Coldplay to Satriani: "Viva" La Difference (Or the Similarity?)

Coldplay responded to Joe Satriani's recent filing of a copyright infringement lawsuit by "assuring" the guitarist that the band did not copy his 2004 song "If I Could Fly" for its recent hit "Viva La Vida." Satriani contends that "Viva" contains "substantial, original portions" of his song.

The statement the British pop-rock band released on its website today read, in part: "If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental, and just as surprising to us as to him. Joe Satriani is a great musician, but he did not write the song 'Viva La Vida.' We respectfully ask him to accept our assurances of this and wish him well with all future endeavours."

Decide for yourself: Here's a clip of the Satriani song and the Coldplay song. (Of course, what we might think has very little to do with what the legal requirements for burden of proof are.)

Satriani gave an interview recently talking about the lawsuit to Musicradar.com.