In what is turning into the most civilised argument in music history, Coldplay have refuted Joe Satriani’s claim that they plagarised his work while praising his talent and offering up a stream of pleasantries.

The British band broke their silence over the American guitarist’s law suit last night, posting a statement on their website that goes against the usual rules of rock rivalry and would no doubt make the famously fiery Oasis and Sex Pistols ill.

Answering Satriani’s claim that parts of their No 1 hit Viva La Vida were copied, the band wrote: “With the greatest possible respect to Joe Satriani, we have now unfortunately found it necessary to respond publicly to his allegations.

“If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental, and just as surprising to us as to him.

“Joe Satriani is a great musician, but he did not write or have any influence on the song Viva La Vida. We respectfully ask him to accept our assurances of this and wish him well with all future endeavours.”

Last week, Satriani filed a copyright infringement suit, at Los Angeles federal court, claiming Viva La Vida incorporates “substantial original portions” of his 2004 instrumental If I Could Fly.

The feted guitarist, who has played alongside Mick Jagger, is seeking a jury trial, damages and “any and all profits” attributable to the alleged copyright infringement.

Despite releasing a string of successful songs since they found fame in 2000, Viva La Vida is Coldplay's biggest ever hit. It went straight to No 1 on the UK charts when it was released in June.

Last week the band were nominated for the prestigious Song of the Year and Record of the Year Grammy awards for the track.

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, is also the band's most successful, despite huge success with their debut Parachutes and the epic A Rush of Blood To The Head.

The band have sold more music than any other act in the world during 2008.

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