#NerdLaw: Britney Spears vs. Bellamy Brothers
#TalkNerdyToMeLover’s Polly Dixon
Not sure if you’ve noticed this or not…but the Bellamy Brothers have been plastering accusations on their
website and going on tons of interviews spouting off against Britney Spears’ recent single “Hold It
Against Me."
The Bellamy Brothers believe that Britney’s song stating that it infringes on the copyright of their song “If I
had a Beautiful Body, Would You Hold It Against Me?”. They say it’s not the titles themselves that is the
copyright infringement, it is the actual language in the song “would you hold it against me”. According
to the Bellamy Brothers lawyer, he thinks that if you speed up the Bellamy Brothers’ song, the similarity
is ‘uncanny’.
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Here’s the catch: You don’t have copyright protection in a short phrase. And really? How many times in our
every day life do we use the phrase “would you hold it against me?” Annoying. On top of it, I’m not a
music expert but I don’t even think the musicality of the line sounds the same.
The songwriters of “Hold It Against Me” have filed a lawsuit in federal court accusing the Bellamy Brothers
of a smear campaign against Britney Spear to raise their own record sales and garner publicity. The
suit also asks for a court order stating that the songs have nothing to do with each other. Notably, the
Bellamy Brothers have yet to respond and/or file a copyright suit of their own. The latest is that they
have some big wig Nashville copyright attorney taking a look at it. It will be interesting to see what the
court’s decision is.
Check 'em out for yourself! Whatcha think?