The Weeknd settles ‘Call Out My Name’ copyright infringement case

The Weeknd has settled a copyright infringement case relating to his 2018 track ‘Call Out My Name’, it has been reported.

The song featured on his first EP ‘My Dear Melancholy’ and saw the star singing over a minimal, melancholy R&B backing.

In 2021, Suniel Fox and Henry Strange – who make up the electro duo Epikker – filed a lawsuit against The Weeknd and producers Frank Dukes and Nicolas Jaar, claiming that ‘Call Out My Name’ plagiarised their unreleased song ‘Vibeking’. The pair claimed that his track pulled from their vocal hook and lead guitar part.

Now, a new filing in the case states that all parties have reached a settlement. “Because the parties are still in the process of formalizing, executing, and consummating that settlement, Plaintiff respectfully requests that the Court take all dates off calendar and set a date in 30 days for the parties to file a joint status report if the case has not already been dismissed,” the filing read, per Rolling Stone.

The terms of the settlement have not been made public at the time of writing.

Epikker’s lawyers had written in the complaint that both tracks contained “quantitatively and qualitatively similar material in their respective lead guitar and vocal hooks, including melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic elements distinctive to ‘Vibeking’”.

They added: “Both works are in a 6/8 meter that is less common in popular music. Both works are played at a similar tempo. And both works use features of electronica, ambience, pop, hip-hop, rock, and R&B to achieve a particularly atmospheric and melancholic sound.”

Although ‘Vibeking’ was unreleased, the duo claimed to have evidence that The Weeknd’s Abel Tesfaye had heard the track. They shared an email in the complaint that they alleged showed Tesfaye’s “playback engineer” telling them that the star had “listened [to] and liked” the song.

Meanwhile, The Weeknd recently responded to a report alleging that his upcoming HBO series is “a shitshow”. The Idol is expected to premiere this year and will follow an aspiring pop star Jocelyn, played by Lily Rose Depp. After suffering a nervous breakdown, Jocelyn seeks counsel from a self-help guru, played by Tesfaye.

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