Karol G<\/a> and Ti\u00ebsto infringed on the copyright of an little-known song by Cuban-American songwriter Rene Lorente was tossed out of court Wednesday in a scathing ruling that blasted Lorente\u2019s \u201cproposed expert\u201d as unqualified and unreliable.<\/p>\n\n\tIn the 17-page ruling, the federal judge in Florida said Lorente failed to meet the basic requirements to proceed with his claims because his designated musicologist, former Capitol Records A&R executive Richie Viera, lacked the training and experience to reliably state \u201cDon\u2019t Be Shy\u201d was substantially similar to Lorente\u2019s 2000 song \u201cAlgo Diferente.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tIn copyright infringement cases, if plaintiffs can\u2019t show defendants directly copied their work, they must establish that defendants had \u201caccess\u201d to the copyrighted material and that there\u2019s a \u201csubstantial similarity\u201d between the works. In Lorente\u2019s case, he made \u201cno attempt to offer proof of direct copying,\u201d so the viability of his lawsuit ended up depending largely on Viera\u2019s expert opinion.<\/p>\n
\n\tIn her withering assessment of Viera\u2019s expertise, the judge said Viera \u201cdeclined\u201d to define standard musicological terms during his deposition and \u201crefused to explain basic harmonic principles like the \u2018circle of fifths.\u2019\u201d She claimed Viera couldn\u2019t even say whether \u201cAlgo Diferente\u201d changes from a major to a minor key, and that his report \u201cmisidentifies the chords and keys of each song.\u201d Beyond that, Viera also failed to consider \u201cprior art,\u201d meaning other songs with similar elements that came before Lorente\u2019s compensation. The judge called the concept of prior art \u201ca basic step in assessing musical similarity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThese lapses only reinforce the conclusion that Viera lacks the expertise to perform the kind of comparative analysis his report purports to offer,\u201d Chief U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga wrote in her ruling. \u201cSimply put,\u201d Viera\u2019s opinion lacked the \u201cintellectual rigor\u201d necessary for the court to consider it as reliable evidence, the judge said.<\/p>\n\n\n
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\n\tAnd she didn\u2019t stop there. The judge also challenged Lorente\u2019s claim that his song\u2019s availability on streaming platforms met the requirement for access in the case. According to the ruling, \u201cAlgo Diferente\u201d had been played 670 times on YouTube and 2,718 times on Spotify as of June 2022. \u201cPlaintiff points only to [his song\u2019s] presence on digital platforms and inclusion in niche albums as proof that Ti\u00ebsto and Karol G heard his song. No reasonable jury could find access on such a record,\u201d the judge wrote.<\/p>\n
\n\tShe said based on what she considered reliable evidence in the case, Lorente had no \u201cviable claim\u201d for direct infringement against the artists or vicarious or contributory infringement against any music labels. \u201cThe clerk is directed to CLOSE this case,\u201d the judge wrote.<\/p>\n
\n\tLorente\u2019s lawyer, Patrick Frank, tells Rolling Stone<\/em> his client \u201crespects\u201d the judge\u2019s ruling but plans to file an appeal. He says the opinion is \u201cillustrative of the significantly high barriers to entry\u201d that working musicians face when they find themselves \u201cin the unenviable position of having to face off against an industry that has unlimited resources and has no reservation as to dispatching those self-same resources to prevent composers of modest means from asserting their rights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\tMeanwhile, the lead lawyer for Karol G and Ti\u00ebsto says the judge made the right decision in dismissing the lawsuit, which was seeking more than $50 million in damages. Speaking to Rolling Stone<\/em>, attorney James Sammataro says the lawsuit \u201chad no merit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
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\n\t\u201cOne of the frustrating things that we heard throughout this case from the plaintiff was that [our clients] stole his life legacy, his defining work, but there was no evidence of access. This was an obscure song that didn\u2019t have any traction. There was no commercial success. It was on self-distributed albums. And more importantly, there was existing prior art,\u201d Sammataro says. \u201cThe alleged similarities were based on a very common music building block, which is the circle of fifths, which has been around literally since Mozart.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cDon\u2019t Be Shy\u201d was the second single on Ti\u00ebsto\u2019s seventh studio album, Drive<\/em>. It shot to Number Four on Billboard\u2019s Hot Dance\/Electronic Songs chart and marked the first major music release in English for Karol G, a Colombian superstar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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