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Sued! It Stings!!!!

Filed under: Music Minute > Legal Matters

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A Reno, Nevada, guy named Roy Smith has filed a suit against Sting.

Get this…

Smith says a chat he had with Sting was the source of inspiration for the songs Roxanne and Message in a Bottle.

Those songs are OLD. They're Police old!

Why the hell is the guy just coming forward now?

Fishy fishy….

Money money money money!

[Image via WENN.]

    Posted: Apr 18, 2008 at 12:23 pm / Email this  »
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    See All 38 Comments

    38 comments to “Sued! It Stings!!!!”

    1. kiddo says – reply to this


      1

      leave sting alone

    2. Joel L says – reply to this


      2

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    3. ArmPitt™ says – reply to this


      3

      I don't believe it for a second!!!

    4. Snoop Diggy says – reply to this


      4

      This will never hold up in court. Mark my words — DENIED!

    5. tambam says – reply to this


      5

      first

    6. richard says – reply to this


      6

      fuck this guy who is suing…Roxanne was released 30 years ago…Sting is a genius and this guy wants a piece of Stings massive pie!

      Even if those songs DID come about from a conversation between the two, an artist has full right to draw influence from the world around them. They weren't copyrighted thoughts, melodies, lyrics, chord progression from this Roy Smith douche bag!

    7. Stephanie says – reply to this


      7

      Just another money hungry loser trying to get an easy buck.

    8. Rigbee says – reply to this


      8

      You have got to be kidding me. That song came out when I was a toddler. Who sits on something like that for 30 years????

    9. Eare says – reply to this


      9

      I shared this news with my friends at 'million aire frie nds com'. Many people are very interested in this. They are discussing it there.

    10. Dick says – reply to this


      10

      Reno nevada man??? Too bad Sting was living in England with Andy Summers and his wife when he wrote Roxanne, fresh after coming back from a Festival in France.

      Sorry red neck…no good idea comes from RENO!

    11. aj says – reply to this


      11

      P.S. Id love to pistol whip all you fucking millionarre website posters!

    12. jackie says – reply to this


      12

      He's coming forward after all this time?? That's wack.

      There's got to be a statute of limitation onthat

    13. Gordon Sumner Fan says – reply to this


      13

      Sting can draw influence from me any day & I would be honored! This guy Smith is obviously trying to get some cash. But yeah, he should have 'tried' this a LONG time ago. No chance in heck now. You don't have to put on the red light! Haha.

    14. bathog says – reply to this


      14

      you don,t have to wear that dress tonight,walk the streets for money ,i don,t care if its wrong ar right,,BATHOG

    15. Hyde says – reply to this


      15

      The only ones who will make any money here are the lawyers. ridiculous.

    16. Ruben says – reply to this


      16

      Yay Reno!

    17. erin... says – reply to this


      17

      It will be thrown out.

      a.) Song -ideas- are not copyrightable; only that particular, specific expression (e.g., the exact lyrics)

      b.) The statute of limitations for those songs is waaaaaay gone. :D I think it's three years.

    18. piece of the action says – reply to this


      18

      I named my daughter Roxanne in 1999 maybe I could sue him for defamation of character for her! what do you think????

    19. BLUE says – reply to this


      19

      I believe the statute of limitations would be up on this kind of a case.

      Hello McFly!!!

    20. sydneycakes says – reply to this


      20

      real pathetic. people will do anything these days for an extra buck.

    21. Ohdoyouhearthat?Violins says – reply to this


      21

      Thats lame.Those songs are what?20 or more so years old?And this dumbass is just now filing a lawsuit?And even then he'd have to have some sort of tangible proof that Sting ripped the ideas from him.Not to mention.Isn't there a statute of limitations you can file for shit like this?I mean there should be.Why wait so fucking long to file?This guy sounds like he's just trying to make fast money.To bad he'll probably get laughed out of court.

    22. Laura says – reply to this


      22

      He's suing Sting for being INSPIRED by a conversation? Seriously? And this Smith guy remembers the entire conversation word for word after 20 years? Even should this happen to be true, I doubt that man would have brought those ideas to fruition, and certainly NOT with Sting's eloquence.

      As long as one doesn't plagiarize, there is no restriction to where he or she may draw inspiration. Many of the world's greatest artists get ideas from other people. Hell, Shakespeare did that all the time.

    23. smiff says – reply to this


      23

      I think I wrote de doo doo doo de dah dah dah

    24. whoo dun it says – reply to this


      24

      Yep, the statue of limitations has expired at least 6 times over.

    25. rawr says – reply to this


      25

      is he sure that he hasn't already passed the statute of limitations? what a fucking idiot.

    26. El Lion says – reply to this


      26

      i met lionel richie in an airport terminal back in 1982.
      I told him, Hello.

      Now see what he did, he wrote a song that was a hit from my very words. he ripped me off.

      Where's my money?

    27. emily says – reply to this


      27

      actually this won't have any weight in court because ideas or a "chat", etc. are not copyrightable (as somebody above mentioned). Only once such an idea meets the following 3 criteria: ORGINAL, FIXED, & in a TANGIBLE medium, can it be protected under copyrightable law. loser should have done his homework.

    28. grus says – reply to this


      28

      People will do anything for money and power, and this society is so sue happy. I think there should be laws to protect people from law suits like this. It is a sick…me, me, world!

    29. M says – reply to this


      29

      Sting seems to attract a lot of this kind of stuff… the suing pregnant chef and now this…
      -
      I hope this doesn't put a damper on his creativity…. we need more Sting and soon… I am getting over the whole Police thing now..
      -
      Bring back Sting…

    30. Ivette says – reply to this


      30

      this is such a loser! the only way this asshole can do that is by showing the music previously registered and it has to be before they released the song so… to bad for him… such an ass…

    31. Robynn says – reply to this


      31

      WOW artists get inspiration from everything.. even if Sting did get ideas from this Smith douche, Smith should be entitled to nothing. Fucking dumb ass.

    32. EuropEll says – reply to this


      32

      This lawsuit will be thrown out of court so fast that it will make a new record.

    33. Kaya says – reply to this


      33

      Re: El Lion –

      I have to admit that was funny.

    34. Jessie says – reply to this


      34

      omg all i can say is i never thought I'd see a post on Sting here and I am so freakin excited because Sting is my favorite person in the world EVER!!!!!!!

    35. elisha says – reply to this


      35

      what a liar. Some ppl are sooo low…theyll try anything for money.hes just making a god damn fool out of himself…and he wont even win!

    36. emily says – reply to this


      36

      Yes right

    37. tom says – reply to this


      37

      That a way to be on top of things Read this story a few days ago. Who really cares. It is b.s. that guy wont get a thing. He did not compose the song after all.

    38. better late than never? says – reply to this


      38

      Maybe he should have said something 30 years ago?
      I was a child when that album came out. My Best friend found out that 'Roxanne' had been a Saint, & wanted to use it for her confirmation name. Her mom found out!! So she filled out her forms with 'anne' with a little room left over to squeeze in 'Rox' (after her parents signed the papers! Now I'm 40 years old. You do the math!