Photo: Paul Morigi/Getty; Tiffany Rose/Getty; Karwai Tang/WireImage
We know that artists are sensitive about their craft, so what happens when one musician accuses another of copyright infringement?
That’s the kind of dilemma musicians such asEd Sheeran,Sam Smith,Drakeand others have found themselves in as their mega-hits not only got the fans jamming, but also caught the attention of fellow songwriters and landed them in hot water with the courts.
Ed Sheeran vs. Marvin Gaye
Ed Sheeran.Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty
Structured Asset Sales launched acopyright infringement lawsuitagainstEd Sheeran, alleging the British singer ripped elements of “Let’s Get It On” in his 2014 hit, “Thinking Out Loud.”
Structured Asset Sales purchased one-third of the shares of “Let’s Get It On” from the family of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the song with Marvin Gaye, in 2018.
Sheeran told the court in 2023 that the creation of “Thinking Out Loud” was a “very collaborative” process between him and co-writer Amy Wadge. He added that he was inspired to create the song after hearing Wadge “mumbling” the chords as he got ready to go to dinner, and said he knew they needed to write a song to them.
Sam Smith vs. Tom Petty
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Sam Smithmade a huge splash on the 2014 charts with their hit, “Stay With Me.”
Not long after, Smith was in the news forinadvertently imitatingTom Petty’s 1989 single, “I Won’t Back Down.”
But the disagreement never made it to court as Smith’s camp was quick to acknowledge the similarities and gave due credit.
Petty and ELO’s Jeff Lynne, who co-wrote “I Won’t Back Down,” were immediately listed as co-writers of “Stay With Me” and receive royalties from the song.
Robin Thicke & Pharrell Williams vs. Marvin Gaye
Cindy Ord/Getty; Mark Sagliocco/WireImage
Sheeran is hardly the first artist to be in hot water for sounding similar to Marvin Gaye.
In 2013,the late R&B crooner’s family suedRobin ThickeandPharrell Williamsfor copyright infringement, saying their mega-hit “Blurred Lines” stole elements of Gaye’s 1977 hit, “Got to Give It Up.”
In 2015, Thicke, Williams and Williams' publishing company were initially ordered to pay $7 million in damages to Gaye’s estate in 2015. However, after they appealed, the judgment was reduced to $4,983,766.85,Billboardreported.
They were also ordered to dole out 50 percent in royalties in perpetuity, making the settlement one of the biggest payouts in music history.
Vanilla Ice vs. Queen & David Bowie
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The opening guitar riff of Queen andDavid Bowie’s “Under Pressure” is arguably one of the most iconic guitar riffs in music, unless, of course, you’re a young Vanilla Ice back in the ’90s.
Unfortunately for Ice, the courts failed to see things his way, and he was forced to pay an undisclosed amount to the band.
Decades later, Vanilla Ice would admit that he was wrong and was in fact sampling “Under Pressure,” tellingDan Patrick: “Before me, the most-sold record was Run DMC, which was huge for Hip Hop to go gold because that’s 500,000 units. But when you’re selling a million records a day like my record was … There just wasn’t enough money for them to come after all those [previous] samples, [but] my record was selling and making a lot of money.”
The Verve vs. The Rolling Stones
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Though “Bitter Sweet Symphony” put The Verve on the map back in 1997, it’s also the subject of one of the most dramatic copyright lawsuits.
Prior to releasing the song, the band got permission to use a few strings from The Rolling Stones' “The Last Time.” However, after the song topped the charts, The Rolling Stones sued their fellow countrymen for having used more of the orchestral arrangements than originally agreed upon.According to NPR, The Verve’s usage was so much so that it actually infringed on songwriters' rights.
The Verve was forced to settle with Allen Klein — The Rolling Stones' manager and copyrights manager — and giveMick JaggerandKeith Richardssongwriter credits. They also relinquished publishing royalties to ABKCO Records, Klein’s company.
Because of the two lawsuits, The Verve forfeited all royalties and publishing rights on “Bitter Sweet Symphony” until 2019, when Mick Jagger and Keith Richards signed their publishing rights back over to them.
2 Live Crew vs. Roy Orbison
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
In alandmark case that established song parodies as fair use, Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. which owned the copyrights to Roy Orbison’s 1964 rock ballad, “Oh Pretty Woman,” sued the 2 Live Crew in 1994 for their use of the song.
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The Miami-bred rap group had rapped over the song and comically flipped the lyrics so as to “satirize the original work.” In their ruling, the Supreme Court agreed that the 2 Live Crew had not infringed upon Orbison’s work, given that satire is a form of criticism, therefore making their version of the song fair use.
Drake vs. The Estate of Jimmy Smith
Prince Williams/Wireimage
Even one of the best wordsmiths of our time is no stranger to accusations of pillage.
In 2014, the estate of the late jazz musician Jimmy Smith filed a lawsuit against the Canadian rapper Drake for his sampling of “Jimmy Smith Rap” on 2013’s “Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2,” citing copyright violation.
However, as was the case in the “Pretty Woman” suit, the Supreme Court ruled thatDrake’s use of the spoken word poem was subversive and critical of the original, making it another example of fair use.
“The message of the ‘Jimmy Smith Rap’ is one about the supremacy of jazz to the derogation of other types of music, which — unlike jazz — will not last. On the other hand, ‘Pound Cake’ sends a counter-message — that it is not jazz music that reigns supreme, but rather all ‘real music,’ regardless of genre,” said the Supreme Court, perThe Hollywood Reporter.
Led Zeppelin vs. Randy Wolfe
Chris Walter/WireImage
You cannot mentionLed Zeppelinwithout “Stairway to Heaven” coming up, however, the hit song has some legal drama behind it.
In 2014, the estate of Spirit guitarist Randy Wolfe sued Led Zeppelin, accusing the band of copyright infringement on their 1968 song, “Taurus.”
In 2016, a jury ruled in favor of Led Zeppelin, to which the attorneys of the estate appealed. They won their case in 2018, but Led Zeppelin went on to appeal that decision and once again came out victorious in 2020.
Lana Del Rey vs. Radiohead
Gilbert Flores/Billboard/Getty
WhenRadioheadcame forLana Del Rey, she addressed her frustrations the only way millennials know how — via social media.
In a since-deleted tweet, Del Rey revealed that the band rejected her offer of 40 percent of the publishing rights to “Get Free” and that they were going for 100 percent,reportedVulture.
The case was quietly settled out of court.
source: people.com
