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After accusations against Adele and Shakira, musicians and lawyers debate: how to separate plagiarism from inspiration?

Heartbroken and luvas da poker goldengulfed in the drama of a high-profile breakup, openly betrayed for the world to see and discuss, did Shakira, the renowned Colombian star, draw inspiration from a Brazilian sertanejo song to compose a track addressing her ex-husband, Gerard Piqué? Ruan Prado, Luana Matos, and Calixto Afiune, composers of "Tu tu tu," assert this is the case. This is yet another plagiarism accusation involving an international artist, amidst the ongoing legal battle between the Brazilian sambista Toninho Geraes and British singer Adele—he accuses her of plagiarizing his samba "Mulheres" in "Million Years Ago." Rio's 2025 Book Biennial: Event will be revamped, featuring new attractions and even a literary Ferris wheel; discover the detailsWho killed Rubens Paiva: Report revealed in 2014 the killer of the former congressman portrayed in the film 'I'm still here' This time, the alleged plagiarism involves the track "Bzrp Music Sessions vol. 53," a collaboration between Shakira and Argentine DJ Bizarrap, released in January 2023. It is a diss track, a term used to describe a song created to expose or insult someone. At the time of its release, Shakira was freshly separated and was the focus of tabloid rumors that her ex, Piqué, had left her for a student 20 years younger. It was the scandal of the moment. After the separation, Piqué confirmed his relationship with the student, but that's a different story. When Ruan, Luana, and Calixto, authors of "Tu tu tu" (popularized by Mariana Fagundes and Léo Santana), heard Shakira's airing of grievances (which topped charts in several countries), they were convinced they had been plagiarized. They are now suing Shakira. — They checked it out and were shocked; it was the chorus of their work, with minimal variation — Fredímio Biasotto Trotta, the lawyer representing the Brazilian composers and also part of Toninho Geraes' legal team against Adele, told O GLOBO. — The conviction that it is plagiarism comes from similarities that are unlikely to occur by chance. The refrain's melody has entire identical phrases, and there are other similarities, such as the song's theme: adultery, overcoming betrayal, and female empowerment. The probability of all this happening accidentally, simultaneously, in a short span of three years is zero. And if it's coincidence? It is undeniable that the two tracks sound quite similar. Any layperson who hears them will likely recognize the similarities. The big question in such accusations, however, is proving that the resemblance was intentional, meaning one copied the other. Because it could also be a mere coincidence. Or there might be a third path: free inspiration. But when does inspiration stop being inspiration and become plagiarism? Veteran music producer Rick Bonadio, 55, says he has changed his mind on this topic throughout his career, marked by discovering artists like Mamonas Assassinas and Charlie Brown Jr., among others. He himself was recently alerted that a rising hit might be plagiarizing one of his songs. "Descer pra BC," by the duo Brenno and Matheus, allegedly had strong similarities to "Ragatanga" by the group Rouge, which is actually an authorized Brazilian version of the song "Asereje" by the Spanish group Las Ketchup. Rick went on social media to say everything was fine and that, despite seeing some similarities between "Descer pra BC" and "Ragatanga," he did not identify it as a case of plagiarism. — About 30 years ago, it was much easier to identify plagiarism. There wasn’t as much music, styles didn't cross as much, and resources were very limited — Rick said by phone. — Nowadays, almost nothing is created from scratch. Most artists, including those I've worked with, create inspired by what they like, what they listen to. According to the producer, there is a need to update the legislation on the subject: — It's almost impossible to create something that doesn't coincide with something else. It needs to be regulated. You should be able to use it, provided you reserve 10% of the rights for the artist you were inspired by. CBJR had a lot of influence from various bands, but we always took great care. If you listen to Paralamas and The Police, you'll find similarities. Legi?o Urbana with The Cure. "Chopis Centis" by Mamonas has declared references to The Clash. But is it plagiarism? No, it's style. Some people on the internet point out similarities between songs as if they were plagiarisms. But you have to look at the whole picture, how the song is sung, the lyrics, everything. For him, "true plagiarism copies the idea of the song, the theme": — That's why most plagiarism lawsuits lead nowhere. I've been in the market for 40 years and don't know anyone who was sued and lost for plagiarism. Music producer and composer Felipe Vass?o, who has collaborated with artists like Emicida and Jota.pê, recalls a case where it seemed like a huge coincidence. — That Sam Smith song, "Stay with Me," coincidentally, is identical to a Tom Petty song called "I Won’t Back Down." And when Sam's song was about to be released, someone from his team noticed the similarity. So they talked to Tom Petty, who took it well and ended up being credited as a co-author of "Stay with Me" — Vass?o said. — If you look at art history, there's always been explicit inspiration from what came before, right? Artists honored their predecessors by working on themes, sometimes revisiting and making variations, or building on a legacy from a particular predecessor. Nobody creates anything from scratch. Plagiarism is characterized when there is an intention to profit from someone else's work. The main problem with identifying plagiarism is knowing if there was intent to plagiarize. In english: Read more stories on O GLOBO's website There are rare cases, however, where the plagiarist, legally cornered, ends up confessing. One of the most famous examples in the music industry involves Jorge Ben Jor and Rod Stewart. After spending a carnival in Rio de Janeiro, when "Taj Mahal," by the Rio musician, was exploding on radios and dances here, the Briton released his "Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?," with a refrain scandalously similar to Ben Jor's "tê tê tê, têtêretê." — In reports from the time, Jorge said he learned through friends who said they heard his song in English at the disco — said Kamille Viola, author of the book "áfrica Brasil: um dia Jorge Ben voou para toda a gente ver." — Jorge was re-recorded by many foreign artists, so at first, he thought it was a version. After he realized it was plagiarism, he took appropriate action. Confronted by the Brazilian, Rod Stewart initially denied it was plagiarism. Later, the scenario changed. In the end, the Brazilian and the Brit reached an agreement, and the rights to Rod's song are passed on to UNICEF. — Rod Stewart said it was just a coincidence, tried to downplay it. Until at some point, it became inevitable to admit. And he ended up saying, and even reaffirms in his biography, that it was an involuntary plagiarism because of the carnival he spent here. Curiously, during that carnival, Rod Stewart and Jorge Ben Jor were at the same party, at Morro da Urca — adds Kamille. Meanwhile, Toninho Geraes seems to be winning the lawsuit he filed against Adele for the alleged plagiarism of "Mulheres," pointing out irrefutable similarities in "Million Years Ago," by the British singer. Recently, the Brazilian court ordered Adele's track to be taken down from streaming platforms—something that hasn’t happened yet, it’s worth noting. In a new chapter of the legal dispute, singer and composer Rafael Bittencourt, from the band Angra, is preparing a report to affirm that Adele did indeed plagiarize the Brazilian composer. For lawyer Daniel Valle, an intellectual property specialist and partner at Costa & Valle Advogados, the outcomes of plagiarism disputes can also occur "outside the courts." — A lawsuit can be expensive, lengthy, and with an unpredictable result, as there is no court specialized in copyright in the judiciary. But reaching an agreement without initiating a legal action requires strategy and negotiation, going beyond the simple threat of a lawsuit. A good strategy is to create pressure that makes the financial and reputational cost of an agreement more advantageous than litigation — says Valle. He adds: — It's very common to confuse plagiarize with sample, which are very different concepts. While plagiarism is characterized by an integral copy of a work or a substantial part of it without attribution, sampling occurs when a snippet of an existing recording is incorporated into a new song. This act of sampling, which is very common, can be legal or not. It depends on whether authorizations have been obtained. The translation of this text into english was carried out by Project Irineu, O GLOBO's initiative to develop artificial intelligence tools. Here is the link to the original report. 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