Rock guitarist Joe Satriani has sued British band Coldplay, accusing the Grammy-nominated stars of plagiarizing one of his songs.
Satriani's copyright infringement suit, filed yesterday (Dec. 4) in Los Angeles federal court, claims the Coldplay song "Viva La Vida" incorporates "substantial original portions" of his 2004 instrumental "If I Could Fly."
Rock guitarist Joe Satriani has sued British band Coldplay, accusing the Grammy-nominated stars of plagiarizing one of his songs.
Satriani's copyright infringement suit, filed yesterday (Dec. 4) in Los Angeles federal court, claims the Coldplay song "Viva La Vida" incorporates "substantial original portions" of his 2004 instrumental "If I Could Fly."
The 52-year-old guitar virtuoso is seeking a jury trial, damages and "any and all profits" attributable to the alleged copyright infringement.
"Viva La Vida" is credited to the band's four members, singer Chris Martin; bass player Guy Berryman; guitarist Johnny Buckland; and drummer Will Champion. The title was inspired by a painting by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
The Satriani track comes from his album "Is There Love in Space?" Further comment from Satriani's attorney, or reaction from Coldplay's management was not immediately available.
Here is a comparison
This guy tears it apart
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
this guy pretty much spells it out. i wonder if they'll call this guy as a witness or something silly like that, if it gets to that point? are they both on the same label or owned by the same parent company? if they are, wouldn't that be like the company suing itself?
...and yes johnny i agree: i too have much still to learn.
oh, i watched the second part of the guy's video (there's a link to it at the end of his video) and it spells it out even more clearly. so, in my severely under-educated opinion, satch came first. however i really don't think coldplay purposefully stole from him.
Satriani has made statements in the past about the similarity of music, and how something as simple as a single note can say alot, so for him to call shenanigans on someone stealing from him is pretty conclusive as far as im concerned.
no way do i think he would sue these guys unless it was glaringly obvious...still watching the videos
