CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

Mark Ronson completely ripped off Roger Troutman and Zapp's funk masterpiece when he cranked out his megahit "Uptown Funk" with Bruno Mars ... this according to a new lawsuit.

Lastrada Entertainment, which owns rights to Roger and Zapp's 1980 classic "More Bounce to the Ounce" ... says 'Uptown' is a clear copy ... particularly the first 48 seconds of it. That portion includes the repeated talk-boxing of the word "doh" ... similar to the lyrics of 'More Bounce' in the 1980 hit.

"Uptown Funk" has been incredibly successful ... moving more than 11 million units since its release.

The suit, obtained by TMZ, also points out Ronson even cited Roger and Zapp as influences -- and includes note-for-note comparisons of the songs. Legalese aside ... you can listen to the similarities for yourself.

Lastrada is suing Ronson, Sony, Spotify, Apple and several producers to shut down future plays and sales of "Uptown Funk," ... plus an unspecified amount in damages. Bruno is not a defendant.

We've reached out to Ronson and Sony ... so far no word back.

Mel B did not commit the crime of witness intimidation by sending text messages to a witness in her divorce case ... this according to several cops who reviewed the texts.

TMZ broke the story ... the LAPD opened a witness tampering investigation listing Mel B as the suspect, after rapper Siya went to the station and filed a police report. As we reported, Siya is on the witness list and is prepared to testify Mel B's claims of physical abuse at the hands of estranged husband Stephen Belafonte are untrue. Siya will also testify about Mel B's alleged drug use and how she engineered the now-infamous 3-ways.

Our law enforcement sources say Siya went to the police station Sunday to file a police report, but the desk officer who reviewed the texts was unimpressed and said the messages did not rise to the level of witness intimidation. We're told Siya left, returned the next day with her lawyer, and this time a report was taken.

Mel B's being accused of harassing another potential witness in her divorce war with Stephen Belafonte ... and this time the woman claims Mel wants her to lie about rape.

TMZ has confirmed ... a 22-year-old Swedish student allegedly had threesomes with Mel B and Belafonte and made sex tapes -- just like with their former nanny, Lorraine Gilles.

The student claims she got a surprise call from Mel and, according to the Daily Mail, Mel told her ... "Your sex tape is already out there and your name is already out there and you have to be in court in about 2 or 3 weeks."

Mel allegedly told her it's the law for her to appear in court, and insinuated she wanted the student to testify that Belafonte raped her in the sex tape. She claims Mel said ... "I know about the sex act and that you were crying and saying 'no' and I want you to be in court for that."

The Swedish student denied Belafonte raped her. Our sources say Mel then became angry and tried to badger her into saying he did.

1:15 PM PT -- TMZ Sports just obtained Browner's mug shot

Ex-Seattle Seahawks star Brandon Browner was arrested in Los Angeles on Monday night, TMZ Sports has learned.

The former Pro Bowl cornerback -- part of the original Legion of Boom -- was booked for allegedly making criminal threats, a felony. Sources tell us the alleged victim is a woman.

Browner was taken into custody and his bail was set at $50,000. He posted bail and was released just after 11 PM.

According to his booking sheet, 33-year-old Browner is listed as 6'3", 215 lbs.

Bobbi Kristina's estate has now joined forces with Bobby Brown to stop TV One from doing a biopic on Bobbi Kristina's life ... TMZ has learned.

Bobby has already filed suit, claiming the portrayal as a bad dad is defamatory.

Bobbi Kristina's estate has now joined the lawsuit, claiming the biopic violates Bobbi Kristina's right to privacy, which they claim survived her death.

Bobby Brown has already claimed in his lawsuit the movie falsely shows him as a violent person toward Whitney Houston. The show suggests Bobbi Kristina witnessed the alleged abuse. He also claims the scenes show him as an unloving father.

The estate and Bobby want more than $2 million in damages and they want the judge to block the airing of the show.

The show is set to air on TV One next month.

Charles Oakley tears into the NY Knicks as the "laughingstock" of the NBA -- and rips owner James Dolan as an incompetent, insecure liar in a brand new lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports.

Oak is suing Dolan and the Knicks over that infamous Feb. 2017 incident when Oakley was forcibly removed from Madison Square Garden and arrested following an altercation with security.

In his suit, filed in federal court in NY, Oakley says Dolan had it out for him from the moment he took over the team because Charles refused to "kiss the ring."

"Dolan constantly disrespected Mr. Oakley, refusing to make eye contact or shake his hand during meetings, denying the type of fan appreciation nights given to much less popular and successful members of the Knicks."

The coup de grace ... Oakley says Dolan made him buy his own tickets to Knicks games while routinely treating other retired players to free courtside seats.

Oakley says things came to a head on Feb. 8 ... when Dolan ordered security to remove him from the building and a physical altercation ensued. Oakley says Dolan then ran a smear campaign, falsely accusing him of being an alcoholic who was drunk at the Garden.

In fact, Oakley points to an ESPN Radio interview in which Dolan said Charles "may have a problem with alcohol" and then claimed Oak was verbally abusive to MSG staff.

Oakley says he was neither intoxicated nor otherwise behaving inappropriately that night.

Oakley is suing for defamation, assault, battery, false imprisonment and more. Oakley does not specify how much money he's seeking.

We spoke with Oak's attorney, Douglas Wigdor, who tells us, "While the facts of the complaint speak for themselves, Mr. Oakley filed this lawsuit out of principle and his desire to hold Mr. Dolan accountable for his actions which I can assure you that our Firm is committed to doing on his behalf."

Jean-Claude Van Damme's youngest son got busted for allegedly holding his roommate at knifepoint ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... 21-year-old Nicholas Van Varenberg was arrested Sunday in Tempe, AZ. We're told cops got a call to check on him because he'd punched the elevator in his building. Cops say they found a trail of blood leading to his apartment, and after speaking to him and a roommate, discovered Nicholas injured his hand.

Officers left, but 20 minutes later, the roommate ran downstairs, claiming he'd escaped the apartment where Nicholas was holding him at knifepoint. He told officers Nicholas was pissed he'd opened the door for them.

Cops immediately searched the apartment, and say they found the knife and marijuana.

The alleged drunk driver who smashed head-on into Macklemore was nearly ejected through his windshield ... which is clear from the first pics of the horrific crash scene.

TMZ obtained the photos of the pickup truck sitting nose-to-nose with Macklemore's Maybach. The fact the truck is on the wrong side of the road shows the driver swerved into Mack's lane.

The gnarly shots of the July wreck also show the rapper's airbags deployed, while the truck driver's windshield was smashed and splattered with blood.

The L.A. County Dept. of Children and Family Services is concerned about the well-being of Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian's baby ... so much so they've gone to court to make sure she's protected.

TMZ has learned the Dept. has gone to L.A. County Dependency Court so a judge can determine if Dream is safe.

Sources familiar with the case tell TMZ, DCFS opened an investigation involving Chyna's alleged drug use, and this was before Rob and Chyna split up.

As we reported, Chyna has obtained a restraining order against Rob after claiming he beat her.

Disney got its wires crossed and cluttered while shooting a TV show in "Baywatch" star Yasmine Bleeth's home ... according to her husband, who claims he got jacked up in a trip and fall.

Paul Cerrito says Disney was using his home to shoot a pilot when the equipment tripped him up. In a lawsuit obtained by TMZ, Paul says the injury set him back ... as he was already trying to recover from a previous tumble.

He claims he slipped in a puddle of water in a grocery store back in December. Due to that fall he was using a walker when he went down at home. Cerrito says he's suffered permanent disability, and is suing the store as well as Disney.

The NFL isn't giving up in the fight to punish Ezekiel Elliott -- the league has just filed court docs to appeal the preliminary injunction that had been awarded to the Dallas Cowboys running back last week.

The point of filing the appeal ... the league wants to enforce the 6-game suspension as soon as possible, ideally this season -- and the appeal is the best way to try and get that result.

So, what's next? The NFL will file more papers detailing why they think the judge who handed out the preliminary injunction got it wrong. Elliott will then respond to those arguments.

Eventually, a 3 judge panel will likely hear the appeal. The panel could reverse the decision which would give the NFL the power to enforce the suspension ASAP.

According to our lawyer (hey, he went to Harvard), it's possible the decision could be reached by the end of the season.

"Deadliest Catch" captain Sig Hansen is reeling in more heat for his alleged spit-fest on an Uber driver.

Waheed Lawal -- Sig's Uber driver during the night in question -- filed suit against the reality star and his son-in-law, Clark Pederson, for allegedly unloading saliva on the back of his head and kicking the crap out of his car. Lawal admits he refused to take cash for the trip, it's against Uber policy, and says that's what set them off.

Sig was arrested afterward, and his criminal case is still pending.

Lawal's suing for assault and battery. And get this ... his wife's a plaintiff too, claiming loss of consortium. In other words, the couple isn't having sex anymore due to his injuries.

Sig's previously apologized for the incident. Not enough for Lawal, obviously.

Swae Lee might be a real crowd pleaser onstage, but he ain't no water bottle thrower -- which is why he says he's countersuing the guy accusing him of just that.

We got Swae Friday at LAX and asked him about a new lawsuit from a Michigan man suing Rae Sremmurd -- Swae and his bro, Slim Jxmmi -- for allegedly chucking water bottles into the crowd at one of their shows last year ... and leaving him with a busted nose.

Swae's not only denying that account ... he says he's firing right back with a lawsuit of his own, 'cause 3,000 shows prove the dude's wrong ... according to him, anyway.

He's pretty confident here -- but the question is ... cashing his checks before they clear?

Janet Jackson just fired up her "Unbreakable" tour Thursday at exactly the same time Live Nation settled with some disgruntled fans who didn't get a refund when the tour was put on ice so she could have a baby.

TMZ has learned ... the fans filed suit after Janet announced in April of last year she was putting the tour on hold on doctor's orders, because of the high-risk nature of her pregnancy.

Live Nation did not treat the announcement as a cancellation, but rather said Janet was simply rescheduling the tour so people could still attend. That didn't fly with a bunch of fans.

Based on what we know the fans got some money -- we don't know how much -- but a chunk of that is going to go to pay their lawyers.

Unclear if the fans will use the settlement money to purchase tickets ... but gotta say, Janet looked awesome last night.

Stephen Belafonte just walked into an L.A. courtroom and nervously trained his eyes on a woman who now claims he brutalized her and threatened to destroy her life -- Mel B.

It was a short, tense face-off as the estranged couple faced a judge in the case Mel B has against former nanny Lorraine Gilles.

Mel B tried to avoid looking at Belafonte. As for him, he fidgeted around after arriving super late for the hearing. His attorney had to call Belafonte and say the judge wasn't happy he was a no-show.

Mel B's lawyers, Susan Wiesner and Larry Bakman, asked the judge to modify the case against Lorraine -- changing it from civil harassment to domestic violence. The lawyers claim the alleged illicit sexual relations between the 3 -- in various configurations -- makes it harassment against domestic partners.

Big win for Ezekiel Elliott -- who was just granted a preliminary injunction from a federal judge in Texas ... which blocks the NFL from imposing his 6-game suspension ... at least for now.

What does it mean -- Zeke will likely play the entire NFL season without missing a single game.

The NFL Player's Association had filed the lawsuit on behalf of Elliott, claiming the Dallas Cowboys star did not get a fair hearing in front of the arbitrator in his appeal of the domestic violence punishment.

The judge agreed ... saying there was a "cloud of fundamental unfairness" in the proceedings. The judge didn't think it was fair for Elliott to be punished with that cloud looming.

The judge points out two "gross errors" in the arbitration -- which were the decision to not include the accuser, Tiffany Thompson, and NFL commish, Roger Goodell, as witnesses.

So, what happens next?

The NFL will likely file an emergency motion challenging the court's ruling. The chances the NFL wins that are slim.

Elliott and the NFLPA now have the green light to continue the legal fight to have the 6-game suspension voided altogether ... which is their ultimate goal.

That process could entail a huge, lengthy trial that could take months and months -- and until the case is settled and a judge rules on the validity of the suspension once and for all, Zeke gets to play.