New York partner Oren Warshavsky was quoted in a January 23 Christian Science Monitor article, "A Case of Cold Plagiarism?"
The focus of the article is the copyright infringement lawsuit filed by guitarist Joe Satriani against British rock band Coldplay. Satriani has accused the band of ripping off one of his instrumentals, claiming Coldplay's hit single "Viva La Vida" incorporates substantial original portions of his 2004 song "If I Could Fly." Coldplay has denied the accusation, saying any similarities were entirely coincidental.
According to the article, determining culpability over musical plagiarism is difficult. Plaintiffs must first prove that the defendant had "access" to their music, and then determine that the two melodies are "similar." But defining what constitutes a similarity can be complex, as there are likely to be a difference in key, a difference in pitch, and even a slight difference in tempo to adjust for the different voice.
"No one would really have a question [about copying] if it was a book and the organization [of the material] was the same, and a few of the chapters were the same, word for word," said Warshavsky. "Because it's music, it's a little harder, especially because a lot of times you're talking about the performative aspect of the music."