Nickelback should face ‘Rockstar’ copying claims, says judge
Nickelback should face claims they copied elements of another musician’s work for their 2005 hit “Rockstar”, a Texas magistrate judge has advised.
The band’s concert promoter Live Nation, however, should not face any copyright infringement claims over the song, said Magistrate Judge Susan Hightower.
In a recommendation to the US District Court for the Western District of Texas, Hightower said it was possible a reasonable jury could find that “Rockstar” used protectable elements from a 2001 song by musician Kirk Johnston.
“Whether Johnston will be able to produce evidence that these similarities rise to the level of ‘substantial’ or ‘striking’ in view of Nickelback’s level of access is yet to be determined,” Hightower wrote, adding: “But at the motion to dismiss stage, taking all well-pleaded allegations as true, Johnston has sufficiently pled substantial similarity to the copyrighted work.”
Johnston claims Nickelback copied “substantial amounts” of “Rockstar” from his song of the same name, including the “tempo, song form, melodic structure, harmonic structures, and lyrical themes”.
The song was recorded by Johnston’s band the Snowband Revival, who sent the track to Universal Music Records, of which Nickelback’s label Roadrunner is a subsidiary. If true, this could have given Nickelback an opportunity to hear the song, Hightower found.
But Johnston could not establish any liability claim against Live Nation, the judge added. His claims against the promoter appear to be based only on the fact that it promoted Nickelback concerts at which the band performed “Rockstar”.
“Viewed in a light most favorable to Johnston, the complaint lacks any factual allegations that would allow a reasonable inference that Live Nation was aware of and materially contributed to infringing activity,” Hightower wrote.
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