Coldplay Settles Joe Satriani Lawsuit

Coldplay and Satriani have settled their legal disputes and the guitarist’s lawsuit alleging copyright infringement has been dismissed.

Last Winter guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani, sued Coldplay for ripping off his 2004 track “If I Could Fly” for their own Grammy-nominated hit “Viva La Vida.” According to court documents obtained by Justia News, the lawsuit was dismissed “upon Stipulation” by Judge Dean D. Pregerson, and “each party bears [their] own cost.”

More than likely the two have agreed on some sort financial conclusion to get this train wreck of a case over with. I actually feel bad for Coldplay on this one. It’s just a melody line and similar ideas come close to overlapping all the time. I mean come on, everyone writes in the same keys using the same scales (major, minor, blues) over similar tempos.

It’s doubtful but even if Coldplay does listen to Satriani, anyone who writes music knows that some things can come out on a subconscious level without you having a clue. It’s not usually intentional and a lot of times it may be too late before you realize that it is similar to a song you have listened to before. If anyone should know this, it’s Satriani who seems to be writing the same songs over and over again since “The Extremist“. Then again maybe he doesn’t realize it if it is being done on subconscious level. Oh man we’re getting deep here.

Original here