The members of rock band Nickelback are reportedly being sued for copyright infringement by a fellow Canadian band, Econoline Crush.
Econoline Crush allege that Nickelback “maliciously and wilfully” stole from their 1997 song All That You Are, from their album The Devil You Know, when producing their December 2003 song Figured You Out. This song is from the Nickelback’s album The Long Road, also released in 2003.
Lawyers for the Vancouver-based industrial rock band claim that the two songs bear a substantial similarity to each other, asserting that Nickelback – made up of brothers Chad and Mike Kroeger, Ryan Peake and Daniel Adair – and their record label have breached Econoline’s copyright and stolen their intellectual property.
Warner-Chappell Music, EMI Canada and Roadrunner Records are also named as defendants in the lawsuit, which was filed in Central District California Court last week.
As Econoline Crush are suing the band for actual damages, defendant’s profits and statutory and punitive damages, Nickelback and all other named parties, including the record label, will need to rely on professional indemnity insurance cover should they lose the case when it goes to court.