Sliding into trouble

Scottish DJ Calvin Harris (“Harris”) is facing a copyright infringement battle with French musicians Mickael Zieben and Patrice Adekalom (“Claimants”).

The Claimants argue Harris’ 2017 single “Slide” is “flagrantly similar” to their own song “how is it gonna be”. Frank Ocean and Migos are also named defendants for featuring in Harris’ song. It is alleged the Claimants have tried to ‘amicably resolve’ the dispute, but failure to do so has led to the issuance of the claim.

In a video Harris uploaded to YouTube called “How I made Slide”, Harris is seen to be playing the introduction of Slide on a piano. The Claimants argue this “self-justifying” video is a way for Harris to escape his guilt of copying their song.

The Claimants are allegedly seeking up to $1 million in damages in addition to the recall of ‘all compact discs, vinyl records, .MP3, .AAC, .OGG, .M4A, .WMA, .FLAC and .WAV’ formats which contain the track.

Harris isn’t the first musician to face allegations of copyright infringement. Ed Sheeran and Katy Perry hit headlines recently having suffered similar claims. The case is to be ‘pleaded or struck out by judgment’ in the Judicial Court of Paris on 25 May 2022.

If you have any questions on the above, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniels Law on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.