Lady Gaga’s ‘Judas’ plagiarism lawsuit has been dismissed.
A judge has ruled the singer’s 2011 track, taken from her second studio album ‘Born This Way’, is "not substantially similar" to Chicago-based musician Rebecca Francescatti’s 1999 song ‘Juda’.
Rebecca accused Gaga, 28, of ripping off elements of her song in a lawsuit filed in 2011, but U.S. District Judge Marvin E. Aspen has determined she has failed to provide sufficient evidence of the alleged similarities between the two songs.
According to Billboard.com, Judge Aspen said: "We conclude as a matter of law that the two songs are not substantially similar. No reasonable trier of fact could find that defendants copied protected expression in Francescatti’s song. The songs do not ‘share enough unique features to give rise to a breach of the duty not to copy another’s work.’ Accordingly, we grant defendant’s motion for summary judgement."
In the ruling, Judge Aspen further explained the lawsuit’s objection to a similar title and similar musical notes "are not sufficient to give rise to a finding that the Gaga song has captured the total concept and feel of the Francescatti song".
The court official also found that the elements of plagiarism alleged by Rebecca were not protectable on their own and feels the musician has failed to present unique or protectable elements under plagiarism law.
He added: "We find that Francescatti has neither established that the elements are protectable nor has she established a unique combination of these unprotectable elements. No reasonable trier of fact could find that the songs’ expressions are substantially similar."
Lady Gaga Judas lawsuit dismissed
