Coldplay single "Viva La Vida" has been one of this year's biggest hits, but one rock guitarist is claiming the band has been racking up Grammy nominations and chart honours off of his hard work.
Guitarist Joe Satriani sued Coldplay for plagiarism and claims that the band's single, "Viva La Vida" cribs "substantial portions" of a song he wrote in 2004, reports Billboard. That track would be "If I Could Fly," from the album Is There Love in Space?.
We'll admit we'd never heard of it, either, but fast forward this clip to about the 50 second mark, and you might recognize the song's resemblance to the riff from a certain Coldplay-fronted iTunes campaign.
Satriani -- who's worked with everyone from Mick Jagger to Deep Purple to Spinal Tap -- wants a jury trial and seeks to collect damages "and any and all profits" should Coldplay be found guilty of the alleged plagiarism, Billboard reports.
Neither Coldplay nor Satriani's reps have made any comments on the lawsuit, but by this time, Coldplay should already be old pros at dealing with plagiarism claims. In June, Rolling Stone reported that Brooklyn indie band The Creaky Boards were complaining Coldplay had nicked the melody for "Viva La Vida" from one of their songs.
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