Bruno Mars accused of plagiarism over 'Uptown Funk'

Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars (Getty)
Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars (Getty)

Another hit song that's generated millions for its writers has been hit with a plagiarism lawsuit.

This time it's Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars' 'Uptown Funk'.

The suit's been filed by Collage, an electro-funk band from Minneapolis, who say the 2014 hit "is an obvious, strikingly and/or substantially similar copy" of their 1983 single, 'Young Girls'.

They point to the songs' "distinct funky specifically noted and timed consistent guitar riffs present throughout the compositions, virtually if not identical bass notes and sequence, rhythm, structure, crescendo of horns and synthesizers rendering the compositions almost indistinguishable if played over each other and strikingly similar if played in consecutively".

Newshub has tempo-matched the two songs and played them together - listen using the player above, or check out the two songs seperately in the YouTube players below.

Collage are the third band to accuse Ronson and Mars of ripping them off in 'Uptown Funk'. The Sequence claimed the pair ripped off their song 'Funk You Up', but didn't take it to court, while Serbian singer Snezana Miskovic said it ripped off her song ' Dark Streets Are Not For Girls'.

The legal action follows the Gaye family's successful lawsuit against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams over 'Blurred Lines', and Spirit's unsuccessful attempt to win royalties from Led Zeppelin over 'Stairway to Heaven'.

Newshub.