Hans Zimmer receives apology after copyright case is dismissed

Celebrated movie composer Hans Zimmer has received an apology from a musician who filed a copyright case against him.
Richard Friedman sued Zimmer in January, 2015, claiming elements of his score for the Oscar winning movie 12 Years A Slave was lifted from his work.
After the case was dismissed from a federal court in Los Angeles on Wednesday (24Aug16), Richard wrote to Hans to personally apologise.
“I sincerely apologize to you for bringing the lawsuit and for the time and expense you incurred in its defense,” he wrote.
According to the Associated Press, Richard told the 58-year-old composer that his suit was based on the mistaken conclusion of a music expert.
In response to the dismissal of the case, Hans, who has been nominated for 10 Academy Awards, said, “I hope this case’s successful conclusion will persuade other artists who face similar claims that justice can be achieved.”
The case is one of a recent spate of copyright claims brought against musicians, with Led Zeppelin winning a high profile case in June (16), while stars including Demi Lovato, Ed Sheeran and Ariana Grande are also facing copyright claims.
Referring to the recent trend, Hans added, “I also hope that this dismissal will discourage other plaintiffs who may be motivated by recent high-profile music copyright lawsuits from filing meritless infringement claims.”
Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke are also on the war path – their lawyers filed an appeal against a 2013 copyright infringement verdict against them and their song Blurred Lines. A jury awarded more than $5 million (£3.8 million) from the songwriters and 50 per cent of ongoing royalties from their hit to the family of Marvin Gaye, after the successfully claimed the track ripped off the late soul legend’s Got to Give it Up tune.