Great Britain’s 2021 Eurovision contestant, James Newman, “did not copy” a song performed by ex-Voice UK star, Kelly-Marie Smith, a High Court has ruled.
Ms Smith alleged that Mr Newman – the second British artist to score “nul points” in the international song contest – had breached her intellectual property rights by copying a song she wrote in 2006.
According to reports, Mr Newman co-wrote a number one hit, titled Waiting All Night, with artists Rudimental and Ella Eyre in 2013.
The song won British Single at the Brit awards, while the official music video has been watched more than 220 million times.
But Ms Smith – who appeared on The Voice UK in 2013 – says the work was a replica of her track, Can You Tell Me.
But judge Mr Justice Zacaroli disagreed, citing “important differences” between the two tracks.
The High Court employed the help of musicologists to determine that, while there were some “limited similarities” between the choruses, Waiting All Night was an original work.
Similarities between the lyrics, meanwhile, were attributed to “commonplace expressions”.
Commenting on the ruling, defence lawyers acting on behalf of Mr Newman said the “concocted claim” should “never have been brought”.
Ms Smith also sued Rudimental trio, Kesi Dryden, Piers Aggett and Amir Izadkhah, and co-writer Jonny Harris, but “the allegation of copying” was ultimately pursued against Mr Newman alone, court documents reveal.
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