Madonna Loses Plagiarism Case

A Belgian songwriter has won his plagiarism case against Madonna, concerning her 1998 hit Frozen.

Salvatore Acquaviva’s claim, that the song copied one of his recordings, was upheld by a Belgian court. Acquaviva’s lawyer, Victor-Vincent Dehin, said the judge had agreed that Madonna’s hit had used four bars of Slavatore’s song Ma Vie Fout L’camp, the BBC report. Roughly translated as ‘My Life’s Getting Nowhere.’

Acquaviva’s lawyer, Victor-Vincent Dehin, also told Reuters that the judge ordered EMI, Sony and Warner Music to withdraw the song from sale in the country. The companies’ lawyers declined to comment - as has Madonna’s UK spokeswoman.

Dehin asserts that the judge also ordered the record companies to ensure that radio and TV stations stopped playing the song and that the album featuring the song, Ray of Light, be withdrawn from sale. If the ruling is not obeyed within 15 days the companies will face a fine of over 100,000 euros.

Dehin commented: "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."

Meanwhile, Madonna has continued fiercely promoting new album, ‘Confessions On A Dancefloor,’ with a performance last night on the BBC’s Children In Need.