Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards backstage before the Rolling Stones’ surprise performance celebrating their new album “Hackney Diamonds” at Racket NYC on October 19, 2023 in New York City.
Photo: Getty Images for RS, Kevin Mazur. All rights reserved.
A US federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of copying their 2020 single “Living in a Ghost Town” from two lesser-known songs. However, the judge responsible for the case announced that the case had clearly been filed in the wrong court.
Did the Stones copy two songs?
Sergio Garcia Fernandez (stage name Angelslang) filed the copyright lawsuit in March. He claimed Jagger and Richards borrowed “many of the recognizable and trademarked key elements” from his 2006 songs “So Sorry” and 2007’s “Seed of God.”
Angelslang’s songs:
The Stones song:
Filed in the wrong court
However, Judge Eldon E. Fallon ruled on Wednesday, October 18, that his federal court in Louisiana had no jurisdiction over Fernandez’s case. He pointed out that Jagger and Richards were British, Fernandez lived in Spain and the Rolling Stones had only performed in New Orleans four times.
So the lawsuit has been dismissed “without prejudice,” allowing Fernandez to refile it at a more appropriate venue. Before the verdict, lawyers for the Stones argued that the case should be filed somewhere in Europe.
Fernandez’s lawyer, however, expressed disappointment and shock at the verdict and announced that he would examine other legal options.