Coldplay deny plagiarism allegations, London Guardian, 12/10/08

Via London Guardian: Coldplay deny plagiarism allegations, Chris Martin says that any similarities between Viva La Vida and Joe Satriani's If I Could Fly are 'purely coincidental'. Oh yeah? Maybe he should listen to this YouTube mash-up:

"Coldplay have responded to Joe Satriani's allegations of copyright infringement, describing the similarities between theirs and the guitarist's work "entirely coincidental".

Satriani filed his suit less than a week ago, alleging that Coldplay's Viva La Vida borrows heavily from his six-and-a-half-minute guitar noodle, If I Could Fly. The 52-year-old guitar nerd claimed credit, damages, and "any and all profits from the song.""

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/dec/10/coldplay-deny-plagiarism-allegations

Did Coldplay Plagiarize Guitarist Joe Satriani?, NPR, All Things Considered, 12/8/08

Via NPR, All Things Considered: Did Coldplay Plagiarize Guitarist Joe Satriani?:

"When [Guitarist Joe] Satriani tried to contact Coldplay and didn't hear back after several months, he filed a copyright-infringement lawsuit against the band last week...

This certainly isn't the first time two songs have sounded the same. The Chiffons waged a lengthy legal battle against The Beatles' George Harrison over the similarities between "My Sweet Lord" and The Chiffons' "He's So Fine." Harrison eventually admitted to "subconsciously copying" the song and paid the band royalties."

Read NPR story: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97973449

Listen to NPR story: http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=97973449&m=97973425