British songwriters Brian Clover and Scott McCulloch are not backing down in their fight against The Weeknd.
They have asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to overturn a judge's dismissal of their copyright infringement case against the Canadian singer.
“We did consider just walking away,” Clover told iHeartRadio.ca, via email on Sunday. “However, we had an overwhelming feeling that if we just walk away it will mean that the unknown songwriters can just have their work stolen without any consequences.”
Clover and McCulloch filed a lawsuit in early 2019 against The Weeknd and others, alleging that the Starboy track “A Lonely Night” copied their unreleased 2004 song “I Need to Love.”
Clover and McCulloch claimed Universal Music Publishing pitched “I Need to Love” to artists and labels for several years before terminating their deal just two weeks before the release of The Weeknd’s album in 2016.
Clover said he heard “A Lonely Night” playing in a Topman store and immediately recognized his melody.
Songwriter Brian Clover
In a 2018 interview with iHeartRadio.ca, Clover said he and his songwriting partners contacted The Weeknd’s managers hoping to find a resolution. Clover said a lawyer representing The Weeknd denied there was any similarity between the songs but offered them the equivalent of about $85,000.
“He asked what hits we have had and I said none. He laughed down the phone at me,” Clover alleged, “saying ‘Why would The Weeknd want to use one of your songs?’”
The songwriters filed suit in California in April 2019, alleging that The Weeknd’s collaborator and fellow Toronto native Jason Quenneville must have heard “I Need to Love” through his association with Universal.
Lawyers for The Weeknd called the lawsuit frivolous and countered that Quenneville had almost no role in the composition of “A Lonely Night.” They also shot down copyright infringement claims by pointing out both songs have elements of other songs, including Blondie’s “Heart of Glass.”
Last July, Judge Percy Anderson ruled that the plaintiffs couldn’t prove Quenneville had been exposed to “I Need to Love” or that the songs are “substantially similar.” He granted The Weeknd’s motion for a summary judgment and dismissed the case.
In their appeal to the Ninth Circuit, lawyers for Clover and McCulloch claim the judge erred and the plaintiffs had, in fact, provided sufficient evidence to go to trial.
“The melody in the chorus of ‘A Lonely Night’ is, according to [musicologist Alexander] Stewart, ‘literally’ the same as the main melody in ‘I Need To Love’, which one would not expect to arise if the two works had been created independently,” they claim.
“This type of striking similarity is sufficient to show that the similarities between the two works are due to copying rather than coincidence, independent creation, or prior common source. In other words, that the melodies are identical is more than sufficient to create a presumption of copying.”
Clover said Sunday their battle with The Weeknd has had an emotional impact. “Unfortunately it’s taken its toll on us in a negative way, in particular me, with my health,” he said.
“We have always sought out an amicable solution, which is our recognition as co-writers of the song.”
Reps for The Weeknd have not commented on the appeal motion.
Below: Listen to the plaintiffs' comparison of “A Lonely Night” and “I Need to Love.”