- Title: Brazilian judge orders Adele song removed over plagiarism claim
- Date: 19th December 2024
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) BRAZILIAN COMPOSER AND MUSICIAN, TONINHO GERAES, SAYING: “It's not a personal issue against anyone, quite the opposite. I admire Adele a lot, and her work. I don't know her personally, but she must be a nice girl. But it happens, it happens in life. We have to know how to deal with it and hope that everything works out and that she's as happy as sh
- Embargoed: 2nd January 2025 02:37
- Keywords: Adele Brazil Million Years Ago Mulheres Toninho Geraes Universal Music plagiarism
- Location: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL / INTERNET / LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- City: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL / INTERNET / LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: Brazil
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions,South America / Central America
- Reuters ID: LVA001813418122024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A judge in Rio de Janeiro has ordered the global removal of a 2015 song by British singer Adele due to a plagiarism claim by a Brazilian musician, which Universal Music is fighting on appeal.
The ruling, made public on Monday (December 16, 2024), came in a case filed this year by Toninho Geraes, whose compositions were made famous by some of Brazil's most acclaimed samba singers.
Geraes accused Adele of copying his song "Mulheres," a national hit since the 1990s. His lawyers uploaded to YouTube a comparison of that song and Adele's "Million Years Ago."
"The ruling shows that the Brazilian justice system is strong and that injuries to Brazilian artists won't be ignored," said Fredimio Biasotto Trotta, a lawyer for Geraes.
The decision orders Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music to immediately cease "using, reproducing, editing, distributing, or commercializing" the song by any means on streaming or sharing platforms, without Geraes' consent. It set a fine of 50,000 reais ($8,080.94) for each time that the companies fail to comply with the order.
The Berne Convention, an international treaty, orders other signatory countries, including the U.S., to comply with legal decisions regarding copyright, Trotta said.
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