Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Speaking of Plagiarism...

So I recently found out that Bob Dylan isn't the only big name with a few charges of plagiarism on his record. Coldplay, in spite of being one of the best-selling names in the world, has also been charged with plagiarism not one, not two, but three times with their recent hit "Viva La Vida." Coldplay's latest accuser is Yusuf Islam, who claims the band's "Viva La Vida" borrows from a section of his "Foreigner Suite," released in 1973. Meanwhile, Yusuf Islam needs to get in line behind guitarist Joe Satriani, who has already filed a legal claim against Coldplay for copying "If I Could Fly," released in 2004. But Yusuf Islam, and Joe Satriani, need to get in line behind the band Creaky Boards, which first claimed that Coldplay based its song "Viva La Vida" on a song released last year, called "The Songs I Didn't Write." And at the moment the only thing that is known is that Coldplay may or may not have stolen from any of them... but clearly someone is stealing from somebody.
But what I want to know, is why all three of these accusers are calling out Coldplay and not each other, if they each claim that the same hit is copied from each of their songs? Why isn't Yusuf Islam calling out Creaky Boards? Why aren't the members of Creaky Boards going after Satriani? Why isn't Satriani going after the whole lot of them? Personally, I think it's because Coldplay's the one with the one with the most money. I mean, who's ever heard of Creaky Boards? However this plagiarism issue plays out, this just might provide the boost that so many laid-off copyright attorneys have been looking for :)

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