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Music Plagiarism Lawsuits

Of all the lawsuits filed against major recording artists, plagiarism lawsuits seem to be the most common, perhaps because it is so easy to claim similarities between one song and another. Sometimes, the artists might have accidentally lifted the tune to another song, sometimes the cases have been downright ludicrous and sometimes artists have outright stolen from other artists. There have been so many plagiarism lawsuits within the music industry an entire book could be written on the subject. However, there have been a handful of cases that are more well-known than others.

  1. George Harrison "My Sweet Lord"

    • George Harrison found himself at the center of controversy in early 1971, when Bright Tunes Music Corp. filed suit against the ex-Beatle, alleging that his then- current hit single, "My Sweet Lord" plagiarized the melody of the Chiffons' 1962 hit "He's So Fine," which was owned by Bright Tunes. Despite Harrison's attempts to settle out of court, the case finally made it before a judge five years later. Harrison was found guilty of "subconscious plagiarism," with the judge ruling that although he didn't believe Harrison purposely stole the melody, the songs were just too similar. Harrison was ordered to pay Bright Tunes $587,000.

    Vanilla Ice "Ice Ice Baby"

    • Vanilla Ice was sued by David Bowie and members of the band Queen in 1990. Bowie and Queen claimed the rapper sampled their 1980s collaboration "Under Pressure" without their consent. Vanilla Ice made small alterations to the song's bass line when he sampled it, thinking he could avoid controversy. However, that didn't stop the lawsuit, and Ice ended up settling out of court when he realized he was fighting a losing battle.

    The Beach Boys "Surfin' USA"

    • The Beach Boys' first major hit, 1963's "Surfin' USA," was written as a tribute to Chuck Berry, modeled after Berry's 1958 song, "Sweet Little Sixteen." However, Berry was in prison at the time for transporting a minor across state lines and the band was not able to get his permission. He threatened to sue, so he was given a chunk of royalties for the song and listed as its composer.

    John Fogerty "The Old Man Down the Road"

    • In one of the most bizarre music plagiarism lawsuits, former Creedence Clearwater Revival lead singer and songwriter John Fogerty was accused of plagiarizing himself. Upon leaving the band, Fogerty was forced to forgo his songwriting royalties. This was largely due to his contentious relationship with Saul Zaentz, who owned the record company for which CCR recorded. In 1985, Zaentz attempted to sue Fogerty for copyright infringement, alleging that his song, "The Old Man Down the Road" plagiarized CCR's "Run Through the Jungle," also written by Fogerty. The case was dismissed when a jury ruled that the two songs were not the same.

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