On Jan. 16, 2020, Josh Stone, who wrote “You Need It I Got I,” sued Ariana Grande for her hit “7 Rings” alleging that Grande’s song extensively copied the chorus and hook of Stone’s song, including rhythmic and lyrical elements that show a pattern that “consistently include identical metrical placements within each composition.” Stone alleges that the defendants willfully infringed his copyright. Stone sued Grande, her seven co-authors of “7 Rings,” BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Corporation, and four other music publishers who allegedly own portions of “7 Rings” (collectively, “Grande”). The complaint was filed in the Southern District of New York.

The test of infringement in the Second Circuit (where the case is filed) comes from Arnstein v. Porter. The plaintiff must show (1) the defendant copied original expression from the plaintiff’s work and (2) to the lay audience, the defendant’s copying constituted misappropriation based on proof of substantial similarities between the two works. To prove copying, the plaintiff can offer direct evidence that the defendant copied (such as when the defendant admitted it) or circumstantial evidence that the defendant had reasonable access to the plaintiff’s work (such as through widespread dissemination of the work) and similarities between the two works.

1. Stone’s alleged circumstantial evidence of copying. Stone alleges that Grande had reasonable access to “You Need It I Got I” through two avenues: (i) widespread dissemination: Stone’s music video posted on YouTube on Nov. 20, 2017 and on Facebook on Nov. 21, 2017 “where it [allegedly] received over one million views.” Grande’s song was allegedly released on Jan. 18, 2019; and (ii) Stone’s performance to Universal Music Group (UMG) executives and producers in June 2017, including defendant Thomas Lee Brown, allegedly a producer for Ariana Grande. Stone was hoping to be signed by UMG. Stone alleges that Brown said “he enjoyed I GOT IT very much and was interested in exploring opportunities to work together,” but “simply took I GOT IT to Ariana Grande and the other Defendants and later repackaged I GOT IT into 7 RINGS.”

2. Stone’s alleged proof of substantial similarity or misappropriation. Stone alleges that Grande’s “7 Rings” is substantially similar to “You Need I Got It” based on an expert report of musicologist Dr. Ronald Sadoff of NYU’s Department of Music & Performing Arts Professions.

According to Stone’s Complaint:

1. (54) In his detailed report and analysis, including a comparison of the sheet music of each song, Dr. Sadoff summarized that these “clear and permeating similarities… appear in their respective Chorus sections, and notably, within their respective Hooks,” which “include a combination of identical and substantially similar lyrics, which are recurrent. Moreover, the lyrics are set to identical rhythmic patterns shared by the two compositions. Finally, the rhythmic and lyrical elements embodied by the songs’ corresponding use within eight-measure sets of rhythmic patterns consistently include identical metrical placements within each composition.”
2. (55) Dr. Sadoff compared all musicological elements of I GOT IT and 7 RINGS, including “Hook and Chorus Sections,” “Rhythmic Structure of the Hooks,” “Duration of the Rhythmic Pattern,” “Metrical Placement of the Phrases,” “Additional Identical Rhythms,” and “Lyrics and Narrative Context” – all of which were either identical or substantially similar.
3. (56) For example, “Each hook contains twelve words, with 7 RINGS drawing on nine identical words of [I GOT IT] (appearing underlined)” and providing the Hooks as follows:
4. (57) I GOT IT: “You Need It, I Got It. You Want It, I Got It.”57. As another example, Dr. Sadoff demonstrates (and illustrates with sheet music) that 7 RINGS has “identical metrical placement of the paired phrases” Literally, every single one of the 39 respective notes of 7 RINGS is identical with the 39 notes of I GOT IT from a metrical placement perspective. Said another way, the rhythm and placement of the notes and lyrics are identical.

Alleged infringement of lyric (also music)

Stone: “You Need It. I Got It. You Want It, I Got It.

Grande: “I Want It, I Got It. I Want It, I Got It.”

What’s at stake: If Stone can prove infringement, he stands to win potentially a huge award for damages, given the commercial success of Grande’s “7 Rings.” According to Stone’s Complaint, Grande’s song sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. and more internationally, set records for streaming on Spotify, and had its music video viewed 642 million times on YouTube. Stone’s Complaint alleges that Grande’s song has earned over $10 million. If a jury found in Stone’s favor, the jury would have to determine how much of that amount is attributable to the copyrighted elements from Stone’s song–what is called apportionment. Just for comparison, the jury in the “Blurred Lines” case awarded Marvin Gaye’s estate 50% of the profits from “Blurred Lines” by Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke ($5.3 million), plus Williams and Thicke have to pay 50% of all future royalties to Gaye’s estate. In other words, the jury essentially said half of the commercial success of “Blurred Lines” was due to the parts copied from Gaye’s “Got To Give It Up.”

Songs

Josh Stone, “You Need It I Got It” (2017)

Ariana Grande, “7 Rings” (2019)

Documents

Complaint by Josh Stone (Jan. 16, 2020)

Attorneys

Tamir Young for Josh Stone