April 7
Link

"Viva La Vida" is turning even more loco for Coldplay.

Having already denied in public the plagiarism claim and declared that the perceived similarities between their hit song and Joe Satriani's 2004 track "If I Could Fly" should be chalked up to nothing more than coincidence, Chris Martin and the boys have now taken their denial to federal court.

In court papers filed in Los Angeles Monday, Coldplay responded to Satriani's copyright-infringement claim, saying the 52-year-old guitarist's song "lacks originality" and therefore was in no position to receive copyright protection.

Furthermore, the British rockers' attorneys claimed that any similarity was so minimal that it did not warrant the legal action.

Back in December, Satriani claimed the group, who incidentally won the Grammy for Song of the Year for the in-question tune, had repurposed "substantial" portions of his song for their hit.

At the time of the original filing, Coldplay issued a statement on their website refuting the rocker's claims, saying he "did not write or have any influence on the song."

"If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental and just as surprising to us as to him."

The band is currently in the midst of a world tour in support of the album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends.

As much as I love Coldplay, I honestly dont think a Court of Law in any country is the time nor the place to actually diss your opponent!! You are there purely for legal purposes ONLY, not 2 vent your own personal dislikes and tastes regarding music, etc.!!!

Well, before I say anything let me preface by saying I'm a huge Satch fan and know next to nothing about Coldplay.

Although there is a striking similarity in the melody, chord progression and tempo... I still can't rule out that this could just be a coincidence... because it is such a simple melody...

You play the chords, and that melody almost automatically comes out of it...

That being said, Coldplay shouldn't have ignored Satriani all that time...

I doubt very much that Coldplay even ever listened to or heard the Satriani track.

I think Satriani is delusional if he thinks his music is influential in the wider scheme of things.

I agree with RNR Dave,

However, as I understand copywright law, it doesn't matter if the band knew of the recording the fact that Satriani registered it first is all that matters. I guarantee they didn't know about it, but once they were notified I believe a 4 yr old could hear the similarities and I would have suggested they give him songwriting credit.

I also think it is very scummy on Coldplay to point to a lack of originality, since most detractors of Coldplay have argued there music is very derivitive of other artists.

The thing is, isnt Princes music very derivitive of other artists????

He has been copying and stealing from other artists throughout his whole career!! Beleive it or not hes not really THAT original!!!! His ego makes him beleive that he is an original but in reality hes not!!!! He has even copied his stage performances from the 80s and early 90s right out of James Browns stage act!! He has copied and stolen from people like James Brown to Joni Mitchell and everyone inbetween!!!!

I am really VERY surprised that he hasnt been hit with plagarism lawsuits!!!!!

Desire2006 said:

They were probably settled out of court. Apparently this type of thing happens a lot more than we actually hear about... but it usually doesn't turn into a news story.