Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Alleging John Mellencamp's Song Copied San Diego Band's Track
A lawsuit claiming that John Mellencamp's song "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)" copied a track by a San Diego band has been dismissed by a judge. The lawsuit alleged that Mellencamp stole the hook from the band's song "Coffee," but the judge ruled that there was no evidence to support this claim. Mellencamp stated that he had never heard of the band or their song before the lawsuit was filed.
The judge determined that there was no "striking similarity" between the two songs, which is required for a copyright infringement claim to move forward to trial. The songs have different tempos, lyrics, and overall sounds, making it unlikely that they were copied from each other. The plaintiff's expert report, which claimed similarities between the songs, was excluded from the case, leaving the plaintiff with no solid evidence of similarity.
The lawsuit has been ended, and both Mellencamp and Mercury Records, who released "Key West Intermezzo," are no longer involved in the case. Representatives for Mellencamp and the label did not provide any comments on the matter. The plaintiff, who represented himself in the case, did not respond to inquiries from Billboard.
In conclusion, the judge's decision to dismiss the lawsuit against John Mellencamp and Mercury Records highlights the importance of demonstrating a clear similarity between two songs in copyright infringement cases. Without solid evidence of copying or access to the original work, such claims may not hold up in court.