In a recent conversation with Mojo, Chris Martin denied Joe Satriani’s 2008 plagiarism accusation.
In a previous question, the singer explained that he discovered a chord sequence in a Javier Bardem film that he loved. Then, he decided to use it in his own song, ‘Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall.’ He reached out to Allen’s team for permission. When the interviewer asked if he was concerned about credit because of the issue with the song ‘Viva La Vida,’ Martin responded:
“No. That situation was really… not very nice for us. Four or five different people [including, temporarily, Cat Stevens] said that we’d stolen the same two bars. Everyone who knows us knows that we don’t work like that.”
The rocker went on to explain why that case was sad for him:
“What was particularly upsetting about that was the level of vitriol… I find this topic hard to navigate because it makes me so emotional. All I will say in closing this is that I don’t steal people’s music, and I never will [the case was settled out of court in September ’09].”
Satriani’s Lawsuit Against Coldplay
On December 4, 2008, Satriani sued Coldplay in a U.S. court, claiming their song ‘Viva La Vida’ plagiarized his song ‘If I Could Fly’ from his 2004 album, ‘Is There Love In Space?’ He sought damages and any profits from the alleged copyright infringement. The band replied to him in a statement:
“With the greatest possible respect to Joe Satriani, if there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental and just as surprising to us as to him.”
After Satriani’s lawyers found Coldplay, the band requested a jury trial for the case. On September 14, 2009, Judge Dean D. Pregerson dismissed the case and ruled that each party would pay their own legal costs.
The stipulation suggested they likely reached an out-of-court settlement, possibly involving Coldplay paying Satriani. There’s no direct evidence Coldplay copied Satriani’s song, as copyright cases can be complex.