Lady Gaga has claimed $1.4m in legal costs following a failed plagiarism lawsuit against her.
The Pokerface hitmaker – who was sued by Chicago-based musician Rebecca Francescatti for allegedly copying her 1999 song Juda in her 2011 track Judas – has filed papers claiming back close to $1.4m that she paid her lawyers over the course of the three year case.
In the papers obtained by TMZ.com, Gaga, 28, has requested Rebecca foot the staggering bill after a judge dismissed the case on the grounds that the two songs were “not substantially similar” earlier this year.
US District Judge Marvin E Aspen – who determined Rebecca failed to provide sufficient evidence of the alleged similarities between the tracks – said at the time: “We conclude as a matter of law that the two songs are not substantially similar.
No reasonable trier of fact could find that defendants copied protected expression in Francescatti’s song. The songs do not ‘share enough unique features to give rise to a breach of the duty not to copy another’s work.’ Accordingly, we grant defendant’s motion for summary judgement.”
In the ruling, Judge Aspen further explained the lawsuit’s objection to a similar title and similar musical notes “are not sufficient to give rise to a finding that the Gaga song has captured the total concept and feel of the Francescatti song”.
Listen to snippets of both songs here: