KHIKS partners Howard Weitzman and Jeremiah Reynolds prevailed on behalf of Justin Bieber and Usher in a lawsuit claiming the singers stole the idea and essential elements of plaintiffs’ 2008 song, “Somebody to Love,” in writing their own 2010 versions with the same title.
Plaintiffs Devin “the Dude” Copeland and Mareio Overton had alleged that Usher had been given a copy of their song before writing his own by a talent scouting company that Copeland had met with, and were suing for $10 million in damages. However, U.S. District Court Judge Arenda Allen granted KHIKS’s motion to dismiss, with prejudice, finding that “the songs cannot be reasonably construed as being substantially similar.”
Read The Hollywood Reporter‘s exclusive coverage by Eriq Gardner.