Justin Bieber, Usher sued for USD 10 million over copyright issues

Los Angeles: Rapper Devin Copeland has filed a 10 million dollar copyright infringement lawsuit on Usher and Justin Bieber. Copeland, who is better known by his stage name, Devin the Dude, has alleged that he showed Usher a tune of the same name and he usurped it for Bieber`s My World 2.0, reported E! Online. Copeland, who is suing along with his writing partner Mareio Overton, alleges that his album 2008 My Story II contained "Somebody to Love". He and Overton had applied for and were granted the copyright. In the lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Virginia, Copeland states that he then met with scouts from major labels such as Island, Sony and RCA, who then brought My Story II to various artists, including Usher. "Without any authority or consent. (Manager Jonetta Patton) and Usher conspired with songwriters and producers to directly copy Plaintiffs` song `Somebody to Love,` intending to appropriate Plaintiffs` intellectual property as their own," the lawsuit stated. According to the suit, it was Overton who heard the 19-year-old singer`s tune on the radio in the summer of 2010 and immediately called Copeland about it. Copeland and Overton are asking for at least 10 million dollars in damages for alleged copyright infringement as well as for a permanent injunction preventing Bieber, Usher and their fellow defendants from laying any further claim to the song`s copyright. PTI