Justin Bieber to be deposed for songwriting infringement: justified or reaching?

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Although Justin Bieber prefers to skip court appearances, he should be headed to Virginia Beach this week to be deposed on songwriting infringement charges. In 2013, Devin Copeland, known as De Rico, and Mareio Overton brought a suit against Usher and Bieber claiming that they stole the song Somebody to Love. Overton and Copeland wrote their song in 2008 and it appeared on Copeland’s album My Story II. The suit states that the Copeland and Overton played their song for Usher scouts in 2008 and that Usher took the song to Bieber who recorded it for his 2010 album, My World 2.0, and claimed co-writing credit. The original suit was dismissed in 2014 due to the songs not being “sustainably” similar. However, last year the US 4th Circuit Court in Richmond, VA overturned this verdict, citing the two songs sharing “beat pattern, time signature and similar chords and lyrics.” And now the appeal will see its day in court.

Justin Bieber must finally face the music in a lawsuit accusing him and his mentor, Usher, of stealing music for the hit song “Somebody to Love.”

RadarOnline.com has obtained court documents that reveal legally-challenged Bieber must appear in Virginia Beach on April 29 to answer questions related to musician Devin Copeland‘s allegations.

As Radar reported last June, a circuit court judge ruled, “After listening to the Copeland song and the Bieber and Usher songs as wholes, we conclude that their choruses are similar enough and also significant enough that a reasonable jury could find the songs intrinsically similar.”

[From Radar Online]

So do the songs sound the same? Let’s decide:

I don’t hear it musically. However, I am not very good at this sort of thing so I asked The Mister as he is very good with this sort of thing. He doesn’t hear it either.

So what changed between the court decisions from 2013 and June 2015? Two months before the Appeals Court overturned the verdict, the family of Marvin Gaye won a $7.3 million settlement against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams over the similarities between Blurred Lines and Got to Give It Up. When the Thicke verdict was awarded, CB provided many viewpoints as to how particular that case was setting a dangerous precedent for songwriters. Nobody is defending someone who outright steals a song but musicians lift elements all the time. In the cases where a song is a little too similar, they are generally settled quietly – like Sam Smith and Tom Petty.

On the one hand, there is the protection of the unknown artist to consider. The song does have the same title and there is some similarity lyrically so I can understand where Bieber’s song caught Copeland’s attention. When the Gayes and Pharrells of the world clash, they have equal footing. But it would be easy to bury an artist no one has heard of while lifting their song. On the other hand, I just do not hear Copeland’s song here and I agree with the fear of the precedent this might set in the music industry. I wish Mr. Copeland well but really don’t think this case has merit.

Now, if we want to talk about things Bieber should be sued for:

A photo posted by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) on

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9 Responses to “Justin Bieber to be deposed for songwriting infringement: justified or reaching?”

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  1. Lucy says:

    I mean, I’m not saying I’d sue him for continually acting like a righteous douche, but I’m not saying the opposite either. Oh, well.

  2. Dtab says:

    Not that I enjoy backing up for the biebs….I don’t think they are that alike that it warrants a court case. A lot of pop songs use similar cord progressions but I think they are clutching at straws here.

  3. BendyWindy says:

    I can kind of hear it in the “somebody to love” lyric, specifically. Bieber’s version speeds that lyric up and goes to a higher note at the end, but I can hear a vague similarity. But it’s really vague, really thin and I don’t think they stole the song.

  4. Kat says:

    I’ve heard so many of my 30-something friends all of a sudden get lady boners over Bieber and I just can’t see it. He’s such a poser. A try hard. A douche waffle. A whiny man child. He’s everything people hate about entitled brats. His songs are always played in my spin classes and I just grit my teeth and think about racing away from his furrowed brow and “who, me?” expression of incredulity.
    That being said, I can’t hear any similarities in those songs, but I’m also not super great with those comparisons.

  5. Amanda G says:

    Both songs are dreadful, but I don’t hear a similarity other than the Somebody To Love lyric.

  6. TOPgirl says:

    They don’t sound alike at all. Yeah the chorus is I need somebody to love but..definitely does not sound the same.

  7. Birdy says:

    I cant this little girl! she needs to go away

  8. amilu says:

    At this point, I can’t even tell him and Kristen Stewart apart.

  9. Meee says:

    What’s with male singers, who clearly have enough money for clothes and a bath, insist on looking unwashed? (I’m looking at you, too, Louis Tomlinson.)