Avril Ripped for Allegedly Ripping Off "Girlfriend"

Posted Jul 6th 2007 3:06PM by TMZ Staff

Avril Lavigne has gotten herself into a deeply complicated mess, with two '70s songwriters claiming that she stole their song for her hit single "Girlfriend."

In a lawsuit filed in US District Court in Northern California, songwriters Tommy Dunbar and James Gangwer allege that "Girlfriend" rips off their 1979 song, "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," originally performed by The Rubinoos, whose previous claim to fame was penning the theme to "Revenge of the Nerds." Veteran music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote on Billboard.com that "Girlfriend" was "a total lift" from "Boyfriend."

Lavigne's manager tells the AP that the claim is baseless and that he hired a musicologist to study the two tracks -- and that they've been deemed "completely different songs." Decide for yourself below ...

UPDATE: Tommy Dunbar and James Gangwer, the songwriters who recently brought a legal action against Avril Lavigne and Dr. Luke that claimed that the hit Lavigne/Dr. Luke song "Girlfriend" infringed the copyright in their 1979 song "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," have issued the following statement: "We are satisfied that any similarities between the two songs resulted from Avril and Luke's use of certain common and widely used lyrics. We therefore completely exonerate Avril and Luke from any wrongdoing of any kind in connection with the claims made by us in our lawsuit."

Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Music

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(Page 5 of 16)Previous 15 Comments | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Most Recent | Next 15 Comments

61. Yeah it sounds a lot alike but maybe she heard the song as a kid and doesn't remember it. I think she has matured and her music is great.

Posted at 12:58PM on Jul 6th 2007 by missingdee

62. 70. The difference is that the hip hop artists get the rights to the portions of the songs they use from either the artist or the person who owns the rights to the song. Avril could have avoided this entire thing if she had only contacted the artist/rights owner and got their permission. There is a process that must be followed. Even Weird Al who is free to parody any song he wishes usually gets permission from the original artist before releasing a song. It's actually a good thing she is being called out on this one because of the state of the music industry and the lack of creativity.

Posted at 12:59PM on Jul 6th 2007 by Smith

63. I'm with Tatgrrrl, Avril is about as punk as payless shoes. She and her songwriting partner ( the person who does all the real work, except here when they ripped the song off) probably figured no one would remember an old song from the seventies, easy money.

And someone said you can't copy right lyrics, huh?! Are you high? I'm sure lyricists would disagree with you! There are songwriter royalties as well as composer royalties. Iggy Pop wrote the lyrics of Lust For Life David Bowie wrote the music.

Brian Eno once said there is no new music it's all been written, that maybe true but this is ridculous!

Posted at 12:59PM on Jul 6th 2007 by Janie Jones

64. Oh boo - hoo. Their diapers are dirty because someone made a hit song with the words "HEY YOU" in it? I don't see the big deal or so-called "theft." Isn't recycling themes what the music industry does?

Posted at 1:00PM on Jul 6th 2007 by OhNoWay

65. the words don't have to be the same to be a ripoff - it can be the music as well... i think she is a poser, just like the 'originality' of the song is...

Posted at 1:00PM on Jul 6th 2007 by Michellaneous

66. no way do they sound the same, i mean just the words "hey i want to be ur girl/boy friend". Although i think avril sold out, her version is way better.

Posted at 1:01PM on Jul 6th 2007 by kuniko

67. She jacked it..........

Posted at 1:02PM on Jul 6th 2007 by Terra

68. If copying songs were not such a big deal.. why are song catalogs like that of the Beatles worth 10's of millions of dollars? I know some of you are just posting because you like to listen to Avril but the reality of the situation is that copying a song is no different then taking a novel and copying it. Just because you can't physically put your hands on a song doesn't mean it can't have rights owned by a writer/artist/record company.

Posted at 1:07PM on Jul 6th 2007 by Smith

69. Perhaps our lame neighbors to the north need to look up America's plagerism laws... The don't have to be the exact same thing in order to be plagerism... AGAIN look at vanilla Ice taking a riff from Queen's under pressure... He puts a ting and raps completely different lyrics over it... HE Was still GUILTY OF STEALING

ANd how can you sell out when you have ZERO creditibility in the first place... Perhaps someone should write a song called Surfer Boy and see if she tries to sue them...

Posted at 1:08PM on Jul 6th 2007 by Stealling is Wrong

70. Same Same

Posted at 1:08PM on Jul 6th 2007 by BCPR

71. (Referring to #17), I don;t think you can copyright a sentence, but I think it's considered plagiarism if you do. (Obviously, there's a limit to this, but I dont know what it is.)

Posted at 1:11PM on Jul 6th 2007 by justcommenting

72. They sound alike to me....same beat, same stupid lyrics.

Posted at 1:11PM on Jul 6th 2007 by Argh!!!

73. Big surprise. What a snaggletoothed skank!!

Posted at 1:11PM on Jul 6th 2007 by Gumdrop

74. I really don't think that it's that much alike. It has different lyrics. Plus the fact that that sound is close but not like she ripped the exact words. I don't think that she did i think someone is just trying be a jerk.

Posted at 1:16PM on Jul 6th 2007 by Abreanna

75. Yep - she totally stole it....

Posted at 1:17PM on Jul 6th 2007 by chameleon1218

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