Justin Bieber and Usher Face the Music in Copyright Suit

A federal circuit court recently ruled that a $10 million copyright lawsuit against Justin Bieber and Usher, his mentor, will head to a jury trial to determine whether the two pop stars copied parts of another song for their 2010 hit single “Somebody to Love.” A district court judge had previously dismissed the lawsuit, brought by Devin Copeland, an R&B singer known as De Rico, and his songwriting partner Mareio Overton, who claimed that Bieber and Usher took lyrics, chords, beat, and time signature from their 2008 song, which also shares an identical name. A three-judge panel from the Fourth Circuit, however, unanimously decided to reverse that dismissal.

Does musical genre make a difference when it comes to infringement? Read more about Copyright Litigation.

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In addition to Thriving Attorney, Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas.  He also co-founded Project K, a charity devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time.  Click to read more about Darin Klemchuk's practice as an intellectual property lawyer.