Court delivers first verdict ever in music plagiarism case

In the first verdict of its kind, a higher court in Prague upheld on Tuesday a previous ruling in a case of plagiarism in Czech pop music. The court said that part of a 1994 song by the singer-songwriter Jan Kalousek was “very similar” to the 2002 hit “In Da Yard” by Jaroslav Helešic, a former member of the band Support Lesbiens. The court ruled that Mr Helešic is to pay 200,000 crowns, or more than 10,000 US dollars, to Mr Kalousek in damages. Both musicians said the dispute was not personal; Mr Helešic refused to agree on an out-of-court settlement, and said he wanted the court to establish a precedent for similar cases in the future.