Sound And Color, LLC v. Samuel Smith

Ninth Circuit reverses summary judgment in favor of pop singer Sam Smith in music copyright dispute, holding in unpublished opinion that hook in plaintiff's song may be protectable as unique selection and arrangement of unprotectable elements and reasonable jury could conclude that hook in Smith's 2019 hit "Dancing With a Stranger" shared substantially similar selection and arrangement of musical elements.

Plaintiff Sound and Color LLC, the owner of the copyright to the 2015 song "Dancing With Strangers" (also known as "Dancing With a Stranger"), composed by Jordan Vincent and Christopher Miranda, brought a copyright infringement action against pop singer Sam Smith and others associated with Smith's hit song "Dancing With a Stranger," which he wrote and released with Normani (along with others) in 2019. Plaintiff claims that the chorus of defendants' song infringed the lyrics "dancing with a stranger" and the melodic elements accompanying those lyrics found in the