Madonna could lose Belgian market after court rules against her in plagiarism case

Madonna could lose Belgian market after court rules against her in plagiarism case

BRUSSELS, Belgium - A hitherto unknown Belgian songwriter won a plagiarism case against pop icon Madonna on Friday. Accordingly a court has banned the sale or broadcast of the singer's new song "Frozen" in Belgium.

The songwriter in question, Salvatore Acquaviva had filed a suit alleging that Madonna's mega hit album "Ray of Light" had plagiarized parts of his own song called "Ma Vie Fout L'camp (My Life's Getting Nowhere)."

This song had apparently been penned by the songwriter five years' before Madonna's album hit the shelves in 1998. Commenting on the ruling, Mr Acquaviva's lawyer Victor-Vincent Dehin said, "The judge has ruled Madonna must withdraw from sales all remaining disks, and orders that TV and radio can no longer play 'Frozen'."

He added that the judge agreed that Madonna's song had four identical bars of Acquaviva's song. EMI, Sony and Warner Music have all been ordered to withdraw Madonna's album from Belgian markets.

Mr Dehin confirmed that the companies would be liable to be fined more than 100,000 euros (£68,000) if they failed to comply with the ruling within a fortnight. "We tried to reach a friendly agreement... but they didn't want to negotiate so I sued for plagiarism. They have stolen a song, so they have to pay the value of the song," he said.

Madonna's spokeswoman, Barbara Charone did not comment on the ruling although the singer has the right to appeal.

Madonna's Ray of Light was a huge critical as well as commercial success across the globe and was adjudged the best pop album at the US Grammies. It also won the singer three other Grammies.