Justin Bieber and Usher have been in a long legal battle after they were charged with violation of copyright for the song "Somebody to Love." Four years after the duo faced the $10 million copyright suit, a judge dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning it can no longer be re-filed.
The lawsuit was filed by R7B singer Devin "De Rico" Copeland and songwriter Mareio Overton in 2013. They alleged that Bieber and Usher copied the title of Copeland and Overton's track as well as the time signature and beat, Rolling Stone reported.
Copeland and Overton further contended that they recorded their version of the song in 2008, and provided a copy of the song to Usher's mother and former manager Jonetta Patton in 2009.
However, in an order by United States' District Judge Arenda Wright Allen in Virginia, the complainants failed to show that Bieber and Usher had access to their song before they released "Somebody to Love" in 2010.
Allen previously dismissed the copyright lawsuit against "Somebody to Love" in 2014, but the federal appeals court revived the case in 2015 on the ground that the jury could notice that both versions of the song "intrinsically similar."
Allen found Copeland and Overton's allegations without merit, saying that "no reasonable jury could find that the Copeland song and the Bieber and Usher songs were 'substantially similar.'"
On the other hand, Bieber and Usher had claimed that "Somebody to Love" was based on a November 2009 version of the song written by Heather Bright and production trio The Stereotypes, Fortune reported.
"Somebody to Love" was initially published as a demo by Usher on YouTube. The song was later recorded by Bieber for his "My World 2.0" album. A remix featuring both Bieber and Usher was released in June 2010.
The song peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was certified platinum in Norway and the United States. In the meantime, Bieber is continuing his purpose world tour and will be visiting Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, Panama, Israel, UAE, South Africa and more.