Rammstein at centre of new court case
German rock band Rammstein are entangled in a new court case, after being accused of committing plagiarism on their track, ‘Deutschland’.
The track, appeared on their untitled seventh studio album, released in 2019. ‘Deutcshland’ was selected as the lead single from the project, and was met with considerable attention due to being the first new material from Rammstein since 2011.
Now, French band Ninja Cyborg are claiming Rammstein stole material from their track, ‘The Sunny Road’. Ninja Cyborg previously made the same claim, but it was dismissed in 2021. However, according to Day FR Euro, the group have submitted a new filing through the Paris Court of Appeal.
In the new court document, Ninja Cyborg have enlisted analysis from expert Richard Dubugnon, who alleges the main guitar riff along with melodic elements in ‘Deutschland’ were taken from ‘The Sunny Road’. Dubognon reached this conclusion due to his belief the two songs share “too many similarities”, leaving him “without a doubt” regarding plagiarism.
‘The Sunny Road’ was released a year before ‘Deutschland’, and Marc Botté from Ninja Cyborg has previously stated his confidence about the case. Speaking in 2020 to Le Nouvel Obs, he remarked: “I don’t like Rammstein and I don’t listen to this group. I created that riff. I knew very well that I hadn’t plagiarised them.”
In a new statement, a legal representative acting on behalf of Ninja Cyborg commented: “These conclusions were delivered on October 9th, 2023, by the expert. Wrongly accused of plagiarism, the members of Ninja Cyborg, supported by their publisher Music Unit can now rely on this expertise and the fact that the ‘similarities are indeed the result of voluntary borrowing’ to assert their rights before the Intellectual Property Chamber of the Paris Judicial Court.”
Rammstein are yet to remark on the plagiarism accusations, however, as it stands, they will be forced to share their side of the story in September at the Intellectual Property Chamber of the Paris Judicial Court.
The latest legal battle for Rammstein comes after their singer Till Lindemann was accused of sexual assault last year. After prosecutors in Germany opened an investigation into the complaints received, they chose to drop the probe as it “did not provide any evidence” of alleged misconduct by Lindemann.
Furthermore, prosecutors failed to discover any evidence of incidents of drug-facilitated sexual assault or anything to substantiate claims that a minor was sexually exploited, despite claims. They also dropped another investigation into Alena Makeeva, who was accused of procuring girls to attend afterparties with Lindemann while on tour, due to a lack of evidence.
In response, lawyers representing Lindemann said: “The rapid termination of investigative proceedings by the Berlin state prosecutor’s office shows that there is insufficient evidence that our client allegedly committed sexual offences.”
This summer, Rammstein are set to embark on a lengthy stadium tour across Europe, which is scheduled to conclude with five performances at the Veltins Arena in Gelsinkirchen at the end of July. During the run, they will also notably play the RDS Arena in Dublin and the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona.
Listen to ‘The Sunny Road’ by Ninja Cyborg and Rammstein’s ‘Deutschland’ below.
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