Sued! It Stings!!!!
Filed under: Music Minute > Legal Matters
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: April 18, 2008 at 12:23 pm
leave sting alone
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I don't believe it for a second!!!
This will never hold up in court. Mark my words — DENIED!
first
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!
Just another money hungry loser trying to get an easy buck.
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????
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.
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!
P.S. Id love to pistol whip all you fucking millionarre website posters!
He's coming forward after all this time?? That's wack.
There's got to be a statute of limitation onthat
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.
you don,t have to wear that dress tonight,walk the streets for money ,i don,t care if its wrong ar right,,BATHOG
The only ones who will make any money here are the lawyers. ridiculous.
Yay Reno!
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.
I think it's three years.
I named my daughter Roxanne in 1999 maybe I could sue him for defamation of character for her! what do you think????
I believe the statute of limitations would be up on this kind of a case.
Hello McFly!!!
real pathetic. people will do anything these days for an extra buck.
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.
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.
I think I wrote de doo doo doo de dah dah dah
Yep, the statue of limitations has expired at least 6 times over.
is he sure that he hasn't already passed the statute of limitations? what a fucking idiot.
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?
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.
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!
Sting seems to attract a lot of this kind of stuff… the suing pregnant chef and now this…
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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..
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Bring back Sting…
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…
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.
This lawsuit will be thrown out of court so fast that it will make a new record.
Re: El Lion –
I have to admit that was funny.
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!!!!!!!
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!
Yes right
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.
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!