singer known as De Rico, and his songwriting partner Mareio Overton, who claimed that Bieber and Usher took lyrics, chords, beat, and time signature from their 2008 song, which also shares an identical name. A three-judge panel from the Fourth Circuit, however, unanimously decided to reverse that dismissal.
“After listening to the Copeland song and the Bieber and Usher songs as wholes, we conclude that their choruses are similar enough and also significant enough that a reasonable jury could find the songs intrinsically similar,” Circuit Judge Pamela Harris wrote. The judge further wrote that it did not matter that the original song was R&B, while Bieber’s version was essentially a dance-pop song with electronica elements.
“Somebody to Love” appeared on Bieber’s 2010 album My World 2.0, and a remix, featuring Usher and released on June 25, 2010, later peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. The two songwriters allege that music scouts played their song for Usher, who later gave the song to Bieber.
The appellate court’s decision comes less than a year after a federal jury found that Pharrell and Robin Thicke infringed on Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up” with their hit single “Blurred Lines.” The jury awarded $7 million, one of the largest in the history of song copyright infringement cases. Bieber and Usher’s case, however, might yet avoid trial if the two opt to settle the case rather than to press their luck in front of a jury. Given the public nature of these cases once they reach the courtroom, Bieber and Usher might view settlement as the safer bet.
Sources: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/19/usher-and-justin-bieber-will-face-copyright-lawsuit/?smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0 http://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/music/justin-bieber-usher-ordered-face-copyright-lawsuit-n377866
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