Country Crooner Tim McGraw Wrangles $2 Million Copyright Lawsuit
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
AP
Tim McGraw.
Country music legend Tim McGraw is wrangling with a $20 million lawsuit for allegedly lifting lyrical inspiration from a fellow cowboy, according to reports from TMZ.
Songwriter James Martinez insists McGraw’s chart-topper “Everywhere,” didn’t just come from anywhere — court documents filed by Martinez claim the song was stolen from his own “Anywhere, Anytime Amanda.”
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KEYE-TV, a CBS affiliate station in Austin, Texas, says writers of McGraw’s “Everywhere,” Mike Reid and Craig Wiseman, were also named in the suit. According to keyetv.com, Martinez’s claims assert the defendants released and internationally distributed a song that was “substantially similar” to his own piece.
Keyetv.com reports the copyright suit was first filed by Martinez in August 2007, but it only surfaced after being relocated to a court in McGraw’s home town of Nashville, Tennessee.
