Adele song recognised as plagiarism and ordered to be withdrawn globally

A Brazilian judge has ordered for Adele’s song ‘Million Years Ago’ to be pulled worldwide over a plagiarism claim by Brazilian composer Toninho Geraes.

He is seeking royalties from the track, as well as $160,000 in moral damages for the alleged plagiarism, and songwriting credit for the track, claiming his samba classic ‘Mulheres’ influenced Adele’s song.

The preliminary injunction, obtained on Monday by AFP, orders the Brazilian subsidiaries of Sony and Universal, Adele’s labels, to stop “immediately and globally, from using, reproducing, editing, distributing or commercializing the song 'Million Years Ago', by any modality, means, physical or digital support, streaming or sharing platform”.

It also threatens both labels with a fine of $8,000 “per act of non-compliance.”

“It is a landmark for Brazilian music, which […] has often been copied to compose successful international hits,” Fredimio Trotta, the lawyer for Geraes, who brought the plagiarism complaint, told AFP.

“International producers and artists who […] have Brazilian music ‘on their radar’ for possible parasitic use will think twice, given this decision,” he concluded.

The injunction was issued on Friday by judge Victor Torres in Rio de Janeiro’s Sixth commercial court as part of an ongoing plagiarism case.

Adele was also accused by Turkish music fans of plagiarism in that same track back in 2015, claiming its melody was similar to one in a 1985 song by a Kurdish singer Ahmet Kaya, titled ‘Acilara Tutunmak (Clinging to Pain)’. However, following Kaya’s death in 2000 while he was exiled in France, his widow said it was unlikely that Adele would do such a thing.