Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson have been sued for copyright infringement over their hit single “Uptown Funk,” TMZ reports. A Minneapolis eletro funk band, Collage claim copyright infringement over their song “Young Girls”.
They claim that Ronson and Mars’ single “is an obvious, strikingly and/or substantially similar copy” of Collage’s 1983 single “Young Girls.” The complaint also notes that Ronson and Mars have talked about how “Uptown Funk” was influenced by early 1980s Minneapolis electro-funk soul music. Collage are seeking damages and profits.
Trinidad James, Jeff Bhasker, Devon Gallaspy, Phillip Lawrence, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner/Chappell Music, Atlantic Records, RCA Records and others are listed alongside Mars and Ronson in the lawsuit. Only one member of Collage, Larry White, is alive. The estates of two other members, Grady Wilkins and Lee Peters, are also listed as plaintiffs.
The Gap Band were awarded songwriting credits on the song after citing similarities between “Uptown Funk” and their 1979 hit “Oops Up Side Your Head.”