Sam Smith and Normani’s Copyright Lawsuit Win Over “Dancing With a Stranger” Is Overturned

by

A higher court has reinstated a case accusing Sam Smith and Normani of copyright infringement, claiming their popular song “Dancing with a Stranger” closely imitated a 2015 tune of the same title.

On Tuesday, a three-judge group from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a previous court’s decision to dismiss the case, determining that there is enough evidence for a jury to decide if two songs share significant similarities in their hooks. This issue will now be reevaluated by a federal judge in California.

The latest decisions serve to uphold the stance taken by appeals courts in recent times, cautioning against prematurely dismissing copyright infringement cases involving creative works. This has given creators and right holders more confidence to pursue claims for alleged idea theft. Notably, rulings related to “Servant”, “The Shape of Water” and the original “Pirates of the Caribbean” lawsuits from 2020 have been reversed.

In 2022, I, as a devoted fan, found myself involved in an interesting legal situation when Sound and Color, the copyright holders of “Dancing with Strangers” by Jordan Vincent and music duo SKX, took action against a song by Smith and Normani. The lawsuit claimed that key aspects such as title, lyrics, melody, and overall production of their song bore striking resemblance to elements from our beloved track.

In a legal dispute, it was argued that although Smith’s melody is distinctly slower, when his song is slowed down, the keys align. The claim further stated that the fundamental structures of their tunes bear striking resemblance, as their catchy parts share similar phrases, and these phrases are arranged with identical titles and lyrics.

In 2023, a federal judge in California ruled and closed the case, determining that the songs were not significantly alike and that the expression “dancing with a stranger” was not safeguarded under copyright legislation.

On Tuesday, the appeals court stated that the trial by jury would have been more suitable for this case. They highlighted the lack of a clear benchmark for determining when the resemblance in the choice and organization of songs becomes significant enough to qualify as copyright infringement.

According to Sound and Color’s analysis, both hooks employ a similar array of musical components such as identical lyrics, rhythmic structure (specifically the initial placement of each syllable), and descending melody pattern that starts at note 7 and concludes at note 3. It’s worth noting that the opposing experts could not find any hook in existing works that shares this specific melodic descent with these starting and ending notes.

Lawyers representing Smith emphasized differences in melody patterns and judicial proceedings. Furthermore, they contended that the catchy part of Vincent’s song should be afforded minimal copyright protection.

In their response, the judges stated they don’t agree because this standard applies to works with limited creative options. They pointed out an example of forty-three songs with similar themes but varying rhythms, pitches, sequences, and melodies as a demonstration of the vast array of creative choices in composing a hook, suggesting that comprehensive copyright protection is necessary due to the broad possibilities involved.

The ruling from the 9th Circuit arrives during a series of victories by artists in copyright infringement cases. Notably, Ed Sheeran has been successful in two separate trials regarding “Shape of You” and “Thinking Out Loud.

Read More

2025-04-30 23:54