The Weeknd has reached an agreement in a legal battle over one of his songs. According to Rolling Stone, the Canadian singer has reached a settlement after being sued for copyright infringement over his 2018 track “Call Out My Name.” The settlement was reached last Friday (March 17) just before the lawsuit could go to trial.
Suniel Fox and Henry Strange of the electro duo Epikker filed legal action against the chart-topping performer claiming that “Call Out My Name” plagiarized the vocal hook and lead guitar from their unreleased song “Vibeking.”
“’Vibeking’ and ‘Call Out My Name’ contain quantitatively and qualitatively similar material in their respective lead guitar and vocal hooks, including melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic elements distinctive to ‘Vibeking’,” explained a statement written by Epikker’s lawyers.
The statement continued, “Both works are in a 6/8 meter that is less common in popular music. Both works are played at a similar tempo. And both works use features of electronica, ambience, pop, hip-hop, rock, and R&B to achieve a particularly atmospheric and melancholic sound.”
According to the report, Fox and Strange had physical evidence that proved The Weeknd had heard and liked their unreleased song. The plaintiffs sought all of the song’s profits as well as legal fees, however, the terms of the settlement were not disclosed. “Call Out My Name” producers Frank Dukes and Nicolas Jaar were also named in the lawsuit.
“The parties have reached a settlement in principle of this action,” reads the filing. “Because the parties are still in the process of formalizing, executing, and consummating that settlement, Plaintiff respectfully requests that the Court take all dates off calendar and set a date in 30 days for the parties to file a joint status report if the case has not already been dismissed.”