Listen to Viva La Vida I Listen to If I Could Fly

Coldplay’s award-hoarding, chart-topping year hit a snag yesterday when guitarist Joe Satriani filed a law suit against the band, accusing them of plagarising his music.

In a copyright infringement suit, filed at Los Angeles federal court, the American rock musician is understood to have claimed Coldplay’s world-wide hit Viva La Vida incorporates “substantial original portions” of his 2004 instrumental If I Could Fly.

The guitarist is reportedly seeking a jury trial, damages and “any and all profits” attributable to the alleged copyright infringement.

The suit was filed the day after Coldplay made headlines around the world for bagging seven Grammy Award nominations, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year for the disputed track.

The track is the most successful of Coldplay’s career and went straight to No 1 on the UK charts when it was released in June. Song-writing credits list singer Chris Martin, bass player Guy Berryman, guitarist Johnny Buckland and drummer Will Champion.

The album the song came from, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, spent six weeks at the top of the charts, topping all of the band’s previous hit albums, including their debut Parachutes and the epic A Rush of Blood To The Head.

Last month at the World Music Awards, the band was officially declared the world’s biggest-selling music act of the year.

Satriani, whose guitar skills have been employed by the cream of the music world, including Mick Jagger, released If I Could Fly on his tenth studio album Is There Love In Space?

The Grammy Award-winning guitarist is not the first to lay claim to Viva La Vida. In June, the American band Creaky Boards insinuated, via YouTube, that Coldplay had copied their song, ironically entitled Songs I Didn't Write, after Chris Martin attended one of the little-known band's gigs. Coldplay was quick to point out that Viva La Vida had been penned and demoed long before that concert.

Neither Satriani or Coldplay have commented on the suit.

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