“Dissuading” plagiarism attempts: Judge bans Adele's song worldwide

Another controversy over the song “Million Years Ago” had already erupted in Turkey. MAXPPP – AIex Todd/Avalon

A Brazilian judge has ordered a ban on the worldwide reproduction of the song “Million Years Ago” by British pop star Adele, as part of a plagiarism complaint by a samba composer.

The court decision, which AFP had access to on Monday, prohibits the Brazilian subsidiaries of Sony Music and Universal Music, the singer's record labels, “from using, reproducing, publishing, distributing or marketing” this title “at a global level” and “on any medium”, under penalty of a fine of 50,000 reais (around 7,800 euros).

“Dissuading” “profiteers parasites”

Composer Toninho Geraes filed a plagiarism complaint, claiming that “Million Years Ago” (2015) copied the melody of the title track “Mulheres”, a hit performed by the sacred monster of samba Martinho da Vila in an album released twenty years earlier, in 1995.

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“It is a turning point for Brazilian music, which, due to the richness of its melodies, harmony and rhythms, is often copied to compose hits international”, lawyer Fredimio Trotta, the Brazilian composer's lawyer, told AFP on Monday.

According to him, this judicial decision should “dissuade” other attempts at plagiarism by “parasitic profiteers”.

The Brazilian subsidiaries of Sony Music and Universal Music can appeal.

Another controversy

Contacted by AFP, Sony Music stated that it “does not have a statement at the moment” on this subject. Universal Music did not immediately respond.

In the plagiarism complaint currently being analyzed by a court in Rio de Janeiro, Toninho Geraes' defense is seeking, among other things, one million reais (around 156,000 euros) in damages.

Another controversy over the song “Million Years Ago” had already erupted in Turkey, when Internet users said they had identified similarities with the tune of the title “Acilara tutunmak”, by the Kurdish singer Ahmet Kaya, who died in 2000.

Brazil is a signatory to the Berne Convention of 1886 on the international protection of the rights of authors in their works.