Black Eyed Peas lawsuit goes 'Boom Boom Pow'

By Eriq Gardner

What's the world's biggest band these days, Coldplay or the Black Eyed Peas?

Sure, we could measure album sales, but we prefer to monitor the number of song theft allegations.

Yesterday, two musicians filed a copyright infringement claim against members of the Black Eyed Peas, Universal Music, Interscope and others for allegedly ripping off a tune called "Boom Dynamite" to create "Boom Boom Pow," the band's first song to top the Billboard 100 chart. 

According to Ira Gould, the attorney for plaintiffs Ebony Latrice Batts and Manfred Mohr, the musicians submitted their song to Interscope Records after the label showed some interest in his clients' music.

Also, last week a New York District Court judge ruled in a separate case that a songwriter's collaborator had improperly sold the rights to a sampled song that provided the basis for the Black Eyed Peas hit "My Humps." (Will I Am Music was a co-defendant in the case.)

The Peas seem to be catching up on Coldplay in the song-theft allegations department. Last year, Coldplay settled a dispute with Joe Satriani over who created the hook to the tune "Viva La Vida." The former Cat Stevens also made a claim on that song. And just a couple weeks ago, another songwriter filed a lawsuit against Coldplay alleging that the band's biggest hits, including "Clocks" and "Yellow," were stolen.

Do the newest claims against the Black Eyed Peas have any merit? After the jump, judge for yourself:

Comments

[DK]

Can you really base a case on the use of the words "Boom Boom"?

[Person]

really? This is just another case in which an underdog tries to gain cash from a famous individual group.

[Person]

Honestly, I think she should just give up her case.

[KittraKittra]

She cannot possibly win her lawsuit but she's launched an excellent self-marketing scheme. I'd never heard of her. Her song is far superior to the Black Eyed Peas song. She rocks.

[rockin]

Wow, Black eyed peas should be sued for making the song 10x worst than the Pheonix original version....they said that the sample was submitted to Will I am....before he made boom boom pow...sounds like a swagger jacker case to me ....anyway ever since Fergie join the group they have been a TOTAL SELL OUT ! HOPE HTIS GIRL GETS ALL THE MONEY

[jigga]

nothing a like that phoenix group sucks

[jigga]

dude, I go boom boom once maybe twice a day depending on what i ate the night before, do I have a case too

[Welcome To Dreamsville Records]

If this were reversed and and the plaintiff recorded the BEP's song, everyone would be sayin' she jocked them. However, because she is "unknown" and her vid was done on a shoestring, no one can believe the BEP copied her? Her song was submitted to their record label and when several bars are plagiarized, she wins hands down!

[kelsay]

i dont think she should sew them