Justin Bieber, Usher Face $10M Copyright Suit Over Song

Judge thinks 'Somebody to Love' is a little familiar
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 18, 2015 7:36 PM CDT

Justin Bieber and Usher might be on the hook for $10 million after being accused of ripping off a song. An appeals court in Virginia today ordered the pair to stand trial over "Somebody to Love." An R&B singer named De Rico claims that he and his songwriting partner played their version for Usher, and then Usher took it to Bieber, and the pair stole it, reports Reuters and TMZ. A lower court dismissed the case, but the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals today put it back in motion.

"After listening to the (De Rico) 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," wrote Judge Pamela Harris. She added that the lyric "somebody to love" has an "almost identical rhythm and a strikingly similar melody." (More Justin Bieber stories.)

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