Adele Accused of Plagiarizing Kurdish Singer Ahmet Kaya

2. Michael Bolton and Sony vs. Isley Brothers

We already talked about this one in the intro. This lawsuit stands as one of the heaviest in the history of music plagiarism. In 1994 a jury found Michael Bolton and his record company Sony guilty of plagiarizing the Isley Brothers’ “Love Is a Wonderful Thing” and ordered $4.2 million in damages. Converted to today’s money, that would be more than $8 million. Bolton and Sony appealed the decision and Bolton claimed he had never even heard the song. In 2001 the Supreme Court declined to review the decision, effectively finalizing the lower court ruling.