Hey! Wait that sounds familiar...

Miley Cyrus, also known as the infamous Hannah Montana, is at it again... and when I say "it" I'm not talking about taking more racy photos, I'm talking about plagiarism.
This time she is being accused of copyright infringement by L.A band, Lustra. Never heard of them? They are the ones credited for writing the very popular song sung by Matt Damon in Euro Trip, "Scotty Doesn't Know." Apparently, there is an uncanny resemblance between that song and Miley's song "Rockstar." When Lustra publicized their belief that they truly thought Miley was guilty of copyright, many people questioned how the two songs could be similar seeing as how they were sung by two completely different genres of bands. This led the public to have doubts on the similarities that the two songs shared, so Lustra invited Miley's fans to visit their myspace and comment on whether or not they believed that Miley's song was actually original, or if they could hear the resemblance too. A majority of people reported back that the two songs were, "the same in tunes, but different in lyrics." [1]
Listen for yourselves...

[2]
Hear the resemblance? It is quite blatant in the first few seconds of each song. The two guitar riffs are literally identical to the average ear, and from there the resemblance is a little bit harder to hear, but it is still present at various points.

I actually believe that Miley had perhaps seen Euro Trip and maybe blind-sightedly copied the songs beat without realizing that she did it. The beat is something easy enough, that if you heard it once it would not be very hard to selfconciously copy without realizing it. Opposed to this comment though, I have sympathy for Lustra and don't blame them for wanting to work out an agreement with Miley Cyrus.

Problem is though, apparently it isn't Miley who writes her own music for her character as Hannah Montana but it is either her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, or her Disney Producers. This becomes troubling because who should Lustra charge? The teenage sensation or her producers when they really have no idea who is responsible for the copyright of their guitar riffs. Plagiarism is a very serious issue in the music industry and needs to be stopped before all music starts to sound the same.

So question is, what exactly is copyright infringement? The U.S Copyright Office defines copyright infringement as, "a general matter, copyright infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed, or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner." [3] Without these laws in place on music (tempos, beats, lyrics and rythmns) no originial work would exist and something that appears to be a "hit" would eventually turn into an overused piece of work.

Commenting on the case of copyright is a spokesman for Lustra who stated, "The immediate solution is to minimize leaks, and keep all future recordings in a vault, under extreme security." Commenting on another issue is Lustra's guitarist Chris Baird who tried to lighten the mood by commenting, If "Hannah Montana" wants us now, who is next? The Jonas Brothers? That said, if (Vanity Fair photographer) Annie Liebovitz is interested in photographing us nearly nude we are certainly open to it and we look forward to her call." [1]

In the end of it all, Lustra never went through with charging Miley, although it was stated that at points they still contemplate on whether or not they should. The group finished the case off with stating that they only wished they had been given some credit for their work. Miley's Producers refused to comment on all issues involved in Lustra's copyright statement against their star.

I guess it is fair to say that this case is solved, even though it really isn't a case anymore since Lustra dropped all charges. Oh, and to Miley Cyrus: be careful with your music since this isn't the first time your music has sounded an awful lot like a past musicians, such as Corey Hart's, "Sunglasses at Night." (Miley's version is called "See you again") On a final note check out the comparison to these two videos, and post your comments letting me know what you think of Miley and her copyright cases!

[4]

[1] "Miley Cyrus accused of stealing song from LA band Lustra." 2009. Website. Gossip Boulevard - Celebrity Gossip, Celebrity News. March 9, 2009. <http://www.gossipboulevard.com/2008/05/14/miley-cyrus-accused-of-stealing-song-from-la-band-lustra/3861/>
[2] "Lustra vs. Hannah Montana." July 19, 2008. Podcast. Youtube. March 9, 2009. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMkHz-T2he4>
[3] Elkins, Maria. "Copyright Infringement." 1999-2009. Website. Lost Quilt Come Home Page. March 9, 2009. <http://www.lostquilt.com/CopyrightInfringement.html>
[4] Van Essen, Matt. "Miley Cyrus vs. Corey Hart - I See You Wearing My Sunglasses Again." April 18, 2008. Podcast. Youtube. March 9, 2009. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNY9m4spXaE>