The Weeknd & Daft Punk troubled over copyright infringement claim

It has been reported this week that The Weeknd & Daft Punk, the music artists behind the chart-topping hit 'Starboy', have been hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit.

The suit comes from Somalian music artist, Yasminah, the artist of the 2009 track entitled 'Jewel of My Life' and the song at the centre of the dispute. Yasminah has alleged 'Starboy' is a rip off of her song.

She has alleged that the 2016 'Starboy' track both quantitively and qualitatively copied important and distinct parts of her song.  The claim also noted how The Weeknd was likely to have heard 'Jewel of my Life' having grown up in part of the East African community in Canada. Yasminah's claim also cites sources such as Buzzfeed, Twitter and Youtube where internet users have discussed and analysed the similarities between the two songs and questioned whether 'Starboy' has been taken from 'Jewel of my life'.

Interestingly, this is not the first time Yasminah has commenced legal proceedings against The Weeknd and Daft Punk; the original dispute started in 2017 but a settlement was obtained between the artists. This dispute has arisen as a result of Yasminah's claims that she has not received any money from the settlement. Interestingly, added as Defendants to the claim are Yasminah's record producers accused of breaching contract.

The poet is seeking a permanent injunction against The Weeknd and Daft Punk and damages in the sum of $5 million.

It will be interesting to see how whether the parties can reach a second agreement or whether this will go all the way to trial.

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