By: Sharon Urias, Esq.
In 2010, Justin Bieber, the wildly popular teen pop star, released a song, “Somebody to Love” with Usher providing back up vocals. The song hit Number 15 on the U.S. Billboard chart.
Two individuals in the music industry, Devin Copeland, and Mareio Overton, have filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Usher and Bieber alleging they, not Bieber and Usher, came up with the song “Somebody to Love.”
According to Copeland, a rhythm and blues singer known professionally as De Rico, he and songwriter Overton wrote the song back in 2009. He alleges that Usher was presented the song by music scouts, and Usher’s mother who was serving as his manager, asked if Copeland would re-record the song and then tour with Usher.
Copeland states he never heard back from Usher, however, he did hear his song being sung on the radio by Bieber in 2010. Usher is accused in the infringement lawsuit of funneling the song to Bieber.
The two musicians claim Bieber’s song has the “same title, time signature, underlying beat pattern, as well as similar chords, and shares similar lyrics, including the chorus ‘I need somebody to love.’”
Copeland and Overton said in their copyright infringement lawsuit, “There is essentially a zero probability for the number of points of congruence between the two versions of ‘Somebody to Love.’”
Justin Bieber, song writer Heather Bright, and the Stereotypes are credited with writing “Somebody to Love.”
Copeland and Overton list Bieber, Usher, Universal Music Corp., and seventeen other defendants in their $10 million copyright infringement lawsuit.
