Prince got sued for "stealing" the lyrics for You Got The Look (which he sang with Sheena Easton). Does anyone remember this? How did this case end, and do you know of any other singers/songwriters who have sued an artist for copyright theft?

Can't help you with Prince, but a rather famous singer here in Denmark, Kim Larsen, got sued in the 80s by an American blues artist for stealing a melody he made a hit song with here in Denmark (in Danish with other words) Other than that, I can't think of any off hand.....

I don't remember this at all. Are you sure it happened??? :)

Well there is the famous case of George Harrison being sued by the Shirelles for plagiarising the tune of their hit "She's so Fine" for his own coposition "My sweet lord". They won the case and Harrison had to pay them royalties

Then there was Huey Lewis accusing Ray Parker Jnr of ripping off "I wanna new drug" with his "Ghostbusters" song.

Yes, DJ, I'm positive! Someone (a woman, maybe related or a former employee of Prince's) said that she wrote a song called "Cookin' In My Book."

Maybe there was a confidentiality agreement when it was over, or maybe it was a local hoax? It's possible, because our morning DJs used to be pranksters in the 80s. Maybe if I looked at a site history for that station, I could find out?

I'll have to try that later....

Actually, Recker, I think Ray Parker, Jr. had to pay royalties to Huey for that! I'll look that up, too! :)

This actually happened in 1990 or 1991, but wasn't Vanilla Ice accused of ripping off the music to David Bowie & Queen's "Under Pressure"? Vanilla Ice claimed that the beats varied and wasn't the same music.

This should be a topic on it own.....

Wild Thing: Tone Loc....The begining to Van Halen's Jamie's Crying..

Originally posted by surfnut
This should be a topic on it own.....

I don't understand...this is a topic on it's own...:confused:

About Prince, I still can't find anything, it must have been a local prank.

About Huey Lewis:
Ray Parker, Jr. is actually suing Huey now!

Ray Parker Jr. Sues

Ray Parker Jr. is suing Huey Lewis over comments he made in an episode of VH1's Behind the Music, accusing the pop singer of breaking a confidentiality agreement concerning Parker's 1984 hit "Ghostbusters."

The suit, filed Thursday, March 22 in Los Angeles Superior Court, states that Lewis breached the agreement by publicly discussing the lawsuit he filed against Parker 17 years ago, claiming "Ghostbusters" infringed on the copyright of Huey Lewis & the News' hit "I Want a New Drug".

The settlement agreement Lewis and Parker reached for that lawsuit in 1995 banned them from revealing any information that was not included in a press release they jointly issued at the time. The press release stated that the matter had been "amicably resolved."

Parker's lawsuit quotes Lewis (born Hugh Cregg) saying on Behind the Music: "The offensive part was not so much that Ray Parker Jr. had ripped this song off, it was kind of symbolic of an industry that wants something - they wanted our wave, and they wanted to buy it … it's not for sale … In the end, I suppose they were right. I suppose it was for sale, because, basically, they bought it."

That money was paid to resolve the lawsuit and was protected by the confidentiality agreement, Parker claims.

The lawsuit states that the confidentiality agreement was "directly related to [Parker's] comfort, happiness and welfare," and that Lewis' comments were "inflammatory and disparaging" and "false" and caused Parker emotional distress.

Parker is seeking an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages, as well as lawyer's fees and "further relief as the Court deems just and proper."

Huey Lewis' lawyer, Gerry Margolis, said he could not offer comment when reached Friday, March 23. He said he had just received a copy of the suit and had not had a chance to review it fully.
source: Rnation.com